Indigenous-informed arts-based research: decolonizing and expanding the dominant paradigm

Arts-based research (ABR) in medicine provides innovative ways to understand and communicate health-related experiences, using methods such as photography, poetry, and filmmaking to explore complex patient narratives. However, the integration of artistic methodologies into medical research introduces unique ethical challenges, including informed consent, confidentiality, emotional safety, and power dynamics in participant-researcher relationships. This paper examines these issues in the context of arts-based participatory action research with Canadians living with rheumatological diseases. It emphasizes the need for reflexivity, collaborative partnerships, and cultural competence to ensure equitable representation and participant agency. By fostering interdisciplinary dialogue, this study aims to establish a robust ethical framework for arts-based methodologies, ensuring their transformative potential in health advocacy, education, and policy-making. Keywords: Arts-based research, Ethics in medicine Participatory action research, Narrative medicine, Reflexivity in research.

The arts-based research paradigm prioritizes creativity, relationships and the potential of transformative change (Conrad & Beck, 2016). Arts-based research may be useful in disability communities where people may prefer to communicate artistically or through movement, rather than through spoken word (Eales & Peers, 2016). Participatory action research (PAR) involves researchers working with communities to create research critical of dominant power relations and responsive to the needs of communities (McIntyre, 2008). Both arts-based research and PAR value an axiological approach that is responsive to the community’s needs over a dogmatic procedure, meaning that researchers must be reflexive and responsive to the often unexpected realities of the field. Over four months in 2017, eight dancers/researchers from CRIPSiE (Collaborative Radically Integrated Performers Society in Edmonton), an integrated dance company, came together to investigate how integrated dancers practice elements of timing in rehearsal, through an arts-based, participatory process. In this paper I examine the gap between my assumptions of how research should be conducted and the reality of the field, specifically: the tension between university research ethics and the ethics of the CRIPSiE community, the differences between the value of the rehearsal process and the performance as sites of data collection, and the assumptions I had made about the necessity of a singular research question.

