Practices of Storytelling and Indigenous Epistemologies

Practices of storytelling are vital to the creation and transformation of Indigenous concepts and ideas, and vital to understanding and enabling Indigenous forms of philosophical inquiry. Oral narratives, weaving, carving, and other artforms such as, for instance, architecture, song, and dance both contain and enable philosophical inquiry. What is more, creative artforms remain sites of struggle, resistance, and reclaiming of Indigenous philosophies for many Indigenous communities around the world – holding space for traditional and contemporary ideas to be reimagined and renewed.

In this workshop, we explore the role of storytelling (broadly understood) in Indigenous knowledge. We also ask what the academic discipline of philosophy (and the philosophers therein) might gain from better understanding these practices. To that end, we ask questions such as: What is the function of storytelling in Indigenous knowledge? Do practices of storytelling necessarily clash with other (more dominant) knowledge practices? What would it take to reconcile the deep differences between them fairly? What would it take for the academic discipline to include (and enable) diverse methods of inquiry (such as storytelling)? What limits, if any, are there to how non-indigenous philosophers use Indigenous knowledge-making practices such as stories in their work? And, what ethical and trust-based issues arise at the intersections of Indigenous storytelling and mainstream scientific practice?