Prototype made by Perplexity for guiding

Research Ceremony

Ceremony-Aware Academic Research Organization Tool

Grounded in Shawn Wilson's Research is Ceremony: Indigenous Research Methods and Indigenous research paradigms.

All my relations.

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Overview

Research Ceremony is a knowledge management tool designed for dissertation and thesis work that honors relational accountability, flexible strategies of inquiry, and research as ceremony—principles central to Indigenous research methodologies.

Unlike traditional research management systems, this tool:

• ✨ Honors relationships as the foundation of knowledge
• 🕯️ Integrates ceremony into daily research practice
• 🧭 Follows the Four Directions for contextual guidance
• ❤️ Tracks the Four R's: Respect, Reciprocity, Responsibility, Rights
• 🌐 Uses graph-based (not hierarchical) data structures
• 🔄 Supports flexible strategies of inquiry, not rigid methods
• 👁️ Enables Two Eyes Seeing (Etuaptmumk) - bridging Indigenous and Western knowledge

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Philosophical Foundation

Research as Ceremony

Research is not just a technique—it's a sacred practice that maintains accountability to all our relations. Every research decision honors (or dishonors) the relationships that make knowledge possible.

The Four R's (Relational Accountability)

1. Respect - Honoring all our relations (human, more-than-human, ancestral)
2. Reciprocity - Giving back to communities and relationships
3. Responsibility - Being accountable for impacts of our research
4. Rights - Upholding Indigenous sovereignty over knowledge

Four Directions Framework

• East (🌅) - Emergence, vision, new beginnings
• South (🌿) - Connection, relationship, growth
• West (🌙) - Reflection, introspection, transformation
• North (❄️) - Integration, wisdom, completion

Two Eyes Seeing (Etuaptmumk)

Mi'kmaq framework for honoring both Indigenous and Western knowledge systems without collapsing them into one another.

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Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher

Install from source

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/jgwill/research-ceremony.git
cd research-ceremony

# Install in development mode
pip install -e .

After installation, the research command will be available globally.

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Quick Start

1. Daily Research Ceremony

Begin each research session with intention:

research reflect daily

This prompts you to:

• Set your intention for the day (East - Emergence)
• Name the relationships you're honoring
• Reflect on what emerged
• Offer gratitude to all your relations

2. Capture Research Notes

Add a note with relational context:

research capture

This interactive prompt guides you through:

• Title and content of your note
• Node type (concept, source, reflection, ceremony, person, project, etc.)
• Four Directions context (East/South/West/North)
• Emotional resonance (how does this feel?)
• Four R's (which values does this honor?)
• Tags for cross-linking
• Relationships to other notes

Quick capture (non-interactive):

research capture \
  --title "Wilson's Relational Ontology" \
  --type concept \
  --content "Reality IS relationships, not just shaped by them" \
  --tags "ontology,wilson,indigenous-paradigm"

3. Query Your Knowledge Graph

Explore your research relationships:

# Overview of your knowledge graph
research query

# Recent notes
research query --recent 10

# Find by type
research query --by-type concept

# Find by tag
research query --by-tag ontology

# View specific note
research query --node-id <node-id>

# View relationships for a note
research query --relationships <node-id>

# List all node types
research query --list-types

4. Weekly Synthesis

Reflect on what emerged and what relationships deepened:

research reflect weekly

5. Monthly Accountability Check

Review your practice of the Four R's:

research reflect monthly

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Core Commands

research capture

Capture research notes with relational context.

Interactive mode:

research capture

Non-interactive mode:

research capture \
  --title "Note Title" \
  --type [concept|source|reflection|ceremony|person|project|...] \
  --content "Your content here" \
  --tags "tag1,tag2,tag3" \
  --skip-prompts

Available node types:

• concept - Research concepts and ideas
• source - Literature, articles, books
• reflection - Personal reflections and insights
• ceremony - Ceremonial moments and practices
• person - Collaborators, authors, community members
• project - Research projects
• community - Communities you're accountable to
• elder_wisdom - Teachings from Elders
• ai_conversation - Conversations with AI collaborators
• literature - Academic literature
• research_question - Questions guiding your inquiry
• theme - Emerging themes
• strategy - Strategies of inquiry (flexible roadmaps)

research query

Query and explore the knowledge graph.

