Talk given to faculty members of Camarines Norte State College, organized by Ugnayang Pang-Aghamtao (UGAT/Anthropological Association of the Philippines) / July 2021 / via Zoom

1. UGAT-CNSC Ethnography Training
July 16, 2021 via Zoom
Methods of Collaboration:
Decolonizing Research
with Indigenous Peoples
Jessie G. Varquez, Jr.
jessie.varquez@dlsu.edu.ph

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3. Flow
METHODS OF COLLOBORATION
Research with Indigenous Peoples
POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION
The Case of the Igorot
DECOLONIZATION
What does this mean?
Image Source: Biblioteca Nacional de España

4. Politics of
Representation
The Case of the Igorot
Image Source: The Complete Portfolio of Photographs of the Worlds's Fair St Louis, 1904

6. Source: US .Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3c11771/)

7. Source: US .Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3c11769/)
"And then there is the
Philippine Exposition and
all those curious peoples
whom zealous scientists
have gone in search of to
the far corners of the earth
and brought to St. Louis
as “Anthropologicals” and
labeled interesting."
- Mrs. Charles Lusk,
1904 World's Fair visitor

8. Parezo, N. J., & Fowler, D. D. (2007). Anthropology goes to the fair: the
1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. University of Nebraska Press.

13. Source: https://interaksyon.philstar.com/lifestyle/2017/10/22/104686/from-whang-od-to-
bamboo-motorbikes-10-design-forward-presentations-at-the-66th-manila-fame/
"Tradition meets
contemporary at the
ongoing Manila
FAME at the World
Trade Center in
Pasay City, October
20 to 22." 2017

16. Decolonization
What does this mean?
Image Source: Biblioteca Nacional de España

17. Decolonization:
'Western' version
since at least mid-20th century,
anthropologists among others have been
calling for a decolonization of the discipline
rehistoricization of anthropology where the
privileged pedestal of the White Euro-
American cisgender heterosexual male is
shaken and displaced.
paying attention to structures of power and
control that emerged during colonialism and
continue into the present
Source: Kaur, R., & Klinkert, V. L. (2021). Decolonizing ethnographies.
HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory, 11(1), 246-255.

18. Image Source: Biblioteca Nacional de España
Decolonization:
'Philippine' version
Indigenization of the social sciences since the 1970s:
- Sikolohiyang Pilpino ni Virgilio Enriquez
- Pantayong Pananaw ni Zeus Salazar
- Pilipinolohiya ni Prospero Covarr
'the linguistic turn', thus "Aghamtao"
"Asianization of Anthropology"
This perspective to Asianize anthropology and the other
sciences was the logical consequence of the recognition
of the inadequacy of Western models, hypotheses and
theories. - Bennagen (1980)
Source: Bennagen, Poncianno L. 1980. “The Asianization of anthropology”. Asian Studies, 18: 1–26.

19. Image Source: Kroeber, A. L. (1919). Peoples of the Philippines (No. 8). American Museum Press.
Indigenization:
features and problems
The lack of creativity
Mimesis
Essentialism
The absence of subaltern voices
Alignment with the State
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Alatas, S. F. (2004). Indigenization: features and problems. In Asian anthropology (pp. 239-256). Routledge.

20. "... it is surely difficult to discuss research
methodology and indigenous peoples together,
in the same breath, without having an
analysis of imperialism, without
understanding the complex ways in which
the pursuit of knowledge is deeply
embedded in the multiple layers of imperial
and colonial practices."

21. anthropology, as a colonial science,
is most complicit in the classification
and framing of the 'Other'
"science of imperialism par excellence"
"we cannot do much to right the wrongs
of colonial pasts, yet we can be vigilant
about their lurking and unquestioned
presence, and confront them with all the
discomfort that entails." (Kaur & Klinkert 2021)

22. Methods of
Collaboration
Research with Indigenous Peoples

23. "What happens to research when the
researched become the researchers?"
Ethical Research Protocols
Community Research
Training Indigenous Researchers
Insider/Outsider Research
etcetera
[refer to Linda Tuhiwa Smith's
Decolonizing Methodologies]

24. Right to Self-Determination
IPRA's four bundle of rights
"The Indigenous Knowledge Systems
and Practices (IKSPs) and Customary
Laws (CLs) Research and
Documentation Guidelines of 2012"
(NCIP AO No. 1, s. 2012)
"The Revised Free and Prior Informed
Consent (FPIC) Guidelines of 2012"
(NCIP AO No. 3, s. 2012)
Source: NCIP Toolkit

25. Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and
Protection Plan (ADSDPP)

26. Source: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000259599_eng

29. SikolohiyangPilipinoas Indigenous Research Methods?
* from Maria Mangahas' handout on SP
Pakikitungo = civility
Pakikisalamuha = mixing
Pakikilahok = joining in
Pakikibagay = conformity
Pakikisama = actions signifying cooperation and getting along with others
Pakikipagpalagayang-loob = establishing mutual trust, rapport
Pakikisangkot = involvement
Pakikiisa = solidarity
Applications in research: Levels of social / interpersonal interaction
3 core values: Pakikipagkapwa, Pakikiramdam, Bahala na!

30. IndigenousResearchMethods
* from Maria Mangahas' handout on SP
Pakapa-kapa ￨Pagtanong-tanong
Pakikipagkwentuhan ￨Ginabayang talakayan
Nakikiugaling pagmamasid ￨Pagdalaw-dalaw
Pakikisama ￨Panunuluyan ￨Pakikipamuhay
Pakikipagkwentuhan ￨Pagpapakwento

31. SomePrinciples
* from Maria Mangahas' handout on SP
Research topics should be relevant to the people being studied.
The welfare and interests of research participants takes precedence.
The process of getting the data is as important as getting the data.
The research methodology should be appropriate to cultural norms; the method
is not disruptive; the method adjusts to the people.
Research participants may have an input in the process of research (e.g. time
management, structure of questions, interpretation) without being aware of it.
Researchers must possess pakikiramdam. (e.g., know how to ask personal
questions, when to leave, how to interpret “yes” and “no”)
The language of the people should be the language of the research. (~>learn the
language, or, tap local researchers).
Personal connections are established. (reciprocity, caring, sharing, solidarity)

32. A way of concluding: some questions to ponder
In conducting research with Indigenous Peoples of Camarines Norte,
what is our agenda?
In the research process, are we attentive to the 'structures of power and
control' that shape our framing and imagination of the 'Other'?
Are there synergies between our research agenda and Indigenous
Peoples' plight and rights? What methods of collaboration will take place?
"Who speaks for whom, where and how?"

33. UGAT-CNSC Ethnography Training
July 16, 2021 via Zoom
Methods of Collaboration:
Decolonizing Research
with Indigenous Peoples
Jessie G. Varquez, Jr.
jessie.varquez@dlsu.edu.ph