ABSTRACT

At the beginning of the twenty-first century the need for Indigenous voices in ethnography and ethnobiology is greater than ever, due increasing ethical concerns over balance of power in research, and for the improved reliability of ethnographic data. The challenge is to create a space for Indigenous research and researchers within academia, while also working on meaningful, useful and ethical research with the Indigenous Peoples with whom my research takes place. Collaborative ethnography is a paradigm of research described by Lassiter. It focuses on the importance of collaboration between the researcher and the “subjects” in an attempt to disrupt the traditional view of studying “the other”. The encouragement for researchers to collaborate and interact on equal ground with “subjects,” proposed by the proponents of collaborative ethnography, is based on the premise of being honest and vulnerable to improve the accuracy of research.