By Kristy Strauss
Carleton will be the first university in Canada to offer an Aboriginal research ethics program in 2015 – and organizers recently conducted a two-day pilot that brought together Aboriginal community members, researchers and representatives of granting organizations. The pilot will lead to a 10-day institute to help academics and others implement ethical practices when working with Aboriginal communities.
“We’re here to generate ideas and put together a two-week workshop for those interested in looking at respectful ways to work together,” said John Kelly, co-director of the Centre for Indigenous Research, Culture, Language and Education (CIRCLE) and a journalism professor at Carleton.
More than 30 participants from across Canada attended the pilot session on Aug. 25 and 26 to listen and give feedback on workshops related to Aboriginal research and ethics, and the role each workshop could play in the program’s curriculum.
Community leader Deborah Chansonneuve – who has written and researched extensively on Aboriginal peoples, women and youth – focused her workshop on the history, context and challenges of conducting Aboriginal research.
She spoke about mistrust among Aboriginal communities because of tragedies like the widespread abuse in residential schools. Research conducted on residential school victims involved interviewing survivors, but their experiences were often trivialized, she said.
“The outcome of the research was to maintain the marginalization of people who already experienced abuse.’’
Mallory Whiteduck, Aboriginal cultural liaison officer at Carleton’s Centre for Aboriginal Culture and Education (CACE), shared her experiences forming relationships with communities. Her research on missing and murdered Aboriginal women could be difficult at times.
“The families had been through so much, and a lot had a great deal of mistrust,” she said. “I am an Aboriginal woman, so there was a certain level of trust there, but I never experienced what they experienced.”
She added that she allowed families to set the tone for the type of relationship they wanted to have with her.
“Authenticity comes when both the researcher and community, or person you are working with, are on the same page,” Whiteduck said.
Kitigan Zibi Chief Gilbert Whiteduck shared his personal experiences working with academics during his workshop.
He said that one of the biggest mistakes a researcher can make is not listening when they enter a community and ultimately trying to become a spokesperson for residents.
Laura-Lee Balkwill, policy analyst with the Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research, spoke about ethical guidelines and the importance of planning.
“You’ve got to do your research before you research,” said Balkwill, adding that it’s important to start community engagement as soon as possible, consult with the community’s advisory board if there is one, get necessary approvals for the project, and make a realistic estimate of time required to complete the research.
Ignoring ethics could result in poor community engagement, unnecessary risks to participants, delayed approval of the work and invalid research, she added.
As part of the pilot, participants were divided into groups, given a research question, and tasked with creating an ethics plan to present to a volunteer research ethics board for feedback.
One group looked at storytelling themes over time in a community of the Six Nations. The group discussed how it would gain entry to the community, establish a local research team and host an event to introduce the team to the community.
Another group looked at housing-related challenges for people living in Canada’s eastern Arctic from 1970 to 1990, and how they coped with changing government housing programs over the years. The group members discussed consultations with affected communities and spending time there.
At the end of the pilot, participants were invited to give their evaluations and feedback for next year’s program.
Martha Attridge Bufton, one of the pilot’s participants, said an emphasis on how to handle grief and loss in a community would be an important addition to the curriculum.
“I think with this kind of research with these communities, there is a need for it,” she said. “There can be a tendency to distance ourselves from this emotional experience that’s profound and important for First Nations and Metis.”
Media Inquiries:
Chris Cline
Media Relations Officer
Carleton University
613-520-2600, ext. 1391
christopher_cline@carleton.ca
Follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/CUnewsroom
Need an expert? Go to: Carleton.ca/newsroom/experts