Whose Research Is It? Knowledge Creation With and for Adult Children of Survivors of the Genocide Against the Tutsi

Decolonial practices in bioanthropology have led to a shift toward intentional community engagement to inform the questions asked and the methods used, moving from "research on" to "research with". Specifically, in our work with survivors of the genocide against the Tutsi, we have grappled with how to develop contextually and culturally adequate research processes that prioritize community ways of knowing in the context of intense, widescale trauma and tragedy. In this self-reflexive narrative, we describe and reflect upon two stages of studies working with adult children of survivors of the genocide against the Tutsi. We provide the context of such work within the discipline of biological anthropology, and discuss the identities and relationships of the research team. The paper then shifts to a first-person narrative by the first author, the Rwandan insider/outsider leader of the project, describing its evolution from investigator-led observational quasi-experimental research into integrative community-based participatory research, detailing the ways in which engagement with the community has led to new questions and methodological approaches as the project continues to grow collaboratively. Rather than providing prescriptive guidelines for others committed to decolonizing their research programs, we use our experience to illustrate how such approaches necessarily vary across contexts and to highlight the importance of continued flexibility, reflexivity, and respect for community.