Prior to working with Indigenous communities and people, it is important to educate yourself as much as you can on who your partners are, their history with colonization, and any other resources provided, as ignorant statements can often come across as threatening and/or harmful. Being open minded to more than one knowledge system and way of seeing the world is also key to respecting all involved.;
Definitions
For those working with Indigenous communities or universities, it is important to understand a few key definitions, as well as to take the time to learn about the community (who may inform you of specific terms to use or not use in their community). This helps to prevent ongoing colonization and trauma in partnering with Indigenous communities and people. We have compiled a list of key terms that you should be aware of:
Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous communities, Peoples, Tribes, and Nations are those which, having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing on those territories, or parts of them. They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined to preserve, develop and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social institutions and legal system (Cobo, 1983).
Indigenous languages and lands
Indigenous Peoples identify closely with their languages.
If you want to know whose Indigenous lands you are living on, visit the Native Land website and put in your address (not all of the world is mapped yet).
Indigenous communities
In Alaska, a community is often called an Indigenous community if it is where an Indigenous Tribe or Nation is located or if many Indigenous people live there. For example, on the map there is a community named Brevig Mission, Alaska. This community is the location for the Native Village of Brevig Mission, which is a federally recognized Tribe in the U.S. However, Tribal members of the Native Village of Brevig Mission live there as well as non-Tribal members and non-Indigenous people. This distinction is more common in the U.S. than other areas. For example, those living in the city of Iqaluit, the capital of the territory of Nunavut in Canada, are mostly Inuit. However, the city is referred to as Iqaluit. The important takeaway is that if you are partnering with a community in the Arctic, those living there will likely be both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, but there may be an Indigenous majority.
Indigenous Knowledge
Indigenous Knowledge is complex. It is based on millennia of observations, temporal and place-based, living, kinship-based, and wholistic - with an added “w” to emphasize that it wholly encompasses all things, covering all areas of human life such as medicine, culture, and spirituality, as well as extensive knowledge of ecology. It is sometimes referred to as Traditional Knowledge, Indigenous Science, or by other names as well. Make sure to ask the community you are in about which word is correct to use in their area. Read more:
Colonization and Settler colonialism
Colonization and Settler colonialism are intricately tied together. Read more:
Colonization is a historic and ongoing process through which foreigners come to a new land and impose their economic, political, social, and cultural systems on the people in the new land. It typically involves the subjugation and exploitation of the Indigenous people living there to benefit the newly established colonial power.
Settler colonialism is a specific form of colonization where the colonizers seek to settle permanently on the new land they have occupied. This process displaces and marginalizes the Indigenous people to make way for settlers to establish their own communities and societies. This colonialism leads to long-term control and dominance of the Indigenous people, their lands, and resources.
The Doctrine of Discovery was the principle used by European colonizers starting in the 1400s in order to stake claim to lands beyond the European continent. The doctrine gave them the right to claim land that was deemed vacant for their nation. Land was considered terra nullius (vacant land) if it had not yet been occupied by Christians. Such vacant lands could be defined as “discovered” and as a result sovereignty, title and jurisdiction could be claimed. In doing so the Doctrine of Discover invalidated the sovereignty of Indigenous nations and gave Christians the right to subjugate and confiscate the lands of Indigenous Peoples.
Indigenous sovereignty and rights of Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous sovereignty is inherent, as it existed prior to colonization. It is the rights of Indigenous Peoples to govern themselves, make their own decisions, and control their own lands, resources, cultural practices, and fates.
The United Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), recognized the urgent need to respect and promote the inherent rights of indigenous peoples which derive from their political, economic and social structures and from their cultures, spiritual traditions, histories and philosophies, especially their rights to their lands, territories and resources, and the urgent need to respect and promote the rights of indigenous peoples affirmed in treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements with States.
One section in UNDRIP that has been called out in research discussions is the issue of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent, which is important to understand when partnering with Indigenous communities. Free means that consent can be given without coercion, prior means that people have the right to consent prior to something happening, and informed means that people understand what they are consenting to.
Regional Colonial Policy context
Indigenous Peoples across the Arctic have lived in their home areas for millennia prior to the arrival of colonizing societies. Colonizers gave these lands names like Canada, the United States of America, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.
However, Indigenous Peoples have their own names for these lands. Some Indigenous names have been translated into English, like Turtle Island, referring to North America. The Inuit in Alaska and Canada call their land Inuit Nunaat (translated to the peoples’ land). The Kalaallit (Inuit) in Greenland call their land Kalaallit Nunaat (again, the peoples’ land). The Sami people refer to their lands as Sapmi. There are many Indigenous Peoples across Russia who have names for their lands as well. These are just a few examples of the many Indigenous names for their lands.
Learn more about the policies around colonization in each of the regions. Note, that for countries with English not spoken as a first language, there are much more extensive sources in the colonizing language (Greenland information in Danish, Russian information Russian, and the same with the Scandinavian countries):
General understanding of history, culture, and Indigenous Knowledge
To learn about the history of the Peoples/community you are working with and build relationships, we suggest reading these key texts:
Understand more about Indigenous families (from a US context):
Academic considerations
Types of institutions, located in the communities or teaching Indigenous people: universities, colleges, Tribal Colleges and universities (TCUs), high schools, university rural campuses, online remote courses
Structure of academic year: Academic years may be in semesters or quarters. Some institutions have a May term or January term where there is one class taken over a few week period. Institutions in areas where Indigenous people practice subsistence living may have a schedule around the subsistence calendar (hunting, fishing, and gathering seasons).
Class composition: In most universities, colleges, and TCUs, not all students are Indigenous. In community high schools, all students may be Indigenous.
Reading list
We have created a reading list which we consider to be essential prior to working with Indigenous Peoples and their communities. The reading list is host to important definitions and understanding of Indigenous Peoples, their communities, history, culture and Indigenous Knowledge: