ResearchImpact hosts Canada’s first virtual
Aboriginal Policy Research Forum
Read on for video links to the presentations
“An exciting experiment,” is how David Phipps, Director of the Office of Research Services (ORS) at York University, described the Aboriginal Policy Research Forum, on January 14, 2008. The forum, the first of its kind in Canada, used broadband technology to bring together researchers, policymakers, and citizens from across the country to discuss Aboriginal issues. A key focus of the forum was knowledge translation: the sharing of knowledge between diverse audiences, from academics to community decision-makers.
“This truly is a cross-country, cross-time zone, virtual policy research forum,” said Phipps, in Toronto, while colleagues in Victoria, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, and Peterborough logged on.
The one-day virtual forum was organized by the Knowledge Mobilization (KM) Unit at York. Led by Phipps, the KM Unit connects university researchers with policy-makers and community organizations seeking research in the social sciences and humanities to inform their decision-making. York and the University of Victoria are the founders of ResearchImpact, Canada’s Emerging KM Network. But York’s KM Unit is not just about putting research in the hands of citizens and government…
“We’re talking about two-way transformation, two-way engagement,” said Stan Shapson, Vice-President Research & Innovation at York. Shapson joined the forum from York’s ABEL Program Office. “Your knowledge and expertise will impact our research programs and teaching programs at the university,” he told participants from across the country. ABEL, which stands for Advanced Broadband Enabled Learning, seeks to improve student achievement in the classroom. The award-winning program provided the broadband support that made the forum possible. In a quick survey, after the forum, 94% of respondents found videoconferencing beneficial or very beneficial, validating the use of broadband technology to connect policy makers to the best researchers and community partners across the country.
While ABEL provided broadband support, government support came from Scott Thompson, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ontario Cabinet Office. Thompson serves as the Executive Lead, with Janet Mason, of Policy Innovation and Leadership (PIL).
Throughout the day, researchers, policymakers, and members of community organizations in two time zones shared their knowledge on Aboriginal research and policy as well as the forum itself.
“It’s quite innovative,” said Jeff Reading, Scientific Director of the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health (IAPH) at UVic. “We have at this point in history an opportunity to actually change policy. But that is only going to happen by having gatherings like this where we start to connect policymakers…with researchers….” Reading, a Mohawk from Southern Ontario and the forum’s moderator, also noted that while Aboriginal communities have been heavily researched, research needs to be informed by the priorities of Aboriginal communities. A two-way flow of information is key to this process.
The flow of information began with a historical overview from York professor William Wicken, followed by a presentation from Sheila Hardy, the founding Director of Academic Native Affairs at Laurentian University. Hardy stressed the need to bring Indigenous knowledge into research agendas. She observed that research on Indigenous health and education often comes from a Western perspective that ignores Indigenous concerns like spirituality. But Indigenous knowledge, which tends to be oral-based, is not geared toward print journals or other more ‘academic’ venues. Indigenous knowledge usually has an immediate, practical application that aims to improve lives in the community.
Roger John, Aboriginal Student Adviser at UVic, echoed Hardy when he observed that “we always have to stay mindful of what’s happening to the people in our communities.” John, an Indigenous person who is also known as Tsalshmec of the St’at’imc of the Interior Salish, works on Indigenous student initiatives at UVic. He was followed by Michèle Parent, a professor from Laurentian, who discussed the challenges facing Aboriginal nursing students. Sharing a microphone, Celia Haig-Brown, a professor at York, and Kaaren Dannenmann, an Anishinaapekwe trapper and teacher, emphasized the importance of partnerships between communities, universities, and policy-makers.
“Until we can establish the conditions for coming to understand one another – and there’s nothing simple about that work – our work together can only be riddled with gaps, and interruptions, or worse,” cautioned Haig-Brown.
Angela Recollet, Native Education Manager for Native Student Affairs at Laurentian, underscored the need to accept and celebrate differences. Recollet, an Indigenous person whose spirit name is Deer Woman, spoke about the importance of developing a Sudbury Urban Aboriginal Council – an important initiative given the troubling statistics on racism against Aboriginals in that city. Her co-presenter, Kevin Fitzmaurice, a professor at the University of Sudbury, provided the alarming figures.
Over and over, participants in the forum stressed the need for researchers to build meaningful relationships with Aboriginal communities. A number of Lakehead University researchers – including graduate student Joseph LeBlanc as well as professors Brian McLaren and Mirella Stroink – have done just that. They discussed different gardening projects that have provided local Aboriginal communities, Aroland and Ginoogaming, with secure food sources and improved wellbeing.
“The kinds of studies that we’ve heard today are very practical and applied, and about real people’s lives, and how to improve those lives, and how to improve the lives of the children in the families and communities,” said Dr. Reading, at the end of the day. “There are rich opportunities here for collaboration.
Announcement
Full program with Biographies
Video Links