In colonial nations such as Canada, there have been increasing requirements for governments to engage directly with Indigenous communities regarding their rights and interests in natural resource management generally, with specific focus on the role of Indigenous knowledge systems in harvest management decision-making (Tikina et al.2010). Canadian courts have repeatedly focused on two factors with extremely important consequences for the Nation-to-Nation relationships that exist between the Crown and the Indigenous communities: (1) Indigenous rights must be reconciled with other government responsibilities including justified infringements for the often ill-defined concept of ‘conservation’ (Crawford and Morito 1997; Ayers 2005; Nadasdy 2005), and (2) the ‘honour of the Crown’ must be maintained when consulting Indigenous communities, especially with regard to management decision-making about their natural resources (Morito 1999; Slattery 2005). Given the legal necessities for a Eurocentric government to engage in honorable and meaningful consultation with Indigenous communities about conservation ethics and natural resource management, it remains to be seen how these Indigenous-Western science cross-cultural consultations should be undertaken (Crawford et al.2010). The trend to date has largely been the domination of Western Science over Indigenous knowledge systems (in the sense described by Pentland 1995); circumstances in which Indigenous knowledge holders might be requested to provide information to scientists/managers who would evaluate it for reliability and utility before deciding whether to incorporate in a science-based management program (McGregor 2004; Clark and Slocombe 2009; Lyver et al.2009). Some scholars have suggested that conflict caused by this kind of cultural domination could be reduced if governments and Indigenous communities re-initiated their discussions with an examination of similarities and differences in principles regarding ‘conservation’ and ‘natural resource management’ (Ratner and Holen 2007; Ebbin 2011; Watson et al.2011). In this way, the communities could develop a structured and respectful dialogue about wild harvest management in the spirit of reconciliation and productive collaboration. There have been numerous attempts by Western scientists to reach internal consensus on general principles for natural resource management (Holt and Talbot 1978; Christensen et al.1996; Mangel et al.1996; Dale et al.2000), habitat management (Lindenmayer and Nix 1993; Botsford et al.2003; Naiman and Latterell 2005), harvest management (FSC 1996; Heissenbuttal 1996; Lauck et al.1998; Fowler 2003; FAO 2001; Gonzalez-Laxe 2005; Utne 2006; Shelton and Sinclair 2008; Francis et al.2007; MSC 2010) and biodiversity/endangered species management (Walters 1991; Tilman 1999; Ebbin 2011). Although the practice of ‘defining principles for resource management’ is not something that Indigenous societies typically engage in, there have been many attempts to survey and understand Indigenous values and social norms in this regard (Ratner and Holen 2007; Turner and Berkes 2006; Watson et al.2011). For example, Alcorn (1993) offered a general treatise on the relationship between Indigenous worldviews and the Western idea of ‘conservation.’ Berkes et al. (1998) explored fundamental properties of ecosystem-like concepts in Indigenous cultures. In the 2011 ‘Principles of Tsawalk,’ Umeek (E. Richard Atleo), a hereditary Nuu-Chah-Nulth chief, discussed his culture’s principles of Recognition, Consent, and Continuity and their important role in maintaining balance—in contrast to the global consequences of Western ‘sustainable’ development. Prober et al. (2011) characterized the principles of Australian Aboriginal ecological calendars and indicators and evaluated their possible interaction with Western social-ecological systems for natural resource management. Over the past decades, a growing body of community-based collaborative studies has provided more depth and insight into the structure and function of traditional Indigenous knowledge systems and their associated decision-making processes for harvest management (e.g., Feit 1986; Brightman 1993; Horstman and Wightman 2001; Ayers 2005; Castleden et al.2009; Lyver et al.2009; Moller et al.2009; Bilbao et al.2010). However, as Jones et al. (2010) caution, researchers must always be careful to consider Indigenous community-based value systems as spatially and temporally local expressions of their culture. Efforts to identify general Indigenous ‘principles’ of natural resource management must be tempered by conscious recognition that (1) ‘principles’ are social constructs which are deeply embedded in cultural and social norms that are typically complex and subtle to the outsider (Houde 2007; Peloquin and Berkes 2009), and (2) Indigenous cultures and worldviews are inherently more diverse than the relatively homogenous standards of Western science (although see a provoking challenge of this assumption about scientific homogeneity by Watson-Verran and Turnbull 1995). The goal of our investigation was to develop and demonstrate a process for engaging with Indigenous communities to inquire about the structure and function of social norms in their culture that could relate to Western ‘principles’ for natural, renewable resource management. In order to achieve this goal, we worked in partnership with a sponsoring Ojibway community on a case study to employ community-based, participatory research methods with traditional people who were most familiar with social norms for harvest management.

Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) comprise knowledge systems that have developed within various societies’ independent of, and prior to, the advent of the modern scientific knowledge system. IKS from various cultures evolved into broad and comprehensive knowledge systems, such as those from ancient India, China and Africa, that addressed societal and traditional knowledge issues in various fields important to human survival and the quality of life, including agriculture, health and water, amongst others. In this paper, the IKS of India and China, with particular focus on agriculture and health, are examined for methodologies and received understanding, within the context of identifying and evaluating appropriate technologies for development. Although much work on the cataloguing and documenting of IKS has been completed in these two countries, there is a paucity of attention that has been paid to the scientific rationale and technological content and methodologies of these indigenous knowledge systems. In our work, we examine more closely the scientific and engineering rationale of selected indigenous technologies for agriculture and health that demonstrate a holistic approach to development for their societies. The evaluation reveals that many technologies classified as ‘appropriate’ for developing communities to address basic needs of water, sanitation and agriculture have their roots in indigenous knowledge systems that have survived in some form, albeit at a much diminished level. We demonstrate that these studies potentially provide valuable resources for appropriate technology development. The extensive history of IKS and practices in India and China provide a rich resource and a history of engagement, success and failure that could beneficially inform communities in their search for improved quality of life. The paper concludes with a preliminary evaluation of certain African knowledge systems in agriculture, water and health, and suggests an approach to conservation of these IKS to better inform development for social justice, especially on the African continent.

