Decolonizing Research Methodology
From 1860 to 1978 entire generations of Native American children were removed from their families and placed in government or church-run boarding schools. Through an anonymous survey, boarding school survivors, descendants of boarding school survivors, and foster care survivors or adoptees were able to share their stories of child removal and it’s lasting effects. This is the first broad-based survey that provides boarding school survivors and their descendants the opportunity to document the intergenerational impacts of their experiences. The survey includes both quantitative and qualitative questions regarding the age they were removed from their homes, their memories from that time, and the effects into their adult life. This research has been rooted in a decolonizing research approach that centers Native values such as spirituality, reflection, and community-based interactions. This poster will present a method for thematic analysis of qualitative data within a decolonizing interpretive approach. This is a collaborative effort between Sam Torres at the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, Sandy WhiteHawk at the First Nations Reparation Institute, and Maggie Greenleaf, Sara Axtell, Carolyn Liebler, and Chris Mann at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.