By Sheldon Spackman

RDC research team touts importance of partnerships with Indigenous communities

Jun 22, 2018 | 1:03 PM

A research team from Red Deer College has recently wrapped up a project exploring the importance of developing relationships with Indigenous peoples and including them in determining how that research is designed and the findings are shared.

College officials say the hope is to discover the appropriate ways locally to avoid historical problems arising from a lack of significant inclusion of Indigenous people in research projects.

Funded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, ‘Walking Together: Applying OCAP (ownership, control, access, possession) to College Research in Central Alberta, featured numerous project collaborators.

They included Dr. Krista Robson (RDC’s Research Ethics Board Chair), Michelle Edwards Thomson (Librarian), Vickie Cardinal-Widmark (Indigenous Student Services Coordinator) and Lloyd Desjarlais (Indigenous Student Services Generalist).

The combined venture analyzed current information on the role of Research Ethics Boards in observing OCAP principles for research involving Indigenous individuals and communities and determined that these principles have not been sufficiently amalgamated into Alberta post-secondary institutions.

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“Through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, educators and post-secondary institutions play important roles in creating meaningful relationships and partnerships with Indigenous communities,” says Cardinal-Widmark in a press release. “Our project has already helped facilitate the assessment of policies and has made an impact at the College.”

While the immediate findings of the project have been shared, College officials say the team has long-term goals of expanding its message and audience.

“The RDC researchers were pleased to present their findings at two national conferences in May and June,” added Dr. Steve Lane, Associate Vice President Academic, Research, and Student Affairs.”As well, they want to share their project with Indigenous communities and broader academic and Research Ethics Board communities to ensure college boards are equipped with protocol and best practices that emphasize OCAP.”

Dr. Lane concludes it is important to develop more resources for researchers who want to work with Indigenous communities, saying this project’s findings also reinforce the approach and recommendations of the RDC Indigenous Education Strategic Plan.