Innovative Indigenous Research Methodology

The latest ANS featured article is titled “Symbiotic Allegory as Innovative Indigenous Research Methodology” by Barbara Charbonneau-Dahlen, PhD.  In this article Dr. Dahlen draws on her research focus describing the  experiences of Native American boarding school survivors who were victims and witnesses of abuse, with particular attention to the sustained impact of historical trauma. She provided this message for ANS readers about her background and her research focus:

Barbara Dahlen

I was born and raised in Olga, North Dakota and completed most of my childhood education in a mission boarding school in South Dakota and higher education in North Dakota. I am an enrolled member of the Pembina band of Indians. I earned my doctorate from Florida Atlantic University Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing located in Boca Raton, FL. In recognition of the scant literature that existed on the history of Native American nurses in the United States, I began a long journey of discovery in collecting data on historical trauma.  I came to focus on symbiotic allegory because I  wanted to tell  the indigenous stories in the participants own voices to allow the voice to be heard.  This methodology came with a desire to honor the story that was given to my through honoring the sacred tradition of story at the heart of the research.