Decolonising Framings in Pacific Research: Indigenous Fijian Vanua Research Framework as an Organic Response

Abstract

Research among indigenous peoples of the Pacific in the 21^st century face a number of challenges. One of the most powerful of these is the unchecked and careless use of frames that do not take into account languages and Indigenous knowledge protocols, philosophies and principles, especially where and when their own knowledges and tribal issues are researched. Today, indigenous Pacific people are beginning to describe and articulate their preferred processes of knowledge gathering, processing and dissemination in a wider move to achieve some form of self-determination in academia and in knowledge institutions especially. This article details Fijian Vanua Framework for Research (FVRF) and proposes that it is used when researching indigenous Fijian histories, knowledges, skills, arts, values and lifeways. The paper connects the Fijian Vanua Research Framework to other similar movements around the Pacific and then details the protocols and processes involved, as well as examples of its use.