scholarly journals Engaging Northern Indigenous Communities in Biophysical Research: Pitfalls and Successful Approaches

ARCTIC ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Eerkes-Medrano ◽  
Henry P. Huntington ◽  
Arturo Ortiz Castro ◽  
David E. Atkinson
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous People ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Personal Attributes ◽  
Working Relationships ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Arctic Regions ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Specific Formula ◽  
It Skills

Guidelines and best practices to engage Indigenous people in Arctic regions in biophysical research have emerged since the 1990s. Despite these guidelines, mainstream scientists still struggle to create effective working relationships with Indigenous people and engage them in their research. We encountered this issue when we visited three communities on Alaska’s west coast to study impactful weather events and the formation of “slush ice berms,” which can protect towns from storm surges. As we worked to build relationships with residents of the towns, we found the existing guidelines are often helpful for telling us what to do—for example, they emphasize the importance of face-to-face communication—but researchers also need to think about how to do it (skills) and how to be (personal attributes). To demonstrate to Indigenous people that we value and respect their culture, researchers could learn to use language that is understandable and that reflects a collaborative rather than a top-down approach. We should be ready to adjust our schedules and to help the community we are visiting, rather than simply focusing on our own needs. We might look for benefits for the community and ensure residents understand and are satisfied with the research we are doing. Some of the necessary attributes we identified are curiosity, honesty, interpersonal awareness, empathy, flexibility, and openness. Although the skills and attributes presented here are useful to bridge the gap between cultures, we caution that there is no specific formula that can guarantee success.

scholarly journals Indigenous People, Organized Crime and Natural Resources: Borders, Incentives and Relations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daan P. van Uhm ◽  
Ana G. Grigore
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Environmental Harm ◽  
Criminological Perspective ◽  
History Of ◽  
Organized Crime Groups ◽  
Criminal Groups

AbstractThis article explores the relationship between the Emberá–Wounaan and Akha Indigenous people and organized crime groups vying for control over natural resources in the Darién Gap of East Panama and West Colombia and the Golden Triangle (the area where the borders of Laos, Myanmar (Burma), and Thailand meet), respectively. From a southern green criminological perspective, we consider how organized crime groups trading in natural resources value Indigenous knowledge. We also examine the continued victimization of Indigenous people in relation to environmental harm and the tension between Indigenous peoples’ ecocentric values and the economic incentives presented to them for exploiting nature. By looking at the history of the coloniality and the socioeconomic context of these Indigenous communities, this article generates a discussion about the social framing of the Indigenous people as both victims and offenders in the illegal trade in natural resources, particularly considering the types of relationships established with dominant criminal groups present in their ancestral lands.

Baraza as method: Adapting a traditional conversational space for data collection and pathways for change

2021 ◽  
pp. 147332502110293
Author(s):  
Laura A. Chubb ◽  
Christa B. Fouché ◽  
Karen Sadeh Kengah
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Working Relationships ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
Context Specific

The call to decolonise research processes and knowledge produced through them has spawned a powerful shift in working relationships between community researchers and members of local communities. Adaptation of a traditional conversational space in a community-based participatory research study offers a context-specific example of a decolonising method for data collection and as pathways for change. This article reports on learnings encountered while adapting the space and highlights the relevance for other cultural contexts. We present principles to adapt traditional conversational spaces both for collecting data and as a means of working in partnership with indigenous communities to enable different ways of knowing and action.

scholarly journals Us Mob Online: The Perils of Identifying as Indigenous on Social Media

Genealogy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Bronwyn Carlson ◽  
Tristan Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Digital Environment ◽  
Collective Identities ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Insight Into

Social media is a highly valuable site for Indigenous people to express their identities and to engage with other Indigenous people, events, conversations, and debates. While the role of social media for Indigenous peoples is highly valued for public articulations of identity, it is not without peril. Drawing on the authors’ recent mixed-methods research in Australian Indigenous communities, this paper presents an insight into Indigenous peoples’ experiences of cultivating individual and collective identities on social media platforms. The findings suggest that Indigenous peoples are well aware of the intricacies of navigating a digital environment that exhibits persistent colonial attempts at the subjugation of Indigenous identities. We conclude that, while social media remains perilous, Indigenous people are harnessing online platforms for their own ends, for the reinforcement of selfhood, for identifying and being identified and, as a vehicle for humour and subversion.

scholarly journals Facilitating Sustainable Disaster Risk Reduction in Indigenous Communities: Reviving Indigenous Worldviews, Knowledge and Practices through Two-Way Partnering

