What's in a Name? Indigenist Standpoint Pedagogy Shakes up Our Settler-Colonial Academic Identities

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Bibliographic Details
Title: What's in a Name? Indigenist Standpoint Pedagogy Shakes up Our Settler-Colonial Academic Identities
Language: English
Authors: Nicola Wunderlich (ORCID 0000-0002-7995-0505), Peta Jeffries (ORCID 0000-0001-6302-0971), Sarina Kilham (ORCID 0000-0001-5234-2764), Wesley Ward (ORCID 0000-0003-2652-8439), Andrew Peters (ORCID 0000-0003-4938-2823), Catherine Allan (ORCID 0000-0003-2098-4759)
Source: Higher Education Research and Development. 2026 45(3):816-830.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 15
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Indigenous Populations, Research Universities, World Views, Perspective Taking, Indigenous Knowledge, Colonialism, Language Usage
Geographic Terms: Australia
DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2025.2552312
ISSN: 0729-4360
1469-8366
Abstract: We examine our positionalities and standpoint in relation to the gift of 'Gulbali ngurambang', a Wiradjuri name for an Australian University research institute, collaboratively exploring how to honour the name's ethics and philosophy in our individual research practices. Through Wakka Wakka Professor Jay Phillips' Indigenist Standpoint Pedagogical Framework (ISP), we reflexively critiqued our positionality, agency and individual responsibility for anticolonial practice. We argue that gift giving and receiving provides settler-colonial universities deep challenges and opportunities to enact meaningful change against harmful power and research practices centred on Western Colonial norms. ISP supported us to deconstruct social, cultural, historical, and institutional forces aiding reproduction of colonial knowledges and values, reinforcing cultural dominance and risking tokenism and 'blakwashing' when there is an ontological rift in accepting First Nations names that hold philosophical significance. We write from a position of individual vulnerability, critical self-reflection and as a theorised case study to expose the process of 'doing the work' of decolonisation as an imperfect, collaborative, open learning process. We hope that other academics are inspired to practice ISP.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1503814
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:We examine our positionalities and standpoint in relation to the gift of 'Gulbali ngurambang', a Wiradjuri name for an Australian University research institute, collaboratively exploring how to honour the name's ethics and philosophy in our individual research practices. Through Wakka Wakka Professor Jay Phillips' Indigenist Standpoint Pedagogical Framework (ISP), we reflexively critiqued our positionality, agency and individual responsibility for anticolonial practice. We argue that gift giving and receiving provides settler-colonial universities deep challenges and opportunities to enact meaningful change against harmful power and research practices centred on Western Colonial norms. ISP supported us to deconstruct social, cultural, historical, and institutional forces aiding reproduction of colonial knowledges and values, reinforcing cultural dominance and risking tokenism and 'blakwashing' when there is an ontological rift in accepting First Nations names that hold philosophical significance. We write from a position of individual vulnerability, critical self-reflection and as a theorised case study to expose the process of 'doing the work' of decolonisation as an imperfect, collaborative, open learning process. We hope that other academics are inspired to practice ISP.
ISSN:0729-4360
1469-8366
DOI:10.1080/07294360.2025.2552312