Lost in Epistemic Translation

This commentary examines how research unfolds across diverse knowledge systems that depend on epistemic translation: the work of carrying meaning between different ways of knowing. Grounded in fieldwork at the interfaces between Indigenous and non-Indigenous firms in the Arctic, it traces the challenges of translation that run through the research process, from study design to analysis and coding. Translating between knowledge systems is never neutral: when concepts are forced into analytic categories that do not quite fit, taking epistemic shortcuts may leave hidden consequences behind. The commentary instead calls for epistemic translation to be made visible, relational, and built into research timelines. In doing so, it reframes methodological rigour as ethical and accountable translation, particularly for non-Indigenous scholars working with Indigenous and place-based knowledge.