Publishers must act

Expert analysis: Dr Manuela Rosing Agostini, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (Unisinos), Brazil

Indigenous researchers do suffer discrimination. In the academy, there are few conferences or journals that open the discussion on this theme. This affects research since we often need to adapt methodologies and approaches to fit into what the ‘traditional background’ dictates as standard.

The challenges of Indigenous research are real and an example of this is the qualitative/quantitative methodologies. For this theme, there is a need to know the context, and the history of people and their communities, but this does not fit in the ‘traditional script’ of academic publications. There are a few special issues of good journals that address the theme. Furthermore, in traditional journals, these themes are seen as ‘exceptional’ for not representing a sample or scope for discussion.

I believe that Emerald could create indications in their journals that publications linked to traditional peoples and communities should be encouraged. The scope of the journals could include discussions to expand and enable a more equal world. This issue is very similar to the discussion about racial quotas since to make more equal access possible it is necessary to encourage and open more spaces for this kind of theme for a period.

All journals should include in their scope a discussion about this theme, with different approaches, in what resembles the breadth of new ways of thinking about the world. We cannot just think that change is necessary, we need to encourage this change in a practical way. I believe that in the journals that can include this agenda, it should be created, not only with a special issue but as a rule of uninterrupted submission.