EDRD 6000 Qualitative Research with Indigenous Communities of Canada: Issues, Best Practices, Recommendations

Qualitative
Research with
Indigenous
Communities of
Canada
Issues, Best Practices, and
RecommendationsRachel deHaan
EDRD 6000
University of Guelph
March 2018

Overview of Indigenous
Communities in Canada
 There are over 1.4 million Indigenous People
living in Canada (Includes First Nations, Metis,
and Inuit).
 The population is young – 28% of indigenous
people are under 14 years.
 There is great diversity between communities
across the country – different languages,
culture, history, values, and needs
Statistics Canada: Indigenous population across Canada based on
economic zone, 2010.

Historical Issues
 The colonization of Canada was devastating for indigenous peoples. It led to the
end of self-government, traditional lifestyles, and forced relocation. For over a
century, children were forced to attend residential schools. Everything about
their culture was meant to be erased (Morton Ninomiya & Pollock, 2017, Riddell et al., 2017, Smith, 2012)
 They often became victims of research studies that tended to be unethical,
exploitive, and devalued indigenous knowledge and way of life. Today,
indigenous communities are still recovering from these damaging effects (Wright et al.,
2016, Riddell et al., 2017)
“The term ‘research’ is inextricably linked to European imperialism
and colonialism. The word itself, ‘research’ is probably one of the
dirtiest words in the indigenous world’s vocabulary.”
(Linda Tuhiwai Smith, 2012, pg. 1)
More from Linda’s on indigenous research ethics can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL_VbCf1mm8, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--dfE_p_mxQ
Pictures: theglobeandmail.com

Issues and Ethics in Research
There is a difference between research done on Indigenous communities and research done with
indigenous communities. When indigenous communities are not recognized as partners, this is
research on communities. It endorses:
 Power dynamics - universities send their “experts” to a community to extract information from
“subjects”. The researcher holds all the power in the process. They come from the dominant
culture and a place of privilege, with the potential to oppress and exploit.
 Extraction of knowledge – The researcher is in control of the data collection, interpretation and
dissemination. They extract knowledge from the community, with little feedback or benefit to
the community. Indigenous peoples have been exhaustively studied in Canada with little or no
positive returns.
 Devaluing of knowledge – The researcher is considered the expert. Traditional knowledge of
indigenous peoples is often ignored or devalued.
(Ball & Janyst, 2008; Morton Ninomiya & Pollock, 2017; Riddell et al., 2017)
“Artist and Shaman between Two Worlds” by Norval Morisseau
Theglobeandmail.com

Opportunities: Research with
Indigenous communities
 Building a partnership: Creating a trusting relationship between the researcher and
community. Empowering indigenous people through engagement, decision-making,
and collaborative research.
 Co-learning and capacity building: Both the researcher and community learn through
the process. The researcher gains insight from traditional indigenous knowledge. The
community builds capacity through involvement in research, taking control over their
own information and data, and building networks, etc.
 Benefits feedback into the community: If communities are involved from start-finish,
they have authority over what the research is about, how it is done, and how it will
benefit them at the end.
Traditional Knowledge:
Indigenous people are experts in
‘lived’ experience. They have vast
knowledge on land, resources, and
relationships to nature that
surround and embody them.
Knowledge may also come in the
form of dreams, visions, and
spirituality. It is often viewed as
relational and is passed down orally
between generations. (Wright et al.,
2016)
Collaborative qualitative research has the potential to facilitate healing and reconciliation between indigenous
and non-indigenous people. It can also bridge the gap between Western and Indigenous epistemologies or
“ways of knowing”. Research with, involves:
(Ball & Janyst, 2008; Morton Ninomiya & Pollock, 2017; Patrick et al., 2017; Riddell et al., 2017)
Picture: http://www.native-art-in-canada.com/woodland-art-symbolism

Best Practices: Frameworks
To ensure unethical research is never repeated, several indigenous governance organizations and researchers
in Canada developed guidelines for decolonizing methods to conduct research with indigenous peoples
Tri-Council of Canada
on research with
Indigenous Peoples
Requires Respect,
Concern for Welfare,
Justice
OCAP Framework
Ownership, Control,
Access, Possession
Principles: Allows
indigenous Peoples to
determine whether
research will be
beneficial, at every
stage of process.
USAI Framework
Utility, Self-voicing,
Access, and Inter-
Relationality Research.
To guide research with
indigenous peoples in
urban settings.
Inuit Ethical Principles
Respect for culture,
Empowerment of
community, mutually
beneficial, respect for
animals.
For research in the
artic communities of
Canada.
Although slight differences, each guideline highlights participatory research and inclusion,
“Nothing about us without us” is stated by indigenous communities across Canada
(Morton Ninomiya & Pollock, 2017; Riddell et al., 2017

