The chapters in this volume collect together perspectives on Indigenous
epistemologies. These Indigenous ways of knowing pay particular
attention to the relational aspects of language, culture, and place.
They are not identified as specific themes, but as integrated parts of a
philosophy, for Indigenous epistemologies think within a relational
framework, so that all aspects are best understood from this
perspective. Indigenous ways of knowing have resisted colonization and
oppression, and as such, Indigenous research perspectives exemplify a
commitment to social justice, one that recovers knowledges that have
been silenced or subjugated. When such knowledge is shared, we can see
how to challenge oppressive regimes. We can see how to seek truth in a
relational way that's attendant to being together. Indigenous Research
takes up issues of social justice in a way that is informed by
Indigenous epistemologies, an important practice in contemporary
research, particularly qualitative inquiry.