Vol. 13 No. 1 (2014)

In this issue we spotlight the writings of CWIS researchers working on several different studies as demonstrations of applied scholarship. Fourth World research is extraordinarily demanding, in part because researchers must conduct their study taking into consideration historical contexts, the meaning of language, contemporary opinions, and the political environment, perhaps the most important elements of “movement” or change and space. Change is essentially “time,” and “space” is the physical and metaphysical location within which the research itself is being conducted.

This edition of FWJ is unusual in that by virtue of the material included we experience the thought processes of the authors as they question, evaluate, explore, and apply their discipline to the scholar/practitioner project. Fourth World research is far more relevant now than conventional researchers recognize since there are global communications on a scale never before experienced and at such a pace only known by the medicine people of each nation. The medicine people have easy access to both the physical and metaphysical realms and can thus experience the relationships and have direct knowledge of events, people, and things anywhere in and about the world. While our research does not claim the powers of medicine people, we recognize that no topic, no event, no problem, or question of inquiry can be approached without taking into consideration the dynamic and evolving relationships between people, the earth, and the cosmos. Relationships between what appear to be unrelated things are drawn to create new understandings and new insights. It is therefore a practical matter for a researcher employing such a perspective to have access to past, present, and future knowledge as occurring simultaneously.