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 855
Author(s):  
Tahir Ali ◽  
Petra Topaz Buergelt ◽  
Douglas Paton ◽  
James Arnold Smith ◽  
Elaine Lawurrpa Maypilama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Indigenous Research ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Community Members

The Sendai Framework of Action 2015–2030 calls for holistic Indigenous disaster risk reduction (DRR) research. Responding to this call, we synergized a holistic philosophical framework (comprising ecological systems theory, symbolic interactionism, and intersectionality) and social constructionist grounded theory and ethnography within a critical Indigenous research paradigm as a methodology for exploring how diverse individual and contextual factors influence DRR in a remote Indigenous community called Galiwinku, in the Northern Territory of Australia. Working together, Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers collected stories in local languages using conversations and yarning circles with 20 community members, as well as participant observations. The stories were interpreted and analysed using social constructivist grounded theory analysis techniques. The findings were dialogued with over 50 community members. The findings deeply resonated with the community members, validating the trustworthiness and relevance of the findings. The grounded theory that emerged identified two themes. First, local Indigenous knowledge and practices strengthen Indigenous people and reduce the risks posed by natural hazards. More specifically, deep reciprocal relationships with country and ecological knowledge, strong kinship relations, Elder’s wisdom and authority, women and men sharing power, and faith in a supreme power/God and Indigenous-led community organizations enable DRR. Second, colonizing practices weaken Indigenous people and increase the risks from natural hazards. Therefore, colonization, the imposition of Western culture, the government application of top-down approaches, infiltration in Indigenous governance systems, the use of fly-in/fly-out workers, scarcity of employment, restrictions on technical and higher education opportunities, and overcrowded housing that is culturally and climatically unsuitable undermine the DRR capability. Based on the findings, we propose a Community-Based DRR theory which proposes that facilitating sustainable Indigenous DRR in Australian Indigenous communities requires Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners to genuinely work together in two-directional and complementary ways.

Participation of Indigenous employees in the Quebec's forestry sector: opportunities and barriers

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Michel Beaudoin ◽  
Marie-Eve Dufour ◽  
Eve Desroches-Maheux ◽  
Luc Lebel
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous People ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Personal Problems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Forestry Sector

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to better understand the factors influencing the attraction of Indigenous workers to the Quebec forestry sector.Design/methodology/approachUsing a collaborative approach, 64 semi-structured interviews were conducted between 2016 and 2018 with workers and stakeholders from three Indigenous communities in Quebec, Canada.FindingsThe results highlight the motivations for choosing a job in the forestry sector, including family and friends, attachment to the territory, financial necessity, the search for a challenge and a sense of pride. They also show some of the obstacles to holding a job in forestry, namely work–life conflict, transportation, job insecurity, education and personal problems.Social implicationsIndigenous people have a lower employment rate than non-Indigenous people, which can be explained by a number of factors that hinder their integration into the labour market. They nevertheless represent an interesting labour pool for companies working in the natural resources sector. This study sheds light on the opportunities and barriers to attract this workforce.Originality/valueThe study is one of the few to use theoretical frameworks focused on motivation and a qualitative approach to data collection in order to examine to examine the attraction of Indigenous workers to the forestry sector in Quebec (Canada) from a worker's perspective.

How to be a ‘good enough’ group analyst

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mário David
Keyword(s):  
Group Therapy ◽  
Group Dynamics ◽  
Group Processes ◽  
Personal Attributes ◽  
Personal Style ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Therapy Sessions ◽  
Training Practice ◽  
Analytic Attitude

A group analyst has an enormous influence over the group dynamics (the ‘matrix’) and this derives from his or her ‘identity or group analytic attitude’ which has been developed through training, practice and group analytic supervision. Each group analyst must develop personal attributes and also affective/cognitive capabilities required to become a ‘good enough group analyst’. Throughout group therapy sessions, specific dimensions appear related to each group analyst. These are of particular importance for a good evolution of group processes, pertaining to his ‘presence’ face-to-face with the group and to his personal ‘style’.

