Aligning Intentions with Community: Graduate Students Reflect on Collaborative Methodologies with Indigenous Research Partners

Kristine Wray, Akarath Soukhaphon, Brenda Parlee, Amabel D’Souza, Carolina Freitas, Iria Heredia, Chelsea Martin, Carrie Oloriz, Tracey Proverbs and Neal Spicer
Additional contact information
Kristine Wray: Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, 507 General Services Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1, Canada
Akarath Soukhaphon: Department of Geography, People-Environment, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 550 N Park St., Madison, WI 53706-1404, USA
Brenda Parlee: Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, 507 General Services Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1, Canada
Amabel D’Souza: Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, 507 General Services Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1, Canada
Carolina Freitas: Department of Ecology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte), Natal CEP 59078-970, Brasil
Iria Heredia: Department of Geography, Environment, and Geomatics, 047 Simard Hall, 60 University, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
Chelsea Martin: Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, 507 General Services Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1, Canada
Carrie Oloriz: Master of Arts Program, Environment and Management, Royal Roads University, 2005 Sooke Road, Victoria, BC V9B 5Y2, Canada
Tracey Proverbs: School of Environmental Studies, David Turpin Building, B243, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada
Neal Spicer: Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, 507 General Services Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1, Canada

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 18, 1-19

Abstract: Collaborative and community-based research (CCBR) is well defined and discussed in the literature; however, there are few discussions about graduate students doing CCBR with Indigenous communities. This project report features insights from nine graduate students attending six universities in Canada, the United States, and Brazil. These students are a part of a multi-year research partnership grant involving fishing communities from three major watersheds, the Mackenzie River Basin, the Amazon River Basin, and the lower Mekong River Basin. Each student engaged in collaborative research around the themes of Indigenous fishing livelihoods and the role of local and traditional knowledge in river basin governance. This project report presents reflections of graduate students on developing relationships and enacting CCBR during the following three stages of research with Indigenous communities: research project design, research project implementation, and post-project engagement. Best practices have been developed from graduate student reflections on issues, challenges, and needs of graduate students doing CCBR. The findings suggest that a diversity of factors contribute to effective CCBR. This includes the needs and interests of the community partner, the quality of supervisor support, the skillset of the student, their disciplinary background, and their capacity to work in complex sociopolitical contexts.

Keywords: collaborative research; community-based research; indigenous communities; graduate students; indigenous graduate students; fishing livelihoods; best practices (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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