A process for Indigenous community research through meaningful engagement with Grandmother’s Bay

Abstract

Historically, research partnerships between Indigenous communities and academic institutions were often harmful for communities; wise ways of achieving more balanced and just relationships are emerging. This project focuses on the research partnership between Grandmother’s Bay and the University of Saskatchewan with the objectives of providing knowledge on initiating Indigenous community-based research and maintaining good relationships between collaborators. One-on-one interviews were conducted with participants and analysed using etuaptmumk (two-eyed seeing), a thematic analysis approach. These themes indicated that research partnerships must proceed through relationships of trust that provide meaningful results and benefit to the community; that traditional approaches, culture, and intergenerational knowledge sharing are key to the research; effective communication and the Indigenous language are encouraged where possible; and ownership, creative design, and dissemination of the research belong to community. This project is the beginning of an ongoing relationship between Grandmother’s Bay and University of Saskatchewan.