Tŝilhqot’in Nation and UBC Sign Research Agreements On August 11, the Tŝilhqot’in National Government (TNG) and UBC signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Indigenous Knowledge Protocol Agreement. The agreements were led by Chief Russell Myers Ross, Vice-Chair of the TNG, and IRSI's Associate Director, Lerato Chondoma (currently on leave). A first for UBC, these agreements define a model of collaboration grounded in respect for the Indigenous Rights of the Tŝilhqot’in Nation. They will guide multiple collaborations between the TNG and the Centre for Environmental Assessment Research (CEAR) based at UBC's Okanagan Campus and led by Director, Dr. Kevin Hanna. Current CEAR-TNG research collaborations include Indigenous-led impact assessment, mapping and visualization of landscape change, new approaches and technologies for wildlife monitoring, and water governance. Read the full Media Release. | | Profile: Chief Russell Myers Ross On the IRSI Blog last month, we profiled Russell Myers Ross, former Chief of Yuneŝit'in, which is one of the six communities that form the Tŝilhqot'in Nation. As Chief over the past eight years, Myers Ross was instrumental in initiating and advancing numerous projects to build his community's capacity -- everything from language revitalization to housing; food security to the creation of a Tribal Park, and more. To support his work, Myers Ross often leveraged academic research, and when he stepped down after two back-to-back terms as Chief on September 8th, he left behind a legacy of research-supported projects as well as a number of ongoing collaborations with UBC researchers. Read the full Blog Article to learn more about Myers Ross's evolution as Chief and hear him talk about his experiences and learnings working with academic research partners. Photo credit: Nolan Guichon | Guest Blog Post from X̱wi7x̱wa Also on the IRSI blog last month, we shared a guest post from our friends at X̱wi7x̱wa Library. The post, titled "Decolonizing Citations" explored the X̱wi7x̱wa team's ongoing work to create a template for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers in Chicago Style. The initiative builds on the work of Lorisia MacLeod, a librarian from James Smith Cree Nation who, in 2018, developed templates for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers that correspond with MLA and APA citation styles. Both initiatives respond to the discriminatory and often demoralizing standards for citations, whereby Indigenous scholars are frequently expected to cite white male scholars and Western academic knowledge in order to legitimize and publish their work. Read the full article HERE. | Ethics Learning Resources Steering Committee IRSI is collaborating with the Residential School History and Dialogue Centre, the Centre for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL), the UBC Learning Exchange, and other key partners to develop teaching and learning resources to support ethical engagement practices in Indigenous community-based research. The goal of this initiative is for UBC staff, students, and faculty to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to respectfully, ethically and appropriately engage with Indigenous communities. The project will benefit Indigenous communities by building towards a community-informed ethics “toolkit” for engagement supported by the creation of practical open educational pedagogical instruments that are respectful of community-based ethics standards and approaches. This project was formalized with the signing of a Letter of Understanding in March 2020. This summer, a graduate academic assistant was successfully recruited for the first two phases of this work, underway now. These phases are a) an environmental scan of community-engaged initiatives with Indigenous Peoples that fall outside of the traditional ethics review process at UBC; and b) a literature review of best practices for ethical engagement with Indigenous Peoples. For more information, contact Dr. Amber Shilling (IRSI’s Senior Manager, Operations) at amber.shilling@ubc.ca. | UBC Okanagan Workshop Delivers Insights for Researchers Working with Indigenous People In the spring of 2019, UBC Okanagan's Office of the Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation, with support from the UBC Equity and Enhancement Fund (EEF), launched a pilot project to offer “Cultural Competency Training” to five Eminence-funded Clusters of Research Excellence. VPRI partnered with the Interior Health Authority to offer a two-day, on-campus experiential workshop called “Planting the Seeds: Insights for Researchers Interested in Working with Indigenous Peoples.” The goals were to provide cluster members and their student trainees with Indigenous cultural competency training to cultivate an inclusive campus research culture that values Indigenous peoples, perspectives, and ways of knowing, and to create an environment where Indigenous students feel a sense of welcome and belonging. Read more about this workshop HERE. | Past Event: James Makokis & Anthony Johnson On September 23, 2020, IRSI co-presented Dr. James Makokis and Anthony Johnson, in partnership with the President's UBC Connects event series. In a presentation aptly titled "Our Existences Are Political: Identity and History as Pathways for Transformation", James and Anthony shared stories of their personal transformations, from their early years facing adversity around two-spirit and Indigenous identities to a lifetime of education, transforming them into leaders, activists