Case Study: Community Campus Partnerships-University of Victoria, BC
Highlights and Principles:
 A partnership formed between the university and several indigenous communities in BC
 Developing trust – they shared meals and many face-to face meetings together
 Community involved in every stage of the process – research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation,
dissemination, and mobilization
 Research design combined multiple epistemologies, sources of knowledge, and application of knowledge
 The research was ensured relevant and beneficial to indigenous communities
 Mutual capacity building – both groups learned new skills, networks, and knowledge in understanding how the
university can play a role in restoring social justice
Issues that Arose:
 Some indigenous people felt they were “collaborating with the enemy” during beginning of research
 At several meetings hosted at the university, indigenous felt dominated by faculty, it wasn’t a “safe-space”
Some Key Findings:
 Indigenous research assistants were better able to conduct interviews than outsiders because of trust and
relations
 There is a strong preference for storytelling and conversational research approaches with indigenous groups
 Ethical practice requires understanding of history, trauma, and memories
Community-Campus Partnerships emerged as an approach to conduct good research.
Overall goal: To strengthen community and university capacity for ethical, productive research involving indigenous peoples and
to mobilize knowledge. The research study was conducted on fathers involvement and roles with young children.
(Ball & Janyst, 2008)

Best Practices,
Recommendations
 Understand that every community is diverse
 Become culturally competent and educated before research
 Build trusting relationships as the foundation to research
 Co-Create consent forms that are clear and in plain-language
 Indigenous communities participate and are involved in entire research process
 Findings should be presented in a format that is accessible – oral, written, and visual
Research Methods: Community-Based, Participatory Research - Oral methods are often
best when conducting research with indigenous peoples. This includes many creative-arts
based approaches such as storytelling, discussion groups/circles. Symbol-based reflection,
and photovoice.
(Ball & Janyst, 2008; Riddell et al., 2017;Wright et al., 2016)
Pictures: mfnerc.org

Best Practices,
Recommendations
A quote from a First Nation’s participant in the case study,
“We are tired of researchers coming in and documenting all the things wrong with our
communities: youth suicide, child neglect, alcohol abuse, poor nutrition […]. You would think
people would want to figure out how we survived white people for so many hundreds of years.
How we kept our children alive, kept our stories, kept our knowledge about how to live on the
land, kept our ceremonies, kept our fires burning with hope for generations yet to come. How
about some research on what’s right with us? About what makes us resilient?” (Ball & Janyst, 2008)
 Many researchers are aware about participatory approaches for research methods. But
what about the research design and questions? Research questions reveal the values and
concepts that motivate the entire process. It is important that research questions hold
value, meaning, and benefits for communities involved.
 Researchers need to be reflective of the power dynamics, they hold a lot of power in
collecting information and producing meaning from it. This power must be shifted towards
indigenous communities that become partners in the entire research process.
(Wright et al., 2016; Ball & Janyst, 2008)
Picture: http://www.manitobamuseum.ca

Discussion
These guidelines provide a strong foundation for
conducting research with Indigenous communities,
however, effectively following them in practice remains
challenging. What challenges do you think would arise
in following participatory research approaches?
How does this presentation make you think about your
own research design, methods, and goals?
http://vlc.ucdsb.ca/c.php?g=226977&p=1508384
northernontario.travel
Annual pow-wow at Six Nations of the Grand River,
Ontario

References
Ball, J., & Janyst, P. (2008). Enacting Research Ethics in Partnerships with Indigenous Communities in Canada:
“Do it in a Good Way.” Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, 3(2), 33–51.
https://doi.org/10.1525/jer.2008.3.2.33
Morton Ninomiya, M. E., & Pollock, N. J. (2017). Reconciling community-based Indigenous research and
academic practices: Knowing principles is not always enough. Social Science and Medicine, 172, 28–36.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.11.007
Patrick, R. J., Machial, L., Quinney, K., & Quinney, L. (2017). Lessons Learned Through Community-Engaged
Planning Lessons Learned Through Community-Engaged Planning. International Indigenous Policy Journal,
8(2).
Riddell, J. K., Salamanca, A., Pepler, D. J., Cardinal, S., & McIvor, O. (2017). Laying the Groundwork: A Practical
Guide for Ethical Research with Indigenous Communities. International Indigenous Policy Journal, 8(2).
https://doi.org/10.18584/iipj.2017.8.2.6
Smith, L. T. (2012). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples (Second). London: Zed
Books Ltd.
Statistics Canada. 2016. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/as-sa/99-011-x/99-011-x2011001-
eng.cfm
Wright, A. L., Wahoush, O., Ballantyne, M., Gabel, C., & Jack, S. M. (2016). Qualitative Health Research
Involving Indigenous Peoples: Culturally Appropiate Data Collection Methods. The Qualitative Report, 21(12),
2230–2245.

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