While Sleeter (2016) was able to find a wider variety of documents such as wills and property records to trace more specifically how she benefitted financially from the dispossession of Indigenous lands, I was not able to do that in the time available.
This action research self-study has been tremendously beneficial to my understanding of the social and political context of the history of my family's presence in Canada. Indigenist research requires that non-Indigenous researchers acknowledge their own privilege and role in research projects involving Indigenous people, and this model is profoundly impactful in revealing the truth of the ongoing colonisation of Indigenous lands. This process should be mandatory for any non-Indigenous person engaging in research in Indigenous contexts.
I feel much more confident in my understanding of my role in Indigenist research and commit to carry this knowledge forward in challenging my fellow settlers to engage in the same exploration and to always work towards reconciliation and Indigenous resurgence and self-determination.
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