Research Framework Gathering 2019

Two exceptional days were had at the Musqueam Community Centre on November 26 & 27, when 100+ Indigenous community members and researchers gathered for "Crafting a Framework for Indigenous Research: a Collaborative Workshop". The first day was held exclusively for Indigenous community participants to enable an open and candid discussion around their perspectives about community-based / Indigenous research. Day 2 invited researchers to join community members to learn about the ongoing work that IRSI and partners are doing to co-develop a Framework for Indigenous research. 

Highlights included:

• presentations from community-based research groups about their collaborations;
• a keynote address from Indigenous lawyer Merle Alexander, who spoke about the implications of the newly passed BC Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA); and
• a visit from UBC President Santa Ono, who witnessed and acknowledged the perspectives and voices in the room and affirmed his commitment to right relations with Indigenous partners.

Warm welcomes and blessings were provided by Musqueam Elders Doris Fox and Debra Sparrow and a particularly special moment was witnessed and shared by all when Debra blanketed Nlaka’pamux Elder N’kixw’stn James.

The gathering represents ongoing work by IRSI and partners to co-create a Framework for Indigenous Research at UBC. Updates about this ongoing work will be provided HERE on the IRSI website. If you attended the Gathering but have not received any follow-up correspondence from IRSI, please email us to let us know.

Visit our new website!

Nearly a year in the making, IRSI has finally launched a new website, now live at irsi.ubc.ca. The site incorporates feedback from IRSI’s Indigenous Advisory Committee members and researchers at both UBC campuses. We hope the new online space provides an engaging, useful and user-friendly experience for all involved in Indigenous community-based research.

Site features include: a news and events calendar, resources—such as tools, training and funding opportunities—for community-based research, and updated information about previous, current, and emerging research collaborations supported by IRSI. The site also features dedicated spaces for academic and community-based research partners, each with its own set of resources and other information specific to the audience. Have a look and tell us what you think. We welcome ongoing feedback and will to continue to enhance and improve the site now that it's live! 

17 Acres of Opportunity for Lil'wat

Last spring, members of the IRSI team had a chance to visit the Lil'wat community garden to learn about a special research collaboration aimed at revitalizing traditional foods and improving food security for Lil'wat. Project collaborators involved in transforming the 17 acre plot into a community garden were Lil’wat members Kwikws Eliza Peters and Koskas Dan and UBC PhD candidate Tonya Smith. Watch this short video where Kwikws Eliza and Tonya discuss the research collaboration and future plans for the garden.

IRSI: Who are we, and what do we do?

Would you like to know more about IRSI? Watch this short and engaging animated video to find out what we do and how we work to support Indigenous community-based research at UBC. You can also subscribe to our new YouTube channel to find out about research collaborations, events and more!

IRSI is developing Indigenous Finance Guidelines for UBC

In order to support better practices of recognition for the value that our Indigenous partners bring to UBC, IRSI is developing Indigenous Finance Guidelines. These guidelines include a background of the compensation process for Indigenous partners at UBC, as well as an overview of current procedural barriers, and risks of inaction to UBC. Also included is a comparison of other universities’ policies and procedures in this area, and sections on gift giving protocol, definitions, and finally, a table of standardized recommended minimum gift rates. The development of these Guidelines is being led by Emily LeBaron (IRSI’s Manager, Administration & Special Initiatives) under the guidance of an advisory group of Elders, as well as through conversations with researchers and staff working with diverse Indigenous partners across the university. As the Guidelines are still under development, please contact Emily LeBaron if you would like to provide feedback or learn more about this project.

Inventory of Indigenous Research Education & Training

In 2018, IRSI was awarded $200,000 over 2 years from Strategic Excellence Funds for the project entitled “Indigenous Engagement Training Program.” As part of this program, IRSI hired an Education & Training Officer to assemble a baseline inventory of all the training and education tools within and outside UBC, and to work with Indigenous faculty, staff, and community partners to co-develop research-related training programs for researchers and graduate students entering or wishing to enter collaborative relationships.

IRSI’s Education and Training Officer Alison Krahn is conducting an environmental scan to explore what research-related education and training opportunities are being offered at UBC. In November, 2019, Alison hosted a facilitated dialogue with Indigenous faculty and staff to discuss the findings of the environmental scan so far, as well as potential opportunities for collaboration. In consideration of how quickly the landscape of Indigenous engagement at UBC is changing, this scan will be a living document, hosted on IRSI’s website, to be responsive to new courses and educational opportunities as they arise.

Discussions will continue to be held in February, 2020 to build upon the scan and start to map-out next steps for co-developing research-related training programs for researchers and graduate students. For more information, contact IRSI’s Education & Training Officer Alison Krahn.

Honouring Indigenous Scholars

Have you seen the #HonouringIndigenousScholars campaign? Each Friday, on IRSI's Facebook page, we showcase an Indigenous scholar--both faculty and students--working at UBC. We then tweet about the post to raise awareness of the campaign and the featured scholar. Posts profiling and highlighting the incredible work of people like Candis Callison, Mary Song, Duncan McCue and others have received many accolades and encouraged some great discussions. We are inspired by the outpouring of support for the many Indigenous scholars forging new paths in research and academia!

