Are We There Yet? Silencing Research Methods and Indigenous Peoples in Contemporary Criminology

Abstract

<jats:p> A decade ago, research empirically established that there is a dearth of criminological research on “Indigenous peoples in the criminal legal context of settler-colonial societies” published in elite criminology journals and that the scarce number of published studies primarily employs “silencing research methods” although mainstream criminologists generally prefer non-silencing research methods. Since the hyperincarceration of Indigenous peoples continues and publications on the topic remain scarce, this study set out to verify whether anything has changed over the past decade (2011–2020) with regard to the use of silencing research methods. The findings reveal that when criminologists address the topic Indigenous peoples in the criminal legal context of settler-colonial societies, the use of non-silencing research methods has increased overall, but it is not yet on par with their general use by criminologists and when compared to their use with other hyperincarcerated populations, i.e., African and Hispanic Americans. Also, Indigenous people in the United States face increased silencing. The study concludes that small, non-linear inroads have been made toward ending the discriminatory use of non-silencing research methods with the understanding that the use of such methods alone is insufficient for research to be considered non-silencing or even decolonising. </jats:p>