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In mid-May, amidst a late-season snow storm in Pray, MT, together with Drs. Joe Gone, Melissa Walls, and our colleagues at Partners for Advancing Health Equity, we convened an intimate gathering of Indigenous scholars to delve into the promise of Indigenous ways of knowing for transforming conventional research methods in the health sciences. As Dr. Gone shared, it was a “delight to pull together about 16 of our colleagues throughout academia and the health sciences who engage in research that aims to better the well-being of our people.” Dr. Walls went on to share, “So I've been doing research with mostly American Indian and First Nations communities for 20 years. And consistently over the years, the number one message that we get and that we try to promote is that our culture is the pathway to healing, that our ways of knowing will free us from all of these health inequities that we face. But we're constantly struggling against these dominant systems that minimize the value of our knowledges and our culture. So, to convene a group to get to talk about Indigenous ways of knowing, to explore how we can revitalize those and support those efforts within communities was really compelling.” The experience was transformative, and led to a collective desire for continued engagement on this important and potentially field-changing topic.
Fortunately, everyone participating in the Ways of Knowing Symposia Closing Event in November will have an opportunity to learn from and engage with participants from the Indigenous Ways of Knowing Symposium. In the meantime, we are looking forward to the next Ways of Knowing Symposium, Transforming Community-Led Health Research, co-organized with Joy Williams of Hope to Thrive and Charisse Iglesias of Community Campus Partnerships for Health.
Stay tuned!
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