Analysis Of Decolonizing Methodologies By Linda Tuhiwai Smith

The aim of research is to accurately gather knowledge about something unknown; reflecting the outcomes in a non-judgmental manner. However, the ethical standards we strictly follow today didn’t exist in the pre-colonization era. The expedition by European countries in order to establish and expand their empire overseas has led to one of the most significant research area around the world, i.e. Colonialism or Imperialism. In the book “Decolonizing Methodologies” by Linda Tuhiwai Smith; she strictly questions about the legitimacy of the research done on the indigenous people by the colonizers of West with an emphasis on how the current descendants of the colonized people views ‘research’ as something degrading and disrespectful to them. Smith

The term post-colonialism belies the current condition for the colonized and falsely suggests colonialism has ended or disappeared. Decolonization will be—must be—a deliberate, enduring process of divesting colonial power.Post colonialism will only take effect when the indigenous people will once again restore their honor, unique cultural practices and spiritual belief systems which are mostly questioned and rendered insignificant. The theories and stories spread by the Western colonization are so dominantly rooted that it is impossible for Maori traditional knowledge to overthrow Western knowledge; so the attempt currently made by the Kaupapa Maori researchers to ‘co-exist’ with the Western perspective. Although one challenge faced by Kaupapa Maori is the attitude and feelings held by the Maori people towards research due to which they prefer the term ‘project’ rather than research, where a culturally safe research by the indigenous people is essential to legitimize Maori language and culture. Research is highly institutionalized, so it’s difficult to articulate a large-scale decolonizing agenda let alone execute it. Simply put, self-determination requires indigenous peoples’ active