Indigenous research is not about 'studying' but 'relating'. Let's think of it this way - when you make a new friend, do you research them or do you get to know them through your relationship? Exactly! The Indigenous approach is similar, the process of gaining knowledge is about building a relationship with the topic at hand.

Examples: You remember your favorite teacher not because you read a biography about them, but because you interacted with them, learned from them, and formed a relationship. Similarly, Indigenous researchers form relationships with their subject matter to truly understand it.

It's all about who's got the power. Imagine creating your own computer game. As the designer, you have the power to create the characters, the storyline, and the rules. You decide what's important and what isn't. This is what Irwin means when he says real power lies with those who design the tools.

Examples: Just like the inventor of TikTok controls what features it has and how it's used, the researchers who design research methodologies have the power to decide what knowledge gets produced and recognized.

Imagine if your friends just observed you instead of interacting with you. Weird, right? That's how Indigenous Peoples have been treated in traditional academic research – like objects to be studied rather than people with knowledge to share. This is what Smith means when she says Indigenous Peoples have historically been reduced to objects of study.

Examples: It's like studying a bird in a cage versus studying it in its natural habitat. The first doesn't give a complete picture of the bird's life and behaviors.

Much of the knowledge and technologies Indigenous Peoples developed over millennia were taken by Western science and treated as property of the West. Picture it like this - if you paint a beautiful picture and someone else takes it, hangs it in their house, and claims they made it. Unfair, right?

Examples: Like the ancient practice of yoga from India being commercialized and repackaged in the West without due credit to its cultural origins.