Given the problematic work undertaken by some university-based researchers in the past, today these institutions are working closely with Indigenous communities to develop appropriate ways to conduct mutually-beneficial research. For example, the three major research associations in Canada have developed a comprehensive set of standards that university-based researchers must follow in projects involving Aboriginal peoples. The three organizations are:
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
Click here to read the 2018 Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS 2). This document includes a full chapter focused on research with Aboriginal peoples. Titled Research Involving the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples of Canada, Chapter 9 outlines the steps that researchers must follow in this area. Among the criteria required is a clear demonstration that the research project is supported by the involved community, and that its results are beneficial to the people involved – and not just university-based researchers and their institution.
Along with these national guidelines, several regions in Canada have developed their own requirements with regards to research with Aboriginal peoples. For example, university-based researchers working in the northern territories (Yukon, NWT, and Nunavut) must apply for a license before they can start their work. In their application, researchers have to demonstrate the benefits of their project to the communities and residents of the North.
- Learn more about Conducting Research in Canada’s North from Polar Knowledge Canada.
- Learn more about research licensing in Nunavut at Negotiating Research Relationships with Inuit Communities: A Guide for Researchers.
- Read about the Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute (GSCI), an organization created by the Gwich’in Tribal Council “in response to concerns about the decline of Gwich’in culture and language“. The Gwich’in are a First Nation with territory in the far North of Canada in the Yukon and Northwest Territories. The GSCI site provides a good perspective on the motivation to create some standards and responsibilities on research for First Nations and some idea as to what projects took place and how they were realized. The connection between language, plants, animals, place and life-ways is seen in the areas of knowledge researched.
Some Indigenous groups also require university-based researchers to secure a license. Similar to the licenses for Northern research, requirements include demonstrated benefit to involved communities, as well as recognition of the cultural implications of research. As an example, you can read about the Mi’kmaw Ethics Watch program (MEW) at Cape Breton University. Download PDF of MEW Mi’kmaw Research Principles and Protocols. This program outlines a series of principles and protocols that researchers must follow when working with and/or among Mi’kmaw people.