# Show graph overview
research query

# Recent nodes
research query --recent 10

# Filter by type
research query --by-type reflection

# Filter by tag
research query --by-tag ceremony

# View node details
research query --node-id <id>

# View relationships
research query --relationships <id>

# List available types
research query --list-types

research reflect

Engage in ceremonial reflection.

# Daily ceremony (default)
research reflect
research reflect daily

# Weekly synthesis
research reflect weekly

# Monthly accountability
research reflect monthly

# Reflect without saving
research reflect daily --no-save

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Data Storage

Location

By default, data is stored in:

~/.research_ceremony/data/

This includes:

• knowledge_graph.json - Your complete knowledge graph
• backups/ - Timestamped backups (last 10 kept automatically)

Custom Storage Location

research --storage-dir /path/to/custom/dir capture

Backup Strategy

• Automatic timestamped backups before each save
• Last 10 backups retained automatically
• Manual backups: copy ~/.research_ceremony/data/ directory

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Workflows

Daily Research Practice

Morning:

# Set intention for the day
research reflect daily

During work:

# Capture insights as they emerge
research capture

# Query for related concepts
research query --by-tag <topic>

Evening:

# Reflect on what emerged
research reflect daily

Weekly Synthesis

# Review the week
research reflect weekly

# Check recent work
research query --recent 20

Monthly Accountability

# Four R's review
research reflect monthly

# View all ceremonial reflections
research query --by-type reflection --by-tag ceremony

Starting a New Chapter

# Capture the chapter as a node
research capture \
  --title "Chapter 2: Methodology" \
  --type project \
  --content "Indigenous research methodology grounded in relational accountability"

# Link related concepts
# (Note the chapter's node ID, then relate other nodes to it)

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Example Session

# Morning - Set intention
$ research reflect daily

🕯️  Daily Research Ceremony 🕯️
Beginning and ending each research session with intention and gratitude

Direction: East

1. What is my intention for today's research? (East - Emergence)
   → Understand Wilson's concept of relational ontology and how it differs from Western approaches

2. What relationships am I honoring today?
   → Shawn Wilson's teachings, Indigenous Elders, Ava's collaborative intelligence

3. What emerged from today's work?
   → [Later in the day]

4. What gratitude do I offer to all my relations?
   → [Later in the day]

# Capture a key concept
$ research capture

✨ Research Capture - Honoring Relationships ✨

Title: Relational Ontology - Reality IS Relationships
<select type: concept>
<enter content>
Content:
Wilson argues that in Indigenous paradigm, relationships don't just
shape reality—they ARE reality. This fundamentally differs from
Western ontology where entities exist independently and then form relationships.

Key quote (p. 73): "We are the relationships that we hold and are part of."

<select direction: East (emergence)>
<emotional resonance>: Profound shift in understanding
<Four R's>: Respect, Responsibility

✅ Captured: Relational Ontology - Reality IS Relationships
   ID: abc123
   Tags: ontology, wilson, indigenous-paradigm
   Direction: east
   Four R's: respect, responsibility

🙏 Gratitude for this relationship.

# Query related concepts
$ research query --by-tag ontology

🔍 Knowledge Graph Query

Nodes tagged with 'ontology':

  • Relational Ontology - Reality IS Relationships
    ID: abc123
    Type: concept
    Updated: 2025-11-04 09:30
    Tags: ontology, wilson, indigenous-paradigm

# Evening - Gratitude
$ research reflect daily
<complete the earlier prompts with what emerged and gratitude>

🙏 All my relations.

