RSE4801
ASSIGNMENT 1 2025
UNIQUE NO.
DUE DATE: 15 MAY 2025
, RSE4801 Assignment 1 (2025) – Due 15 May 2025
Title: Decolonising Research: Reclaiming Voice, Justice, and Knowledge through
Indigenous Epistemologies
Introduction
Research has long been a site of colonial power. For Indigenous communities, the
academy’s pursuit of knowledge has often served as a tool of domination, erasure, and
misrepresentation. In her groundbreaking book, Decolonising Methodologies: Research
and Indigenous Peoples, Māori scholar Linda Tuhiwai Smith confronts this legacy,
offering an alternative research paradigm rooted in Indigenous epistemologies and
practices. Her work invites scholars to rethink the very foundations of research by
foregrounding the themes of intervention, curiosity, courage, justice, and critique—not
merely as abstract concepts, but as ethical imperatives in the context of historical and
ongoing colonialism. This essay explores how these ideas are mobilised in Smith’s text
to challenge dominant Western research models and promote decolonised, socially just
knowledge production.
1. Intervention: Reclaiming Research as a Political Act
Smith (1999) frames research as inherently political. From an Indigenous perspective,
intervention is not just about challenging the status quo—it is about reclaiming the right
to define and represent one's own reality. Colonial research has historically constructed
Indigenous peoples as objects of study, stripped of agency and voice. Smith argues that
decolonising methodologies require a conscious intervention that resists this
objectification.
By centering Indigenous worldviews, values, and priorities, intervention becomes a tool
of resistance and self-determination. Community-led research practices—such as
participatory action research, oral histories, and storytelling—offer platforms for
Indigenous peoples to take control of the narratives about their lives, cultures, and
futures. These practices challenge the extractive tendencies of Western research and
affirm Indigenous peoples as knowledge producers.
2. Curiosity: Reframing What We Ask and Why
Curiosity in Western research has often been framed as objective and detached, but
Smith (1999) critiques this by showing how colonial curiosity led to the exploitation of
Indigenous cultures and knowledge. Decolonising research asks scholars to reflect
deeply on the motivations behind their inquiries. What are we curious about? Who
benefits from this curiosity?
ASSIGNMENT 1 2025
UNIQUE NO.
DUE DATE: 15 MAY 2025
, RSE4801 Assignment 1 (2025) – Due 15 May 2025
Title: Decolonising Research: Reclaiming Voice, Justice, and Knowledge through
Indigenous Epistemologies
Introduction
Research has long been a site of colonial power. For Indigenous communities, the
academy’s pursuit of knowledge has often served as a tool of domination, erasure, and
misrepresentation. In her groundbreaking book, Decolonising Methodologies: Research
and Indigenous Peoples, Māori scholar Linda Tuhiwai Smith confronts this legacy,
offering an alternative research paradigm rooted in Indigenous epistemologies and
practices. Her work invites scholars to rethink the very foundations of research by
foregrounding the themes of intervention, curiosity, courage, justice, and critique—not
merely as abstract concepts, but as ethical imperatives in the context of historical and
ongoing colonialism. This essay explores how these ideas are mobilised in Smith’s text
to challenge dominant Western research models and promote decolonised, socially just
knowledge production.
1. Intervention: Reclaiming Research as a Political Act
Smith (1999) frames research as inherently political. From an Indigenous perspective,
intervention is not just about challenging the status quo—it is about reclaiming the right
to define and represent one's own reality. Colonial research has historically constructed
Indigenous peoples as objects of study, stripped of agency and voice. Smith argues that
decolonising methodologies require a conscious intervention that resists this
objectification.
By centering Indigenous worldviews, values, and priorities, intervention becomes a tool
of resistance and self-determination. Community-led research practices—such as
participatory action research, oral histories, and storytelling—offer platforms for
Indigenous peoples to take control of the narratives about their lives, cultures, and
futures. These practices challenge the extractive tendencies of Western research and
affirm Indigenous peoples as knowledge producers.
2. Curiosity: Reframing What We Ask and Why
Curiosity in Western research has often been framed as objective and detached, but
Smith (1999) critiques this by showing how colonial curiosity led to the exploitation of
Indigenous cultures and knowledge. Decolonising research asks scholars to reflect
deeply on the motivations behind their inquiries. What are we curious about? Who
benefits from this curiosity?