and role models. Unfortunately, the event did not go as smoothly as we had hoped. We were fraught with technical difficulties and had to switch platforms just 10 minutes into the program, causing a delay and confusion for many attendees. We sincerely apologize to anyone who was unable to attend all or part of this event as a result of the technical issues. We are also extremely grateful to the presenters -- James and Anthony -- for their grace under pressure and the delivery of an amazing and inspiring talk despite the difficulties. We are also grateful to Corrina Sparrow, who as moderator for the event maintained composure and humour and kept the program going. On the same day, a student-focused meet-and-greet with James and Anthony was held. This engaging and intimate Q&A event was moderated by Avery Newman-Simmons and fortunately went off without a hitch. Thanks to Avery and Corrina for their contributions to the day! | Past Event: Triple C Workshop on Telling Indigenous Stories On September 29th, IRSI team members took part in a virtual workshop for communicators on UBC's Vancouver campus. Part of the 'Triple C' series, the workshop was organized by Clare Hamilton-Eddy, Director of Media Relations, and the Central Communications team. The event was moderated by Amber Shilling, IRSI's Senior Manager (Operations) and panelists included Kevin Ward, Research & Communications Officer for the First Nations House of Learning, Jessica Woolman, Communications Strategist at the Indian Residential History and Dialogue Centre, and IRSI's Communications Strategist Julie Gordon. More than 100 UBC Communicators attended the two-hour workshop, which looked at some of the promising practices and learnings of telling stories involving Indigenous people, places and topics. To learn more about upcoming Triple C workshops, contact Clare at clare.hamilton-eddy@ubc.ca. | Working Tools Seminar Series: Community-Facing Data Management Platforms for Indigenous-University Partnerships Nov. 6, 13, 20: 3pm - 4:30pm One of the key challenges to collaborative practice between university-based researchers and Indigenous communities is to foster equitable knowledge co-production with all stakeholders through the sharing of data. Increasingly, this task is mediated by digital systems, but there is no single solution that serves all needs. This seminar series brings together research partnership teams that have developed and employed digital knowledge mobilization solutions to their work. Learn more | Elders & Knowledge Keepers: Time with Elder Roberta Price Nov. 10: 10am - 11:30am Join the UBC Learning Circle as they sit with Elder Roberta Price of the Snuneymuxw, and Cowichan Nations to chat about her life and her work. In particular, they are hoping to discuss how her life as an Elder doing work in urban Indigenous communities has changed in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. This webinar is open to everyone, and all are encouraged to join and receive valuable teachings from our Elders. Register here | Indigenous Interventions: Reshaping Archives and Museums Nov. 13: 11:45am - 1:00pm This symposium brings artists, archeologists, curators, and scholars together to discuss how Indigenous people engage with and challenge archives and musuems through art, community-based practice, scholarship, and curation. The Contemporary Interventions from Indigenous Artists Panel will be available via livestream on Facebook and Youtube. Co-hosted by the Field Museum, Northwestern University, and the Newberry. Learn more | | Decolonizing and racing research: Critical perspectives on research with racialized communities Nov. 20: 9am This Community-Based Research Canada webinar will offer ideas and considerations towards decolonizing approaches to research from a systems perspective. Dr. Rhonda Hackett will draw from a decolonizing framework applied to social work established from her research with an African-Caribbean community situated in Tkaronto on the Indigenous lands of Turtle-Island, also known as the Greater Toronto area of Canada. Register here | A Conversation with
Author Bob Joseph Nov. 23: 7pm - 8pm Author Bob Joseph will engage in conversation about his book, 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act. Participants are encouraged to read the book and bring their own questions, but everyone is welcome! This event is hosted by the Squamish, Whistler, and Pemberton Public Libraries as well as the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre and Arts Whistler. Learn more | Traditional Law Through Indigenous Language Resurgence with Lindsay Keegitah Borrows Nov. 25: 12pm - 1pm Keegitah's love for the land, water, and story-telling inspired her to explore law as a way to strengthen relationships between humans and non-humans in the spaces we call home. She will share stories from her book “Otter’s Journey” to explore how Indigenous language revitalization can inform the emerging field of Indigenous legal revitalization. Lindsay Keegitah Borrows is a lawyer, researcher and writer. She is Anishinaabe and a member of the Chippewas of Nawash First Nation in Southwestern Ontario. Learn more | | 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! Due to COVID-19, our team has been working remotely, so at the moment the best way to reach us is through our email at irsi.info@ubc.ca.
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 © 2020 Indigenous Research Support Initiative. All rights reserved. | | | | |
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