Indigenous wisdoms and the decolonial efforts in migration studies in South Africa

n South Africa, where the legacies of colonialism and apartheid persist, decolonial approaches become increasingly imperative. Migration studies, in particular, has been challenged as a field historically linked to inequality and extractivist research practices. In response, scholars are seeking to re-center Indigenous knowledges that challenge Euro-American epistemologies. However, critiques warn of risks of appropriation and misuse, raising questions about whether and how decolonization is possible. This article examines the contested role of Indigenous wisdoms, ubuntu from Africa and corazonar from Abya Yala in decolonial efforts toward migration studies. Drawing on narratives from migration scholars and professional activists, advocates and artists working with forced migrants in South Africa, we explore efforts to engage more ethically during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article presents how Indigenous wisdoms link knowledge production with practices of care, conceptualized not as individual acts but as relational socio-political practices of justice. At the same time, care is both enabled and constrained by structural inequalities that shape both lived experiences and academic engagement. By examining the possibilities and limitations of ubuntu and corazonar, the article reimagines pathways for collaboration with African forced migrant communities by foregrounding relational care against the backdrop of structural inequalities. In doing so, we critically reflect on the (im)possibilities of decolonial efforts in migration studies in South Africa.