We are also grateful to Daniel Heath Justice for inspiring this campaign, which is modeled after the #HonouringIndigenousWriters Twitter project that he carried out in 2016. For a full year, Daniel tweeted the name of one Indigenous writer each day.  Join us on Facebook to follow the Honouring Indigenous scholars campaign, and if there's someone you'd like to see honoured next, send us a note!

Speaker Series - Upcoming Events

The IRSI Speaker Series is starting up again, with a couple of exciting events coming to UBC’s Vancouver campus this term. This Spring (date TBD), we are thrilled to be welcoming members of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK). In 2018, ITK released its ground-breaking National Inuit Strategy on Research (NISR) and implementation plan, which together provide the framework for a paradigm shift and a transformation in research, empower Inuit, as well as address and meet Inuit research needs and priorities across Inuit Nunangat. ITK representatives will speak about the development of the NISR, as well as the ways it supports Inuit governance in research and is advancing Inuit self-determination.

And in the works, we have a panel event on Indigenous journalism planned for early June. Moderated by Minelle Mahtani, the panel will explore the ethics and challenges of reporting in Indigenous communities. Panelists will include Candis Callison, Angela Sterritt and UBC alumni Stephanie Wood and Wawmeesh Hamilton. Join our Speaker Series mailing list for event details and up-to-date announcements.

Emerging collaborations: Helen Haig-Brown

IRSI is thrilled to be supporting the work of acclaimed filmmaker Helen Haig-Brown. A member of the Tŝilhqot'in Nation, Haig-Brown received international acclaim and won several awards for “Edge of the Knife”, her first narrative feature film, which was made entirely in the Haida language. She is now at work on her next major project, an exploration of the Chilcotin War of 1864. She expects the project to take several years to complete and is currently embarking on an extensive research phase, which will include oral history research within the community and combing archives in Canada and internationally. In support of the archival work, IRSI is facilitating connections between Helen and research partners at UBC, including the First Nations Curriculum Concentration at the iSchool and other relevant archival sites at UBC, as well as helping to source research funding. IRSI is also in the process of co-developing an MOU with project partners.

This project is close to Helen’s own heart as it explores a treasured piece of her Nation’s history. As she did with Edge of the Knife, Helen will work in close collaboration with her community throughout the process and intends to shoot in the Tŝilhqot'in language when the time comes.

Building Homes and Capacity for Heiltsuk!

In Bella Bella, home of the Heiltsuk Nation, four tiny homes are now completed to 'lock up' stage, with only interior finishing details required before they are ready for occupation. Construction is in the early stages for another four homes and the community is currently in the process of determining how occupants will be chosen as homes are completed.

In addition to providing much-needed housing for community members, the tiny homes project is building capacity for the Nation. Construction crews are comprised almost entirely of Heiltsuk members, and crew members are learning new skills in ongoing design and construction workshops, and then putting them to use on the job site. With plans to build, repair or remediate more than 540 homes in the next five years, the tiny homes project will continue contributing to a local economy for years to come.

Yuneŝit'in and SALA collaborate to design fire-friendly housing 

The Yuneŝit'in government, one of six communities within the Tŝilhqot'in Nation, has teamed up with Associate Professor John Bass of UBC’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA) to develop a housing design prototype with technical and policy innovations related to wildfire-related impacts to be built on the Tsilhqot’in plateau. The housing project responds to the increasing threat of climate change-induced wildfires faced by the community, whose dry climate and isolated location already makes it particularly vulnerable. Fire-resistant housing and infrastructure is just one of more than 30 calls-to-action outlined in “The Fires Awakened Us”, the 2017 Report and Action Plan developed by the Tŝilhqot'in Nation Government in response to the devastating 2017 wildfires (with collaborations from UBC scholars from the Peter A. Allard School of Law, Dr. Jocelyn Stacey, and Anthropology, Emma Feltes).

Professor Bass, who recently collaborated with the Heiltsuk Nation on the Heiltsuk tiny homes initiative, successfully received two grants to support his work with Yuneŝit'in: the Community-University Engagement Support (CUES) fund and the IC-IMPACTS grant from the Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence. Together, the project partners are working on the first stage of the project, which will see the co-development of a design for a prototype home. The proposed research framework hopes to address questions including what health-related problems are linked to wildfires in the community, how ventilation, air filtration and monitoring (or other) instruments can address these problems and how fire- and mold-resistant building materials address these health and wildfire concerns.

IRSI supported the Heiltsuk tiny homes project and will work with Yuneŝit'in and its partners to develop research protocols and a project charter.

Upcoming Events

Our office is always open to community members and researchers. We'd love to hear about the work you're doing with Indigenous communities this year! You can reach us at irsi.info@ubc.ca, or at 604-827-2801.

Our mailing address is:
Room 4156
2260 West Mall, Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability
UBC Vancouver Campus | xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Traditional Territory
British Columbia, Canada
V6T 1Z4

Copyright © 2019 Indigenous Research Support Initiative. All rights reserved.