Abstract
The production of research is integral for gaining the knowledge and understanding to interpret the phenomena that occurs in everyday life. Historically, both research and knowledge have been under the control of the West while at the same time marginalizing minority groups. Attempts by members of minority groups to participate in producing knowledge has been ignored, discredited, and met with resistance by powerful dominant groups. Standpoint theory, from the perspective of Sandra Harding, supports the notion of strong objectivity, or the idea that the standpoint of oppressed and/or marginalized peoples is necessary to create a more objective understanding of the world. Minority groups like Indigenous intellectuals have begun to write about topics of interest to them including their histories, cultures, and accounts of injustice by following specific Indigenous research agendas and methodologies. Linda Tuhiwai Smith's Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples is a book about promoting Indigenous Peoples to undertake research, the prevention of the dying of Indigenous peoples, and countering Western knowledge and ideas about Indigenous peoples and culture. Smith introduces 25 Indigenous projects designed to heal, restore Indigenous cultures, self-determination, and social justice. The projects also encourage researchers to use them in an Indigenous research agenda. I used content analysis to analyze 35 written and electronic sources by Indigenous intellectuals focusing on the issue of environmental racism, a subject of much importance for Indigenous peoples, by investigating the extent the Indigenous projects appear in each source. The analysis of environmental racism demonstrated two important aspects of the Indigenous projects, memories of injustice and healing. This indicates the importance of Smith's contribution to furthering Indigenous knowledge. However, the differences in length and the scope of discussion of the sources had a direct impact on the findings of the projects.
Advisor
Paul Prew
Committee Member
Luis Posas
Committee Member
Rhonda Dass
Date of Degree
2013
Language
english
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Arts (MA)
College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Egger, G. (2013). The Empire Writes Back: Environmental Racism & Indigenous Projects [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/295/
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