Indigenous
Definition
Indigenous refers to the world's approximately 476 million Native Peoples who inhabit their ancestral lands and possess unique sociopolitical statuses distinct from immigrant or ethnocultural minority populations. Indigenous communities have experienced involuntary intercultural contact through colonization, which has resulted in devastation including decimation through war and disease, forced assimilation, disruption of kinship systems, and land dispossession, with ongoing effects manifesting in systemic racism and socioeconomic deprivation. Acculturation science has largely overlooked Indigenous Peoples despite extensive intercultural contact occurring on their native lands, instead prioritizing research with immigrants and international students. Indigenizing acculturation research requires adopting methodologies and frameworks that respect Indigenous epistemologies, rights, and cultural identities, moving beyond viewing Indigenous Peoples as mere ethnocultural minorities. Research with Indigenous communities reveals that their conceptualizations of multiculturalism differ substantially from mainstream acculturation science frameworks.
Sources: Ward et al. (2025), Sam & Kunst (2026)
Related Terms
Applications
Indigenous and Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism, defined by multicultural ideology, contact, and policies that support diversity, has been extensively studied with immigrant populations but rarely examined with Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous communities express conditional support for multicultural policies, requiring that they not undermine indigeneity by positioning Native Peoples as merely another ethnic minority.
Sources: Ward et al. (2025)
Indigenous and Epistemologies
Acculturation science must be indigenized by incorporating Indigenous epistemologies, methodologies, and perspectives alongside Western approaches, moving beyond frameworks that marginalize Indigenous Peoples in discussions of diversity and intercultural relations.
Sources: Sam & Kunst (2026)