This article shows how indigenous knowledge systems and everyday experiences can be used to scaffold theoretical and analytical frameworks as well as to teach aspects of research processes and procedures in a non-intimidating way. We use everyday African experiences and proverbs to show that production of new knowledge does not have to be in English and associated exogenous culture; rather it will be more expedient and have lifelong impact on students if expressed in familiar language practices and knowledge systems. Eurocentric-based epistemologies and knowledge systems will only have profound meaning in Africa if framed in and expressed through local indigenous knowledge systems. We conclude that there is need for research protocols and theoretical/analytical frameworks to be filtered through African socio-cultural contexts and knowledge systems for comprehensive and culturally-relevant meaning making. This would dispel the current obsession with ritualized research, the mysticism associated with Eurocentric research, and perceptions that only formally-educated people are eligible to do research.

Indigenous knowledge systems have historically benefited pharmacological research programmes. If properly utilized, indigenous knowledge systems promise to assist in the future discovery of new drugs. The ethnobotanical approach to drug discovery combines two components: analysis of indigenous knowledge concerning medicinal plants, and bioassay-guided evaluation of plants used medicinally by indigenous peoples. Successful programmes of ethnobotanical drug discovery have optimized both aspects. Yet despite demonstrable historical success in drug discovery, there has been considerable resistance to incorporation of information derived from indigenous knowledge systems into modern programmes of drug discovery. This chapter examines the sometimes hostile interaction between western and indigenous cultures, yet suggests that many indigenous practices, including ethnopharmacology, fit well within current paradigms of science. Strategies for optimizing the input of indigenous knowledge systems into western drug discovery programmes are sketched. The reciprocal responsibilities of western investigators to indigenous practitioners and healers who participate in their research programmes are outlined.

To curb environmental challenges effectively, Western environmental knowledge has been adopted besides indigenous environmental knowledge system in Africa. However, the dualistic nature of knowledge integration, this paper notes, is tinted by unfair power relations where indigenous knowledge is masked by neo-colonial tenets of the West. Neo-colonialism, as argued in this paper, is the attempt of the Western societies to impose their knowledge system to micro-manage the environmental and other affairs in Africa, taking a case study of Uganda. Our central inquiry is why Africa is gradually deviating from indigenous knowledge systems in preference of Western environmental knowledge. Using a critical analytical survey method, this paper argues that there is environmental knowledge neo-colonialism in Africa today characterized by Western identity construction, language dominance, cross-cultural cloning, undermining of indigenous education patterns, academic division of labor, education as an investment, top-down distribution of knowledge, and improper contextualization of knowledge construction and application. This appeals for Africanized production of knowledge to suit the continent’s environmental needs and achieve African epistemic autonomy.

The study investigates a framework for the transformation of colonised African mindsets towards the promotion of indigenous knowledge practices. The study relied on existing literature to analyse the African mindset towards indigenous knowledge practices. It was discovered that African countries undermine their indigenous knowledge systems and practices, and prefer those initiated by others, especially from European nations. African indigenous knowledge systems and practices are often under-looked, undervalued, negatively viewed, and spoken badly of by Africans, especially by those of younger generations. This disregard for indigenous knowledge systems and practices is predominantly seen in healthcare systems and practices, even after it has been recorded that, through scientific studies founded on participatory observation and interviews, many areas of the Western healthcare system were developed from the same indigenous knowledge practices that are now being disregarded. The study concluded that Africans should view their indigenous knowledge systems positively, promote them globally and preserve them for future generations to come. To do this, it is suggested that some practices be enhanced through technological changes to enable them to compete or be integrated with Western practices.

