Consideration of trees has historically been confined to disciplinary, quantitative perspectives embedded in botany, earth sciences, resource management, environmental sustainability, and sustainable development wherein trees are largely viewed as senseless, bio-mechanical matter to be controlled and used for human consumption and economic gain. In this article, I reflect selectively on methodologies and methods I used in a broader, interdisciplinary project to study the sentient, intelligent relationality of trees as agentic, conscious, innovative entities embedded in unique, community-based lifeways. My research framework integrated Indigenous research methodologies, public ethnography, ontological emergence theory, plant science, philosophies of plant and nonhuman knowing, interspecies communication, and filmmaking. Herein, I focus on how perspectives and approaches based on qualitative, ethnographic inquiry and Indigenous epistemologies support and broaden research, (re)presentation, and engagement with trees and other nonhumans. Methods I discuss include the practices of cultivating tree/human communication and fostering human sensitivity and embodied knowing.

历史上对树木的考虑仅限于植物学，地球科学，资源管理，环境可持续性和可持续发展中的学科，定量观点，其中树木在很大程度上被视为无意义的生物机械物质，应加以控制并用于人类消费和经济获得。在本文中，我选择性地反思了我在一个更广泛的跨学科项目中使用的方法论和方法，这些方法论和方法研究了树木的知觉，智能关系，这些树木是嵌入独特的，基于社区的生活方式中的代理，有意识，创新的实体。我的研究框架整合了土著研究方法，公共民族志，本体出现理论，植物科学，植物和非人类知识的哲学，种间交流和电影制作。在此处，我关注基于定性，人种学研究和土著认识论的观点和方法如何支持和扩展研究，（重新）表示以及与树木和其他非人类的接触。我讨论的方法包括培养树/人际交流，提高人的敏感性和体现知识的实践。