I think that it is hard if not impossible to define something such as an indigenous ontology. If you go for what (Western) ontology is about, you will have to struggle with that thing called indigenous cosmovision. That cosmovision does not allow a differentiation into the sub-disciplines that Western philosophy has, given that one of its bases is usually the interconnectedness of everything. So, ontology is a Western concept that cannot be applied as such to other systems of thinking. Nevertheless, you can interpret that totale of indigenous cosmovision (of course, always the cosmovision of a given people or ethnic group) following the question "what is, what exists?".

Thanks Philipp for your decent response! You have highlighted an important and common point about the gap of the compatible vocabularies between indigenous and non-indigenous languages/worlds. In fact, I agree with your point, that is, it is difficult to find a completely corresponding English term to describe the philosophical study of the nature of indigenous-based or indigenous-generated being, becoming, existence, or reality, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations (i.e., ontology). I use the term is because I believe that indigenous peoples have their own special systems to see the world that also include the basic nature of the above statement. The aim of my usage is to allow general researchers easily and quickly understand and recognize a fact that indigenous tribes have their own unique essence.

Che-Wei Lee, I suggest you consult the recent debates regarding perspectivism in lowland South America.

Dear Bartholomew, could you please tell us what is perspectivism in lowland South America, who participates in those discussions and where to find central texts? It sounds really interesting - and I never heard of it.

Hi Che-Wei, I think it is possible to offer a range of definitions drawing on indigenous writers themselves. I've found the following useful texts in gaining an understanding of the various perspectives from an education and research perspective. There are more of course, but I don't think the words ontology, cosmology, axiology or epistemology are necessarily 'owned' as western constructs unless they are specifically defined in western terms.

Denzin, N. K., Lincoln, Y. S., & Smith, L. T. (Eds.). (2008). Handbook of Critical and Indigenous Methodologies. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. (especially the intro chapter)

Chilisa, B. (2012). Indigenous Research Methodologies. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.

Smith, L. (2012). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples (2nd Edition ed.). London: Zed Books.

Arbon, V. (2008). Arlathirnda Ngurkarnda Ityirnda: Being-Knowing-Doing, De-colonising Indigenous Tertiary Education. Teneriffe, QLD: Post Press.

Nakata, M. (2007). The Cultural Interface. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 36(Supplement), 7-14.

Is there anything like indigenous knowledge ontology?

Because ontology often deals with questions concerning what entities may be said to exist and how they are related within a hierarchy, the Western approaches to noun-based categories and hierarchy itself already contradiction traditional Indigenous "existencescape." I use worldview, but it also is problematic because Indigenous ways of being in the world are just that, ways of being, not seeing. But in the academy we can use such terms as worldview and oncology if we take care to point to the concerns and their influence on misinterpretations. Still, Indigenous "worldview" is significantly contrasting with the dominant worldview, and if we accept the idea that there are only these two worldviews, there is much potential for transformation away from the destruction of colonization putting us at the edge of extinction. https://www.fourarrowsbooks.com

The Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram is excellent in drawing you into indigenous ontology using the philosophical perspective of phenomenology.

Also Irene Watson’s, Raw Law is excellent in contrasting it with Western thinking.

Here is some list that may be helpful