A critical Indigenist approach to ethnic migrant health research: the application of an African philosophy

This article presents the conceptualisation and application of a critical Indigenist methodology founded in Ubuntu (an African philosophy). Methodologies founded in Indigenous knowingness are robust, offering a transformative approach to research and an alternative lens to understand the experiences of minoritised communities affected by the legacies of western research and continue to experience the harmful impacts of colonisation. This methodology is a novel contribution to Indigenous epistemology that privileges all aspects of being Indigenous, creating space for Indigenous theorising for, by and with Indigenous migrant communities residing on the lands of other Indigenous Peoples in a colonial context. The grounding of this work in the values of Ubuntu and te ao Māori (the Māori (the Indigenous Peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand) world), in collaboration with Indigenous African migrants, enabled an in-depth understanding of their lived realities with neurodiversity. Diverse philosophies and theories can collectively be applied to advance decolonising research for and with minoritised communities.