Learning About: Indigenous Research Methodologies
This past summer, 10 undergraduate and graduate student researchers from UW Bothell, Seattle, and Tacoma were selected to participate in the Summer Institute in Indigenous Humanities (SIIH). The institute provides training and support to undergraduate students and community partners undertaking humanities research in American Indian and Indigenous Studies. The one-week, in-person program introduces students to Indigenous research methodologies through workshops on archival and historiographic work, information literacy, digital humanities, archival sovereignty and data sovereignty, as well as other creative- and practice-based approaches.
As part of the 2026 program, students worked with the teaching team to design a collaborative research project in Indigenous Humanities. Students will present their research projects at a symposium later in the 2026-2027 academic year.
“I attended the UW MLIS program primarily because of my interest in how archives and libraries can leverage knowledge organization and ethics to support Tribal Sovereignty and correct centuries of misinformation about Indigenous communities. Attending SIIH was an incredible experience to explore how academic and community networks can strengthen collaboration toward innovative and ethical stewardship of Indigenous histories. I am grateful I got this opportunity to meet and learn from leaders in the LIS field who are working to creatively challenge what’s possible for the future of libraries at UW and beyond.” – Gem Bravo, UW grad student and SIIH fellow.
Since its inception in 2022, the program location has rotated between Seattle and Tacoma campuses. This year, the program took place at various Seattle campus locations, including: Suzzallo Library and Special Collections, The Burke Museum, UW iSchool, UW School of Music and UW American Indian Studies.
The use of multiple campus locations is an important feature of the Institute as each setting provides context for Indigenous research questions within physical spaces such as libraries, archives, museums, collections, and cultural heritage projects where Indigenous knowledge resources are in practice.
Students had the opportunity to learn from a wide range of Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars, librarians, archivists, museum professionals and community-based practitioners from the UW community as well other programs from Washington and out-of-state institutions*.
The research emphasis of the program can shift from year-to-year depending on the faculty co-organizers, which this year included John Vallier, Curator for the Ethnomusicology Archives, UW Libraries; Affiliate Assistant Professor, Ethnomusicology, School of Music.
“Some students came into the institute thinking of an archive as a collection of historical information that is simply there for researchers to use. Over the course of the week, they began to see archives as places shaped by relationships, power and responsibility,” said Vallier. “They began to think about the core questions embedded within Indigenous research methodologies in terms of responsibilities and representation. Those are really important questions for anyone who is going to work with cultural materials.”
What are Indigenous research methodologies and approaches?
Indigenous research methodologies are ways of doing research that center Indigenous sovereignty and knowledge systems. A core assertion of Indigenous research methodologies is that Indigenous Peoples and communities are best positioned to determine research questions, goals, and objectives related to their communities; this is a significant shift away from research conducted “on” or “about” Indigenous peoples by outside researchers, and an intentional shift toward research conducted “with,” “by,” and “for” Indigenous Peoples.
It can involve how they define the research question, who participates, how knowledge is interpreted, who controls it and what responsibilities accompany the research. An example of Indigenous-led and Indigeneity-centered research questions may include (but are not limited to):
- Who has the right to conduct this research?
- Who owns or controls the knowledge?
- Who should have access to it?
- Who benefits from the research?
- What responsibilities does the researcher have to the Tribes, families, and communities involved? What do they consider important?
- What are the kinds of information and knowledge that should not be collected or publicly circulated?
- How should relationships continue after the research project ends?
The Summer Institute in Indigenous Humanities (SIIH) is one of several programs created by and offered through the Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies (CAIIS), whose “mission is to support American Indian, Alaska Native, and Indigenous students, faculty, staff, and communities through scholarship, research, teaching, learning, and mentorship that strengthens and builds relationships among the UW and Tribes, First Nations, and other Indigenous peoples.” (see https://caiis.uw.edu/about/)
If you are interested in applying for the 2027 program, or other (CAIIS) programs, contact [email protected]
2026 SIIH Co-Organizers*
- Jessica Bissett Perea (Dena’ina), Associate Professor, Frank L. and Catherine D. Doleshy Endowed Professorship, American Indian Studies, UW
- Sandy Littletree (Navajo/Eastern Shoshone), Assistant Professor, Joe and Jill McKinstry Endowed Faculty Fellow in Native North American Indigenous Knowledge, Information School, UW
- John Vallier, Curator for the Ethnomusicology Archives, UW Library; Affiliate Assistant Professor, Ethnomusicology, School of Music.
2026 SIIH Guest Faculty/Instructors*
- Justice McNeeley (Iñupiaq), Repatriation Manager, Burke Museum
- Holly Barker, Curator of Oceanic and Asian Culture, Burke Museum; Teaching Professor, Sociocultural Anthropology, UW
- Toelau Ronalei Gasetoto (Samoan), PhD Student, Sociocultural Anthropology, UW
- Rachael Lyne Gurwan Tamngin (Waqab [Yap]), PhD Student, Sociocultural Anthropology, UW
- Laurel Sercombe, Curator Emeritus for the Ethnomusicology Archives, UW Library; Retired Affiliate Assistant Professor, Ethnomusicology, UW
- Jill tsisqʷux̌ʷaʔł LaPointe (Upper Skagit/Nooksack), Senior Director, Indigenous Peoples Institute, Associate Clinical Professor, Seattle University; Director of Lushootseed Research
- Jennifer O’Neal (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde), Assistant Professor, Department of Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies, University of Oregon
- Lotus Norton-Wisla, Community Outreach Archivist, Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries
- Sena Crow (Yup’ik and Athabascan), DEIA & Student Engagement librarian, UW Bothell
- Alex Soto (Tohono O’odham Nation), Director, Labriola National American Indian Data Center, Arizona State University Library
- Vina Begay (Diné Nation), Assistant Librarian and Archivist, Labriola National American Indian Data Center, Arizona State University
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