A White Australian professor of a class on Indigenous women's dance has her Aboriginal sister-in-law conduct workshops on Indigenous dance. The classroom dynamics resulting from the complex power relationships (teacher as White woman, Aboriginal family member, and students) disturbs Western paradigms. The responsibility of "safely delivering"…

A 56-year-old Canada Native took a college course on Australian Indigenous approaches to knowledge. He observed that initially many students were hindered by their past experience with linear paradigms of structured academic processes. Eventually they let their minds access spirit and feeling in addition to thought, allowing a recall of life…

The Purga Elders Centre in Queensland (Australia) is an Aboriginal-owned meeting place where Aboriginal culture and history are lived and passed on. Research conducted there is based on Indigenous Knowledge Research (IKR), which is grounded in Indigenous realities and approaches knowledge only through respect for Indigenous epistemologies. Twenty…

Spiritual experience is a taboo topic within Western institutions of higher learning. The silencing of this integral aspect of Indigenous people's lives often results in research findings that are inaccurate, incomplete, and invalid. Indigenous scholars are speaking out about how they integrate their spirituality into formal academic research,…

Indigenous knowledge is a living, breathing concept and must be treated with care and respect. This living knowledge is transmitted orally. At the University of Queensland (Australia), the Torres Strait Islander Studies course was taught in the Indigenous way, and elders were involved throughout, from formatting the course outline to the running…