talena atfield

Dr. Talena Atfield
Professor, History
> Canada Research Chair, Tentewatenikonhra'khánion

Dr. Talena Atfield’s work to restore and regenerate Hodinohso:ni cultural knowledges starts with the title of her Canada Research Chair: Tentewatenikonhra’khánion, which translates to “We Will Put Our Minds Together.”

Based in Ohswé:ken (Six Nations of the Grand River,) Atfield’s project works to indigenize research methodologies through community inclusion, focusing on the strengths of each participant and how they work together. “My work acknowledges that there are no ‘experts,’ rather we all have knowledge we can share, and in this way, we are decentring colonial interpretation,” she says. 

In line with this approach, all research activities are driven by the wants and needs identified by members of the community.

“It’s important to be up front and honest about who I am and what we are doing,” says Atfield about her relational approach. “Although I am a member of the community, I am also entering the space as a researcher so it’s important to prioritize making space for community members. There is still a lingering distrust because of the kind of academic extraction that's happened in the past — so building trust is important.”

Trust is built by inviting community members to co-lead all stages of the project. “My intention is to help everyone occupy the space so that we're all able to use our strengths.” 

The research happens through community storytelling circles and crafting workshops, such as hide tanning and basket making. Importantly, these engagements also constitute the research outputs, recorded specifically for community use. 

Atfield explains that early 20th-century anthropologists, such as F.W. Waugh at Six Nations, extracted material and cultural information under the “salvage ethnography” paradigm — believing they were preserving the culture. “But part of their research was to interpret as though there is a singular and accessible truth about our culture.”  

This is the authoritative narrative Atfield seeks to decolonize. “My goal isn’t to interpret. My goal is to look together as a community at the way that we did and do things in Hodinohso:ni communities. It’s very much a group discussion about how our history interacts with the present, and how we might take it into the future. A lot of different and surprising perspectives emerge that you wouldn't get using colonial expert-based approaches.”