Abstract
This research report is a tryptic of essays that: deconstruct how indigenous narratives are understood and defined by the academy; analyses whether indigenous narratives have moved toward self-determination or are stuck in modes of survival and resistance; and, advocates and proposes a structure for the development of a strategic settler colonial research agenda aimed at dismantling oppressive structures of settler colonialism. The ultimate goal of the research is to support the movement of indigenous peoples out of narratives defined by survival and resistance. Each essay can stand alone but create a fuller picture when read together. The first two essays are foundational and serve as broad reviews of the literature and the third synthesises and responds to the ideas that emerge in them. If they were paintings hanging on a wall, the first two essays would sit either side, with the third placed in the middle.