Reconciliation can only begin when the truth is acknowledged and respectful relationships are established and maintained.
As researchers, there are several actions that demonstrate a commitment to reconciliation. Start by ensuring consideration of the historical context of colonization, dispossession, and systemic discrimination experienced by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis (FNMI) peoples on their ancestral lands, territories, and homelands. If your research is in food and agriculture, this means consideration of how Indigenous Peoples and their food systems have been marginalized and excluded from land access through the forceful imposition of private property regimes and settler agriculture. In addition, students at some residential schools performed farm labour to produce food for the schools to sell or to support the war effort during WWII while not receiving access to the food themselves (Deer, 2019). This includes the Mohawk Institute located less than 60 kilometers from the University of Guelph.
Your commitment to truth and reconciliation in research can begin to be enacted in some or all of the following ways:
- Adequately considering the historical context of colonization and ongoing dispossession and discrimination experienced by Indigenous Peoples as it relates to your research topic
- Including Indigenous people and voices in your research
- Including relevant citations by Indigenous scholars and other Indigenous voices in your literature review
- Supporting, partnering, or collaborating on Indigenous-led research and reclamation efforts
- Engaging in dialogue to understand distinct Indigenous perspectives, approaches, and priorities in research
- Learning more about “two-eyed seeing” and other Indigenous approaches to braiding Indigenous and Western science and knowledge
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Ignoring the truth can lead to inaccurate and superficial research that perpetuates the exclusion and erasure of Indigenous Peoples and their lived realities. Reconciliation is also closely related to indigenization which means incorporating Indigenous ways of being, knowing, and doing into our understanding and practice of research.
Indigenous insights about research help to guide ethical approaches to the interface between Indigenous and Western knowledge systems. For example, Mi’kmaq Elder Albert Marshall coined the term “two-eyed seeing”, or etuaptmumk in Mi’kmaq, to refer to learning to see the strengths of Indigenous ways of knowing with one eye, and the strengths of Western knowledges from the other eye. This approach is being adopted in many research initiatives to enable learning that respects and uses the strengths of both, while avoiding clashes, and creating new knowledge. Each Indigenous nation and culture will have its own perspectives on research so dialogue between researchers and Indigenous partners is essential to ensure respect for the distinct rights of Indigenous Peoples and cultural relevance.
For a wonderful example of “two-eyed seeing” in research, please see: ‘A quest for wisdom’: How two-eyed seeing mixes Indigenous knowledge and Western science in N.S. | CBC News
To consult on approaches to advancing your commitment to truth and reconciliation into your research project, please reach out to Joanne Garcia-Moores, IEDI Advisor in Research in the Research Services Office jmoores@uoguelph.ca
References:
Deer, Ka’nhehsí:io. (2019). Residential school survivor’s son wants recognition for kids whose labour helped feed home front during WWII. CBC News. Posted June 6, 2019. Accessed September 25, 2024. Residential school survivor’s son wants recognition for kids whose labour helped feed home front during WWII | CBC News
