PhD workshop, Tampere University (Finland), 25-26 November 2022.

When Shawn Wilson (Opaskwayak Cree) wrote the precursor to his much celebrated book on Indigenous methodologies, he stated that the dominant paradigms of research build on the fundamental belief that knowledge is individual; it is produced by individuals, disseminated by individuals, and thus owned by individuals (Wilson 2001).

In contrast, an Indigenous methodology assumes that knowledge is relational. It is collectively shared and gained, and thus knowledge can never be individually owned or discovered. How research is performed within an Indigenous paradigm is as such fundamentally different. Nevertheless, Indigenous ways of knowing (epistemologies), of being (ontologies) and of doing (methodologies) have historically been silenced by a Eurocentrification of knowledge; the normative academic theories and practices thus ignore, marginalize and exclude other than dominant Western European epistemic and intellectual traditions. The Sámi scholar Rauna Kuokkanen has conceptualized this silencing as epistemic ignorance (Kuokkanen 2008).

Challenging this ignorance, “Indigenous Methodologies and Creative Practices” recentres the fundament of research by asserting the significance and application of values, practices, and knowledge systems – or ways of knowing, being, and doing. Rethinking how we approach the world and move through it, this course takes as its entry point the creative practice of beading. Similar to many Indigenous communities, Sámi practices of beading take part in a sophisticated
system of knowledge – relating to aspects of ancestral knowledge, ethics, religion, practices and more. By slowly learning how to bead, the students are encouraged to connect with an Indigenous paradigm finding ways of being in, reflecting about, and interacting with the world.

The course will be held at Tampere University, Finland on 25-26 November 2022. It is open to all interested PhD researchers, but students based at Finnish universities will be prioritized. The number of participants is limited to 15.

The workshop will be taught by Dr. Liisa-Rávná Finbog (Tampere University), with the participation of Prof. Britt Kramvig (UiT The Arctic University of Norway) and Prof. Johannes Riquet (Tampere University).

Please apply by sending an e-mail to Liisa-Rávná Finbog (liisa-ravna.finbog@tuni.fi) and include a brief explanation of why you would like to participate in the workshop. The deadline for applications is 25 October 2022. You will be notificied of acceptance or rejection by 27 October. The workshop is free of charge.