25 March 2025 | 13:30 - 15:30 (MDT)
Open Session - HYBRID
Room: UMC Third Floor - 382
Organisers: Bridget Larocque (Weaving Wisdoms, Canada); Tatiana Degai (University of Victoria, Canada); Vivi Vold
Session Description:
Research in Arctic Indigenous communities has a long history of applying poor ethical approaches and methodologies. There are multiple examples of extractive research that was built on bias and stereotypical understandings of what Indigenous communities in the Arctic need. Research for Indigenous Peoples is an act of self-determination based on the concept of “nothing about us without us.” The objective is to host an Indigenous-led Sharing Circle focused on research ethics that are inclusive of human rights, land rights, stewardship, responsibility, and cosmology that has informed Arctic Indigenous communities for millennia.
This session will gather Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, storytellers, and scholars in a sharing circle to offer their views on the research ethics in the Arctic. We will highlight the stories of success, lessons learned, mistakes, and gaps in the existing research ethics and approaches. The Sharing Circle will focus on research priorities projected by the Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic and offer guidance on how outside scholars and policymakers reorient their research to meet the needs and aspirations of Arctic Indigenous communities.
During the Circle we will rely on Indigenous methodologies that are deeply rooted in the land and connected to all animated and non-animated living beings. The inclusion of Indigenous philosophy represents ancient beliefs and values combined with land-based knowledge, language, culture, stewardship, reciprocity, and ceremony. It is a holistic teaching method representing ways of knowing, doing, and being with the land and community. Indigenous methodologies are fluid and are shaped by external pressures and geopolitical tensions impacting Indigenous communities in the Arctic.