A further decolonization of the Indigenous research paradigm : a 7-direction medicine wheel Indigenous research model

Abstract

This document details the research that I conducted in partial fulfillment of the Master of Arts in Women and Gender Studies program, provided by Saint Mary's University and Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I used a Two-Eyed Seeing approach to further decolonize the existing Indigenous Research Paradigm, being inclusive of intersectional Indigenous communities' unique identities by engaging in story-acts with Indigenous storytellers from Mi'kma'ki, and using meaning making as a method of analysis through my own intersectional Mi'kmaw cultural identity. I developed two grand-tour questions to help focus the story-acts in response to this project: What kind of research projects have you participated in previously and what do you wish the researchers knew before they approached you? And how do you identify yourself? I developed a new research model, and a tool for Mi'kmaw community use, for future research projects.