This open access book analyzes the limitations of top-down intervention programs designed by the state to address the problem of unemployment among marginalized communities in Africa and foregrounds the centrality of IKS in fostering entrepreneurship. Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba, Inocent Moyo, and Lethiwe Zondo examine the solutions to these problems within the ongoing debate on decolonization of knowledge and epistemic justice. The contributors argue that when the voices of the marginalized communities are taken into consideration in the design of employment and entrepreneurship policies, such policies would be more effective, affirming the agency and rights within these communities. Using case studies and theoretical research, this book investigates how a better engagement with marginalized communities and indigenous knowledges in the design of entrepreneurship and employment policies could foster more positive outcomes in Africa. This book recenters the voices of Indigenous youth within entrepreneurship programs to highlight the interests, priorities, and challenges of these communities. This edited volume was produced in the context of the African Indigenous Knowledge Research Network (AIKRN) in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. This was a two-year initiative that ran between 2023 and 2025 to uncover and promote sustainable and scalable opportunities for youth employment grounded in Indigenous African knowledge systems and values. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Mastercard Foundation, its staff, or its Board of Directors. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access provided in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.

Eckstorm was the daughter of a fur trader living in Maine who published six books and many articles on natural history, woods culture, and Indian language and lore. A writer from Maine with a national readership, Eckstorm drew on her unique relationship with both Maine woodsmen and Maine's Native Americans that grew out of the time she spent in the woods with her father. She developed a complex system of work largely based on oral tradition, recording and interpreting local knowledge about animal behavior and hunting practices, boat handling, ballad singing, Native American languages, crafts, and storytelling. Her work has formed the foundation for much scholarship in New England folklore and history and clearly illustrates the importance of indigenous and folk knowledge to scholarship. Fannie Hardy Eckstorm and Her Quest for Local Knowledge, 1865–1946 reveals an important story which speaks directly to contemporary issues as historians of science, social science and humanities begin to re-evaluate the nature, content, and role of indigenous and folk knowledge systems. Eckstorm's life and work illustrate the constant tension between local lay knowledge and the more privileged scientific production of academics that increasingly dominated the field from the early twentieth century. At the time Eckstorm was writing, the growth in professionalism and eclipse of the amateur led to a reorganization of knowledge. As increasing specialization defined the academy, indigenous knowledge systems were dismissed as unscientific and born of ignorance. Eckstorm recognized and lauded the innate value of traditional knowledge that could, for example, fell trees in the interior of Maine and ship them internationally as finished lumber.

The Western knowledge paradigm – with its ways of knowing, ways of seeing and its notions of reality - has dominated the global knowledge arena, rendering many indigenous knowledge systems as invalid, illegitimate and irrelevant. This is particularly true for indigenous medical knowledge systems, which have struggled to articulate their voices from the marginalisation imposed by colonialism, globalisation and modernity. This chapter outlines paradigmatic tenets and key conceptions underpinning Western Biomedicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Traditional African Medicine. It explores areas of synergy and contradiction, as well as points for potential dialogue between the medical systems. The chapter suggests that if carefully excavated, explorations into such ontologies and epistemologies can make meaningful contributions to knowledge brokerage, thus promoting inclusivity and ethics in knowledge societies. It therefore makes a case for cognitive justice – ‘the right of different traditions of knowledge to co-exist without duress'.

Longstanding relationship (amicable and hostile) has existed between Awi andGumuz nationalities since Aksumite era. Their early relationship had been full of pain because of the fact that the successive highland kings had appointed Awi chiefs to run state affairs in Gumuz community, which left bad seed on the future relation between two generations. As time went on, a shift from hostile to friendly relation marked since the change of politics in 1974 because of socio-political developments and the dynamic nature of the interaction. The study focused on driving socio-political and economic developments which promoted tolerance, cohabitation and diffusion of the indigenous agricultural knowledge system between these two people. The Gumuz and Awi inhabited Woredas of Awi and Metekelzonez were selected for this study. The researcher attempted to consult wide ranges of primary and secondary sources. Elders from Awi and Gumuz are extensively interviewed. They responded that agricultural alliance leads to the shift of indigenous knowledge such as traditional agricultural activities, management of crop production etc from Awi to Gumuz. The sources are critically collected, scrutinized and analyzed. The validities of the sources are cross-checked one against the other. Key words: Peaceful- coexistence, indigenous knowledge system.

