Considerations for Indigenous Scholarship within Anti-Racist Research

Racism and white supremacy are embedded within social work research, as within all aspects of western society. Recent events have led to increased calls for anti-racist scholarship in our field. In this roundtable, we consider the role of Indigenous peoples, knowledges, values, and practices within a framework of anti-racist social work research and the adequacy of anti-racism as a framework for Indigenous research and scholarship. Anti-racist and decolonizing efforts share some fundamental approaches including a focus on systems and structures; research intended to inform social action; and shared histories and violence among racialized groups. However, anti-racism alone does not adequately address settler colonialism, sovereignty, land, and decolonization or indigenization. Erasure and invisibility of Indigenous people and their knowledges are features that can distinguish racism against Indigenous communities from antiblackness and other forms of racism and will be discussed. We aim to highlight aspects of decolonizing and Indigenist research that are not fully articulated in most anti-racist research frameworks. Frameworks that will be discussed include decolonizing methodologies, the Indigenist Research Paradigm, and Insurgent Research. Four Indigenous scholars will facilitate this roundtable, drawing on our own unique experiences and communities. After positioning ourselves in relationship to these topics, we will facilitate a dialogue guided by the following questions: (1) What is the role of settler colonialism in the racialization of Indigenous peoples and is an anti-racism framework adequate for achieving equity in research with Indigenous communities? (2) How are racialized, settler colonial concepts embedded in social work research and scholarship? (3) What are the challenges Indigenous scholars face to achieving benchmarks of success in academic and other institutions? and (4) What are decolonizing and Indigenist research approaches and how are they implemented in research? Our goal is to encourage the utilization of an intersectional approach to developing anti-racist research agendas that include settler colonialism and decolonization. We will offer recommendations for individuals and institutions that support Indigenous scholarship and address settler colonialism and decolonization to advance anti-racist research. We will conclude with an arts-based activity that invites participants to imagine and visualize Indigenist futures in our social work institutions. As settler colonialism is a persistent structure effecting communities of all minoritized identities, the knowledge and skills learned in this roundtable are certain to have applications across populations and practices. This roundtable is well suited for the theme of this year's conference by offering and imagining solutions to the complex problems of racism and inequity in our approaches to research and scholarship.