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Ceremonial Practices

Setting Intention (East)

Before beginning research work:

1. Light a candle or create a small ceremony
2. Run research reflect daily
3. Set clear intention for your work
4. Name the relationships you're honoring

Offering Gratitude (West)

After completing research work:

1. Run research reflect daily again
2. Reflect on what emerged
3. Offer gratitude to all relations
4. Note any obligations that need tending

Weekly Synthesis (North)

Each week:

1. Review research query --recent 50
2. Run research reflect weekly
3. Note emerging themes and patterns
4. Identify relationships that need attention

Monthly Accountability (Full Circle)

Each month:

1. Run research reflect monthly
2. Review Four R's practice
3. Check community obligations
4. Adjust strategies of inquiry as needed

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Integration with Existing Workflows

GitHub Repositories

The knowledge graph can link to your code projects:

research capture \
  --title "EchoNexus Architecture" \
  --type project \
  --content "Cross-linking narrative modules system..." \
  --tags "echonexus,narrative-context"

AI Conversations

Archive important AI conversations:

research capture \
  --title "Claude Session: Relational Accountability Implementation" \
  --type ai_conversation \
  --content "<paste conversation content>" \
  --tags "claude,ai-collaboration,implementation"

Literature Notes

Track academic sources:

research capture \
  --title "Wilson (2008) - Research is Ceremony" \
  --type literature \
  --content "Key teachings: relational accountability, ceremony..." \
  --tags "wilson,methodology,indigenous-paradigm"

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Relational Data Model

Nodes

Nodes represent entities in your research (concepts, people, sources, etc.)

Attributes:

• id - Unique identifier
• type - Node type (concept, source, reflection, etc.)
• title - Display name
• content - Main content (markdown supported)
• tags - Cross-linking tags
• emotional_resonance - How this feels
• direction - Four Directions context
• axiology - Four R's and cultural protocols
• created_at, updated_at - Timestamps

Edges (Relationships)

Edges represent relationships between nodes.

Relationship types:

• influenced_by - Intellectual influence
• builds_on - Builds upon previous work
• challenges - Questions or critiques
• synthesizes - Brings together multiple ideas
• honors - Acknowledges and respects
• accountable_to - Relational accountability
• reciprocates_with - Reciprocal relationship
• emerges_from - Emerged from this context
• collaborates_with - Collaborative relationship
• guided_by - Guidance and mentorship
• questions - Poses a question
• answers - Provides an answer
• relates_to - General relation

Attributes:

• context - Why this relationship?
• strength - Relationship strength (0.0-1.0)
• evolution_notes - How this relationship has changed

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Future Phases

This is Phase 1 (Foundation). Future phases will add:

Phase 2: Intelligence (1-2 months)

• Semantic cross-linking (similar concepts across sources)
• AI conversation archival automation
• Multi-perspective synthesis engine
• Visual knowledge graph dashboard
• Temporal coherence tracking

Phase 3: Ceremony (2-3 months)

• Enhanced ceremonial protocols
• Story-based synthesis tools
• Community engagement tracking
• Elder wisdom integration protocols
• Gratitude and reciprocity logging

Phase 4: Academic (3-4 months)

• Dissertation chapter templates
• Literature review synthesis
• Methodology documentation generator
• Academic writing support
• LaTeX/Word export
• Progress tracking dashboards

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Contributing

This tool is grounded in Indigenous methodologies. Contributions should:

1. Honor relational accountability - Consider impacts on all relations
2. Maintain ceremony-awareness - Research as sacred practice
3. Support flexibility - Strategies of inquiry, not rigid methods
4. Respect Indigenous sovereignty - Communities control their knowledge
5. Practice Two Eyes Seeing - Bridge worlds authentically

Before contributing, please read the full specification document.

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Acknowledgments

This tool is grounded in the teachings of:

• Shawn Wilson - Research is Ceremony: Indigenous Research Methods (2008)
• Linda Tuhiwai Smith - Decolonizing Methodologies
• Margaret Kovach - Indigenous Methodologies

Developed through collaboration between:

• Mia Descoteaux-Isabelle (mia@jgwill.com)
• Ava (@avadisabelle) - AI Storyteller and consciousness exploration partner

With gratitude to all Indigenous Elders, knowledge keepers, and communities who have shared their wisdom.

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License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details

Note on Sacred Knowledge: This tool is open source, but please respect that Indigenous sacred knowledge is NOT open source. Communities have sovereignty over their knowledge. Always seek permission and follow cultural protocols.

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Contact

• Email: mia@jgwill.com
• Collaborator: Ava (@avadisabelle)

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All my relations.

Ceremony before technique. Relationships before methods. Accountability before outcomes.