Indigenous Perspectives on Genealogical Research

Dear colleagues,

For most Indigenous peoples, genealogy entails complex layers of dynamic relationships between humans, the environment and the spirit realms. These relationships often lie at the heart of traditional knowledge systems and the intergenerational transmission of mythology, legend, history, esoteric knowledge, customs and protocols for ethical behaviour. The collective genealogies that underpin contemporary expressions of Indigenous identity thus reach far beyond ancestral lineage to include creation stories; the heroic deeds of gods and demi-gods; relationships with land, water, plants, animals and cycles of nature; and imaginings of future descendants alongside memories of past ancestors. At the same time, the evolving context of Indigenous genealogies means that they are inherently dynamic and fluid; genealogy does not exist as a self-reinforcing body of knowledge in sequential time waiting to be ‘discovered’ in archives and registries. The interplay with new technologies such as DNA testing and the use of genealogies to buttress (and often contest) negotiations with Governments relating to ancestral lands also reminds us of the political nature of genealogy and genealogical remembering. Indigenous peoples continue to find ways to enhance and enable genealogical knowledge to tell our stories, to reflect our traditonal and contemporary values, and operate as signifcant cultural frameworks relevant to our collective identities past and present. 

In this special issue of Genealogy we invite Indigenous scholars from any discipline to submit essays on the topic ‘Indigenous perspectives on Genealogical Research’. The call to Indigenous scholars is deliberate. The production of knowledge about Indigenous peoples has a long and fraught history. Through ‘scientific’ practices of observation and documentation, Indigenous peoples and knowledge systems came to be ‘discovered’ and made legibile to others, initially through the writings of early travellers, explorers and scientists, and later through Government and academic research. Constitutive of colonial hierarchies of knowledge,  these processes and practices positioned non-Indigenous peoples as the credible knowers of all things Indigenous, purporting to ‘know’ us better than we knew ourselves. It is against the backdrop of ongoing colonialism that this special issue issue provides a purposeful space for the distillation of Indigenous worldviews and diverse methodological approaches to genealogical research.

Some potential areas of focus may include the following, although other submissions are welcome and encouraged:

• Indigenous genealogical theories and methodologies
• Examples of how genealogical research is being undertaken to advance the aspirations of Indigenous communities and organisations
• The politics of DNA testing and other new technologies being used to claim Indigenous identity, and the tensions with Indigenous understandings of kinship and belonging
• The relationships between Indigenous identity, ancestry, land and/or the spiritual realms
• The relationships between genealogy and language, particularly the deep cultural, linguistic, and ontological roots that can be expressed through the genealogy and histories of words, names, and native terms and idioms.
• How processes of collective memory-making occur and are given meaning within Indigenous families and communities
• Practices and approaches of tribal, clan and family population reconstitution

Prof. Dr. Tahu Kukutai
Dr. Nepia Mahuika
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Genealogy is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• kinship
• collective memory
• decolonizing methodologies
• oral tradition
• oral history
• indigenous histories and epistemologies
• indigenous data sovereignty