Indigenous/Science at UBC: Partnerships in the Exploration of History and Environments

Tseshaht Chief and Council Presentation

June 22, 2018

Starting Point

Together, Canadians must do more than just talk about reconciliation; we must learn how to practice

reconciliation in our everyday lives—within ourselves and our families, and in our communities, governments,

places of worship, schools, and work-places. To do so constructively, Canadians must remain committed to

the ongoing work of establishing and maintaining respectful relationships [TRC, V6, p. 17].

Goals

• Ambition: to form mutually respectful partnerships with Indigenous communities that will identify research subjects.

• Principle: relationships before research.

Motivating Ideas“Building meaningful and respectful relationships needs to take

precedence over the egoism of the researcher.”

“The university becomes a hive of worker bees who can be mobilized by Gitxaała as tools for sovereignty.”

Charles R. Menzies (2004) Putting Words into Action: Negotiating Collaborative Research in Gitxaala. Canadian Journal of Native Education Volume 28 Numbers 1 and 2

Charles R. Menzies and Caroline F. Butler (In Press). Redefining University Research Enterprises: partnership and collaboration in Laxyuup Gitxaała.

Long Term Plan

• Year 1: initiate partnership discussions

• Year 2: expand and formalize + research

• Year 3: major grant applications

Goal: secure significant funding to develop an equitable partnership network dedicated to research, training, and understanding.

Short Term Schedule

• Website and seminar series:

www.indigenousscience.ubc.ca

• Fall – workshop at UBC to summarize progress, plan next steps. October 11-12.

Databases

• Sharing information securely is essential to any partnership• Project Website – www.indigenousscience.ubc.ca

• Project/participant profiles

• Video clips showcasing capacity and ideas

• Secure document storage

• CASA – map based archive for documents, data, digital items

What can we do?

Nu 1700

0.2mm

Raman Microscope Light Microscopes Micro Drill

LOA Isotope Lab

Photo: J. MetcalfePhoto: J. Hallson

Photo: J. IvesPhoto: J. IvesPhoto: J. Metcalfe

What?

Where?

How?

When?

?

What were people (dogs) eating?What were other animals eating?What was the environment like?

Where did the stone come from?

LOA Isotope Lab

Photo: J. MetcalfePhoto: J. Hallson

Photo: J. IvesPhoto: J. IvesPhoto: J. Metcalfe

Where did the stone come from?

What species were hunted?

How did abundances change over time?

How did animal behaviour change over time?

‘Assessment’ Research• How should we listen and engage in partnerships?• What are our common values?• What are best practices for partnerships?

What we hope to do

• Develop research questions collaboratively

• Provide resources to answer these questions

• Provide data to support rights & title

• Provide training for students / community members

• Better educate Western scientists about Indigenous way of knowing and partnership responsibilities