ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes the use of the craft-design-art of textiles as metaphors to develop novel methodological approaches to design research. By delinking Indigenous knowledge from the colonial matrix of power, we discuss collective approaches with/by/for Indigenous communities in Mexico and Aotearoa New Zealand: Jolobil and Mahi-toi. Originated from Mayan practice of Jolobil (backstrap loom weaving) from the highlands of Chiapas, this research approach interweaves decolonial theory, visual-digital-sensorial ethnography, textiles as resistance and co-design towards community well-being as a decolonizing alternative to design research. Pivotal to this approach, was the understanding of mahi-toi from Māori people in Aotearoa. On the other side of the Mexican Pacific, across Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, mahi-toi as arts and the production of arts is the space where concepts emerge in the physical realm supporting a dialogue between practice and theory becoming an important scaffolding for the creation of theoretical frameworks. In these spaces from the Global South, we weave concepts through live action of care (manaakitanga), mutual support (tautoko), aroha and corazonar as fundamental for Indigenous peoples aligning with both authors’ worldviews surpassing academic protocols and expectations.
