Talanoa has recently been taken up by development practitioners and others as an appropriate research method in Pacific contexts. However, there is a danger that talanoa is simply replacing „informal open-ended interviews‟ whilst glossing over its emotional and cultural complexity. Empathy is an intersubjective and embodied experience which is vital to ethnographic research in development contexts. In this presentation, I will explore talanoa as a culturally appropriate ethnographic Indigenous method in the Pacific. Talanoa has been defined as talking about nothing in particular, chat, or gossip and it is within the cultural milieu of talanoa that knowledge and emotions are shared. Those who write about talanoa as a Pacific research methodology describe talanoa as a holistic and embodied amalgamation of the emotions, knowledge, interests, and experiences between researcher and participant/s. For indigenous Fijians, values such as empathy, respect, love and humility are essential to the vanua as indigenous worldview. Talanoa is an embodied expression of the vanua concept. Highlighting the connection between talanoa and empathy is vital in ensuring development practitioners and other Pacific researchers are implicitly aware of the political dimensions, cultural appropriacy, and socio-ecological impact of their research methods. This connection is also critical in illuminating how the appropriate application of talanoa as method may decolonise research in the Pacific and contribute to empowering development policy and practice.
talanoa, empathy, decolonising methods, Pacific
Featured Resources
Robyn Williams (Noongar), Francine Eades (Noongar), Justine Whitby (Noongar Yamatji), Katiska Davis (Noongar), Christopher McKay (Wiradjuri), Lina Gubhaju, Sandra Eades (Noongar)
2024 | Australia
Indigenous research frameworks are key to enhancing cultural safety for participants, while facilitating capacity building for Indigenous researchers. Indigenous frameworks can address and balance out the potential harms of western research methods. This methodology article describes the experiences of an Indigenous research team in Western Australia (WA) and the developed…
Donna LM Kurtz, Julianne Barry, Peter Hutchinson, Karlyn Olsen, Diana Moar, Rosanna McGregor, Edna Terbasket, Carol Camille, Arlene Vrtar-Huot, Mary Cutts, Kelsey Darnay, Haley Cundy, Mariko Kage, Nikki McCrimmon, Cal Albright, Charlotte Jones
2024 | Canada
Indigenous methodology is a living methodology of doing research in a good way that honours respectful relationships with Indigenous Peoples and communities in which knowledge is co-created and ownership is shared. Guided by Indigenous methodologies, the Urban Indigenous Collective Governance Circle was co-developed for urban Indigenous health research. The Collective…
Adrian Teare, Anne Mease, Claudia Madampage, Alexandra King, Malcolm King
2024 | Canada
Historically, research partnerships between Indigenous communities and academic institutions were often harmful for communities; wise ways of achieving more balanced and just relationships are emerging. This project focuses on the research partnership between Grandmother’s Bay and the University of Saskatchewan with the objectives of providing knowledge on initiating Indigenous community-based…
Ranjan Datta, Teena Starlight (Tsuut’ina First Nation), Daniel Craig Mistaken (Kainai First Nation)
2024 | Canada
In this article, we explore the importance of incorporating Indigenous Elders’ perspectives in developing solutions to climate change. Following relational land-based theoretical frameworks, we learn from Indigenous Elders how they foster a strong sense of community and collective responsibility. Indigenous Elders prioritize inclusivity, social cohesion, and the interconnectedness of humans…
Featured Resources
Robyn Williams (Noongar), Francine Eades (Noongar), Justine Whitby (Noongar Yamatji), Katiska Davis (Noongar), Christopher McKay (Wiradjuri), Lina Gubhaju, Sandra Eades (Noongar)
2024 | Australia
Indigenous research frameworks are key to enhancing cultural safety for participants, while facilitating capacity building for Indigenous researchers. Indigenous frameworks can address and balance out the potential harms of western research methods. This methodology article describes the experiences of an Indigenous research team in Western Australia (WA) and the developed…
Donna LM Kurtz, Julianne Barry, Peter Hutchinson, Karlyn Olsen, Diana Moar, Rosanna McGregor, Edna Terbasket, Carol Camille, Arlene Vrtar-Huot, Mary Cutts, Kelsey Darnay, Haley Cundy, Mariko Kage, Nikki McCrimmon, Cal Albright, Charlotte Jones
2024 | Canada
Indigenous methodology is a living methodology of doing research in a good way that honours respectful relationships with Indigenous Peoples and communities in which knowledge is co-created and ownership is shared. Guided by Indigenous methodologies, the Urban Indigenous Collective Governance Circle was co-developed for urban Indigenous health research. The Collective…
Adrian Teare, Anne Mease, Claudia Madampage, Alexandra King, Malcolm King
2024 | Canada
Historically, research partnerships between Indigenous communities and academic institutions were often harmful for communities; wise ways of achieving more balanced and just relationships are emerging. This project focuses on the research partnership between Grandmother’s Bay and the University of Saskatchewan with the objectives of providing knowledge on initiating Indigenous community-based…
Ranjan Datta, Teena Starlight (Tsuut’ina First Nation), Daniel Craig Mistaken (Kainai First Nation)
2024 | Canada
In this article, we explore the importance of incorporating Indigenous Elders’ perspectives in developing solutions to climate change. Following relational land-based theoretical frameworks, we learn from Indigenous Elders how they foster a strong sense of community and collective responsibility. Indigenous Elders prioritize inclusivity, social cohesion, and the interconnectedness of humans…
