122 Deaf Epistemologies, Identity, and Learning
benefits deaf com munities gain from research. Among NGOs working with deaf com-
munities, there is increased awareness of human rights and inclusion of deaf people
in all stages of project planning and decision making. Deaf studies research benefits
from collaboration with NGOs in implementing the findings, and NGOs can inte-
grate develop ments in research and teaching into their operations (De Clerck &
Lutalo-Kiingi, 2011).
Discussing this model and the research process was part of a workshop that was
oriented to “giving back” the findings to the deaf community. Higgs writes that
researchers should “expose indigenous communi ties to knowledge production and
dissemination founded on indigenous cultural and social values” (2010, p. 2420).
During my presentation of the research process, I sometimes employed a dramatic
style that is common in Sub-Saharan Africa and is also used by the WFD trainers.
Exaggerating unwanted behavior is an indirect and unthreatening way of con-
frontation that has a catalyzing and humorous effect and creates scope for nego-
tiation. (This approach is illustrated in the drawings that accompany the present
chapter; see, for example, Figure 5.4, which depicts behavior that is “not serious.”)
Understanding experiences of exclusion, exploitation, and oppression and
acknowl edging that these experiences may have motivated some of the initial
resistance to the research process was crucial: I asked, “Oh, what do you think? I am
white; maybe I will, like many other people before me, just take the information and
leave. Should I do that?” It was also important to take time for negotiation of the
process and to search for a basis of confidence and collaboration. I also aimed to
work in a dialogical way (Freire, 2005), encouraging questions and fostering “epis-
temological curiosity” (Freire, 2005). Deaf adults appreciated that the study was
documenting information on Cameroonian deaf history and on the emer gence of
the Cameroonian deaf community and CSL. To promote their sense of ownership
of the study, I emphasized that I was col lecting their own knowledge through multi-
ple sources of data, with the most important ones being private interviews and dis-
cussion groups. Deaf adults appreci ated the exposure to this deaf indigenous knowl-
edge and felt comfortable completing the information with further discussions on
the study topics. They also appreciated that the study would be published in a book
and would be supportive of the advocacy efforts of CANAD. The collaboration with
the WFD, the broader framework in which the study was situated and the WFD’s
support of the research facilitated this process.
Cameroonian deaf people have explicitly asked for Western knowledge. The
knowledge gained so far about sign languages, deaf communities, and deaf edu-
cation, as well as about deaf people’s experiences of survival and advocacy, can be
useful. There is a lot of confusion in the country’s deaf community and govern-
ment about which sign languages and signing varieties are being used in Cameroon.
There are also misconceptions about the status of sign language in aca demic circles:
Is it an assistive tool, like a wheelchair, or a real language?
In an effort to introduce some clarification, my workshop in the WFD training
was complemented by a workshop provided by Sam Lutalo-Kiingi (2011), an Ugan-
dan deaf linguist who was completing his PhD on Ugandan Sign Language (UgSL).
The workshop, in combination with awareness of Uganda as a regional leader in