Msit No'kmaq: An Exploration of Positionality and Identity in Indigenous Research

• Main Authors: Erica Samms Hurley, Margot Jackson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: York University Libraries 2020-06-01
• Series: Witness
• Subjects: Identity; Positionality; Indigenous research; Relational accountability; Relations
• Online Access: https://witness.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/default/article/view/43

In this paper I explore the Mi’kmaq words Mist No’kmaq, which can be translated as ‘all my relations’. Msit No'kmaq is not only at the center of who I am as a person, but also who I am becoming as a researcher. Reflecting on how to honor all my relations within research, has allowed me to explore my beliefs about research, thereby developing a clear understanding of the purpose and intentions of engaging in Indigenous research. Rather than seeing researchers as insiders or outsiders within the context of Indigenous communities, I argue that it is important to engage in reflexive processes that make visible a researcher’s positionality and who they are and are becoming.   *Keywords: Identity, positionality, Indigenous research, relations, relational accountability