Bambara groundnut ( Vigna subterranea) is so important in most of Africa, and potentially so in other tropical regions, that improvement of its production — especially on a commercial scale — and of its germplasm both deserve renewed and intensive scientific study. Yet, compared with other legumes (such as groundnuts, beans and cowpeas), bambara groundnut has received almost no research or extension attention, although in Ghana and other parts of Africa, it has a higher market value (on a per unit weight basis) than these other legumes. Improving indigenous farm management systems and methods that have resulted from age-old experience and tradition will be difficult for local farmers if they are completely entrenched in their habits. Thus, a survey was conducted to identify and document the traditional farm management practices and key considerations used in bambara groundnut production, along with indigenous knowledge systems linked to the conservation of bambara groundnut germplasm. The study was conducted in the Upper West region of Ghana, which is an area with considerable bambara groundnut genetic diversity. Valuable information on its production and genetic resources exists within the indigenous knowledge systems studied, and ranges from economic and agronomic criteria for peasant farmer selection of particular varieties and traditional uses of the crop, to strategies for the management and conservation of locally adapted varieties, pest and disease management, and environmental and ecological monitoring systems. Research and extension requirements for improving crop production were identified. In addition, germplasm was collected and characterized for conservation.

This study examines the role of local and indigenous knowledge systems (LINKS) in the conservation of the Malindi–Watamu–Arabuko Sokoke Biosphere Reserve (MWASBR) in Kenya. The biosphere reserve is of significant ecological importance, encompassing coastal forests, coral reefs, mangroves, and diverse marine ecosystems. Despite its value, MWASBR faces escalating pressures from deforestation, overfishing, poverty, and climate change. Indigenous knowledge, developed and transmitted over generations, offers important insights and strategies for sustainable natural resource management. Using data from 150 completed questionnaires, field observations, and a review of relevant literature, the study investigated existing indigenous conservation practices, the challenges faced by local communities, and potential pathways for integrating traditional knowledge systems into contemporary conservation frameworks. The findings reveal a high level of awareness among respondents of indigenous practices, including the use of medicinal plants, protection of sacred groves, mangrove conservation, traditional fishing regulations, weather forecasting based on natural indicators, and the preservation of oral traditions. However, the continuity of these practices is increasingly threatened by climate change, resource over exploitation, and the erosion of traditional knowledge. Respondents identified key solutions such as strengthening community education, engaging youth, promoting alternative livelihoods, and formally documenting indigenous knowledge to ensure its transmission. This research highlights the critical importance of recognizing indigenous knowledge as a fundamental component of biodiversity conservation. Integrating LINKS with scientific approaches can enhance ecosystem management, strengthen community participation, and support national and international conservation objectives, including those of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme. The study concludes that empowering local communities while safeguarding cultural heritage is essential for ensuring the long-term resilience and sustainability of MWASBR.

This conceptual paper investigates the integration of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) into South African Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, exploring its conceptions, historical roots, significance, and the challenges and benefits associated with such integration. The objective was to understand the role of IKS in enriching STEM education and its potential contributions to global scientific knowledge. A culturally sensitive research approach was employed, with criteria set for selecting relevant literature on IKS and STEM. The results highlighted the profound historical significance of IKS in South Africa and its potential in bridging cultural gaps in education. Pedagogical innovations rooted in indigenous practices were identified as key to revitalising the STEM learning experience. However, challenges such as educational barriers, policy constraints, and institutional norms were also noted. Thus, the Multiple-ways of knowing (M-Know) model is proposed to demonstrate the possibility of using an integrated approach for the inclusion of IKS and enhancement of the STEM higher education school curriculum in South Africa. The model negotiates for a synergic or integrated arrangement between formal STEM curriculum and IKS in terms of using IKS to interrogate, complement, and consolidate the contents and pedagogy of Westernised STEM education in higher education.