Highlighting the potential of peer-led workshops in training early-career researchers for conducting research with Indigenous communities

Abstract

For decades, Indigenous voices have called for more collaborative and inclusive research practices. Interest in community-collaborative research is consequently growing among university-based researchers in Canada. However, many researchers receive little formal training on how to collaboratively conduct research with Indigenous communities. This is particularly problematic for early-career researchers (ECRs) whose fieldwork often involves interacting with communities. To address this lack of training, two peer-led workshops for Canadian ECRs were organized in 2016 and 2017 with the following objectives: ( i) to cultivate awareness about Indigenous cultures, histories, and languages; ( ii) to promote sharing of Indigenous and non-Indigenous ways of knowing; and ( iii) to foster approaches and explore tools for conducting community-collaborative research. Here we present these peer-led Intercultural Indigenous Workshops and discuss workshop outcomes according to five themes: scope and interdisciplinarity, Indigenous representation, workshop environment, skillful moderation, and workshop outcomes. Although workshops cannot replace the invaluable experience gained through working directly with Indigenous communities, we show that peer-led workshops can be an effective way for ECRs to develop key skills for conducting meaningful collaborative research. Peer-led workshops are therefore an important but insufficient step toward more inclusive research paradigms in Canada.

Towards reconciliation: 10 Calls to Action to natural scientists working in Canada

“…Developing relationships with Indigenous communities can be very daunting to young scientists and (or) those who are not trained or experienced with working in cross-cultural environments (MacMillan et al 2019). Engaging a mentor who has an established track record of successful partnerships with Indigenous communities, consulting other scientists who have worked in the community or region, and following other advice in Tondu et al (2014) can help facilitate a positive outcome and experience for all.…”

Navigating the Shifting Landscape of Engagement in Northern Research: Perspectives from Early Career Researchers

“…For example, the Indigenous Canada Massive Open Online Course delivered by the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta explores Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada. Th ere are many other resources that can collectively help ECRs get to know their audience and not engage with inaccurate assumptions (MacMillan et al, 2019).…”

“…With some notable exceptions (MacMillan et al, 2019;Sjöberg et al, 2019;Tondu et al, 2014), there is little written specifi cally on the experiences of early career researchers (ECRs), defi ned here as graduate and post-graduate students, and scholars who have received their highest degree within the past fi ve years. Given this context and the signifi cant role of ECRs in shaping future research paradigms across disciplines, this article contributes to current discourses regarding the challenges, opportunities, and aspirations of researchers seeking to sensitively and refl exively engage with northern communities and Nations.…”

Building a pipeline of community-engaged researchers: How interdisciplinary translational research training programs can collaborate with their Community Research Advisory Councils

“…Little is known about training early career researchers in best practices for CEnR and many trainees may undergo little or no formal training on the topic. 10,11 To intentionally expose our TL1 trainees to best practices in CEnR and to ensure that their research projects were informed by community members' priorities and experiences, we developed a formal partnership with the JH C-RAC. The purpose of this article is to describe the collaboration between the C-RAC and TL1 programs as a model for training early career researchers in CEnR.…”