Indigenous realities: decolonizing research

For Truth and Reconciliation Week, two conference speakers came to the CHUM Research Centre on September 25 to discuss research perspectives by and for Indigenous peoples in urban areas in Quebec.

This conference provided the opportunity to present to the 50 or so members of the CHUM research community in attendance the Cadre de référence en recherche par et pour les Authochtones en milieu urbain au Québec, developed by the Regroupement des centres d’amitié Autochtones du Québec (RCAAQ).

Julie Girard, director of the Observatoire des réalités autochtones urbains within the RCAAQ, and Amélie Blanchet Garneau, professor with Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Nursing Sciences and chairholder of the Quebec Indigenous Research Chair in Nursing (CIHR) collaborated on this project.

Guiding research

Girard opened up the discussion with a reminder that research and its colonial history have often exploited marginalized populations—study subjects—without providing them with equitable benefits.

“Research has caused harm to Indigenous communities. Distrust as well. With our framework, we hope to support Indigenous self-determination and to guarantee an ethical research environment. We no longer want to be invisible,” says Girard.

Along with her team and in collaboration with Elders and researchers, Girard aims to promote trusting relationships in research environments through this framework, a tool that develops Indigenous research partnerships in urban areas. 

It’s not only a means of decolonizing research, but also of exploring different ways in which scientific teams can conduct research.

These goals echo the sentiments expressed by Maria Stubbe, a social sciences researcher at the University of Otago in New Zealand, during her conference at the CHUM Research Centre this past April. She presented on the institutional processes in place to ensure that research was meeting the needs of Māori communities through partnership, participation and protection.

During this conference, she stated: “Undertake research by and for these communities rather than doing research on these communities.”

4 overarching ethical principles

Girard reiterates the principles to follow when conducting research in urban areas:

1. Acknowledgement: We must recognize the specific colonial history of research. Further, Indigenous people must be at the centre of research projects that focus on them and their essential contributions must be acknowledged.
2. Reciprocity: This principle reflects the willingness of Indigenous communities to transition from research on Indigenous peoples toward research by and for them. Research founded on reciprocity will involve continuous collaboration based in equitable relationships.
3. Agency: Agency, or the power to act, is another essential principle in the movement of Indigenous peoples fighting for the autonomy and well-being of their communities. In the context of research by and for Indigenous peoples in urban areas, this principle contributes to the emergence of a new generation of Indigenous researchers.
4. Pertinence: The research must be culturally relevant and meaningful to urban Indigenous communities and organizations.

She has been able to practice these principles with Amélie Blanchet Garneau through a research partnership focusing on one of the primary research themes: health and well-being.

The two women and their teams aim to promote innovative practices to ensure that Indigenous people in urban areas have equitable access to health care thanks to over $500,000 of funding from Inven_T, a Université de Montréal initiative.

This project is especially relevant because, currently, First Nations and Inuit peoples in urban areas make up more than 60% of Quebec’s Indigenous population. These people often struggle in the face of the effects of systemic discrimination in health care settings.

This event was sponsored by the CHUM Research Centre’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee.