Transforming Indigenous Knowledges Stewardship Praxis through an Ethics of Care

Extant discourses in Indigenous Knowledge Management [IKM] emphasize the need to support Indigenous self-determination, data sovereignty and self-governance. To channel archival attention in this manner contributes to a larger shift in IKM towards stewardship praxes that empower Indigenous communities through culturally responsive and responsible praxes. The role of radical empathy in motivating this change, however, remains under-explored. In this paper, we introduce eight mutually inclusive empathy-driven propositions to transform the stewardship of Indigenous knowledges through an ethics of care framework. Grounded in a te ao Māori worldview in Aotearoa (New Zealand), we discuss how orienting ourselves to empathy motivates specific kinds of dialogic engagement that gives voice to Indigenous peoples in diverse global Indigenous contexts to share what cultural values should shape their research and knowledge stewardship. In doing so, we offer actionable ways to make positive differences in the lived experiences of Indigenous individuals and communities as they interact with and lead contemporaneous stewardship praxes.