Due to their Indigeneity, Indigenous early career researchers are positioned differently and therefore experience the higher education sector differently to their non-Indigenous peers. Such positioning significantly impacts the development and progression of Indigenous academic research career trajectories. This article reports from the first stage of a three-year longitudinal study to examine the self-identified support needs of Indigenous early career researchers. The findings offer six factors that are crucial in supporting Indigenous early career researchers to develop and establish sound research careers within the academy. This article engages Indigenous standpoints related to the cultural interface and Indigenist research, with a view to shaping institutional responses to supporting Indigenous research career trajectories and further to recognise Indigenous Knowledges as integral to building global academies of teaching, learning and research.