Indigenous Knowledge & Intellectual Property: Negotiating the Spaces

2008 ◽  
Vol 37 (S1) ◽  
pp. 14-24
Author(s):  
Terri Janke
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
Intangible Cultural Heritage ◽  
Communal Identity ◽  
Sound Recordings ◽  
Policy Initiatives

Abstract Indigenous knowledge is an integral part of Indigenous cultural heritage. Knowledge about land, seas, places and associated songs, stories, social practices, and oral traditions are important assets for Indigenous communities. Transmitted from generation to generation, Indigenous knowledge is constantly reinterpreted by Indigenous people. Through the existence and transmission of this intangible cultural heritage, Indigenous people are able to associate with a communal identity. The recording and fixing of Indigenous knowledge creates intellectual property (IP), rights of ownership to the material which the written or recorded in documents, sound recordings or films. Intellectual property rights allow the rights owners to control reproductions of the fixed form. IP laws are individual based and economic in nature. A concern for Indigenous people is that the ownership of the intellectual property which is generated from such processes, if often, not owned by them. The IP laws impact on the rights of traditional and Indigenous communities to their cultural heritage. This paper will explore the international developments, case studies, published protocols and policy initiatives concerning the recording, dissemination, digitisation, and commercial use of Indigenous knowledge.

scholarly journals Promoting traditional foods for human and environmental health: lessons from agroecology and Indigenous communities in Ecuador

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Laura Deaconu ◽  
Geneviève Mercille ◽  
Malek Batal
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Traditional Food ◽  
Traditional Foods ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Dietary Practices ◽  
Production Diversity

Abstract Background: The displacement of traditional dietary practices is associated with negative nutritional consequences for rural Indigenous people, who already face the brunt of both nutritional inadequacies and excesses. Traditional food (TF) consumption and production practices can improve nutritional security by mitigating disruptive dietary transitions, providing nutrients and improving agricultural resilience. Meanwhile, traditional agricultural practices regenerate biodiversity to support healthy ecosystems. In Ecuador, Indigenous people have inserted TF agricultural and dietary practices as central elements of the country’s agroecological farming movement. This study assesses factors that may promote TF practices in rural populations and explores the role of agroecology in strengthening such factors. Methods: Mixed methods include a cross-sectional comparative survey of dietary, food acquisition, production and socioeconomic characteristics of agroecological farmers (n=61) and neighboring reference farmers (n=30) in Ecuador’s Imbabura province. Instruments include 24-hour dietary recall and a food frequency questionnaire of indicator traditional foods. We triangulate results using eight focus group discussions with farmers’ associations. Results: Compared to their neighbors, agroecological farmers produce and consume more TFs, and particularly underutilized TFs. Farm production diversity, reliance on non-market foods and agroecology participation act on a pathway in which TF production diversity predicts higher TF consumption diversity and ultimately TF consumption frequency. Age, income, market distance and education are not consistently associated with TF practices. Focus group discussions corroborate survey results and also identify affective (e.g. emotional) and commercial relationships in agroecological spaces as likely drivers of stronger TF practices. Conclusions: Traditional food practices in the Ecuadorian highlands are not relics of old, poor and isolated populations but rather an established part of life for diverse rural people. However, many TFs are underutilized. Sustainable agriculture initiatives may improve TF practices by integrating TFs into production diversity increases and into consumption of own production. Agroecology may be particularly effective because it is a self-expanding global movement that not only promotes the agricultural practices that are associated with TF production, but also appears to intensify affective sentiments toward TFs and inserts TFs in commercial spaces. Understanding how to promote TFs is necessary in order to scale up their potential to strengthen nutritional health.

scholarly journals Indigenous People and Their Traditional Knowledge on Tropical Plant Cultivation and Utilization: A Case Study of Murut Communities of Sabah, Borneo

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-128
Author(s):  
Nur Muhammed ◽  
Theresa Antonia Muthu
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Knowledge ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Fuel Wood ◽  
High Dependency ◽  
Plant Utilization

This study was conducted in Murut indigenous people inhibited two villages of Keningau district of Sabah Borneo which is blessed with vast cultural diversities. In this regard, 120 randomly selected households from the Nabaai and Gana tribes of Murut community were investigated with a view to identify their homestead plants, use pattern and also their Traditional Knowledge on plant utilization. Five major research tools (e.g., review of secondary information, key Informant interview, household survey with semi-structured questionnaire and focus group discussion) was employed in this study. It is found that the plant species found in the homestead of the Nabaai and Gana tribes are utilized for three main reasons i.e., i) food production, ii) medicine, and iii) fuel wood. There are 23 utilization pattern has been identified in this study which is much lesser than what was found a decade ago (68 utilization). The Nabaai and Gana tribes practice Traditional Knowledge in their daily life especially, in medicinal plant utilization. The findings also show that most of the Traditional Knowledge on plant utilization is lying with the respondents with low income group (59%) because of their high dependency on utilization of the surrounding resources in their daily life. Appropriate steps to preserve and conserve the Traditional Knowledge on plant utilization possessed and practiced by the Murut indigenous communities are deemed necessary before this huge nature treasure is forgotten.

scholarly journals Climate Change, Mining and Traditional Indigenous Knowledge in Australia

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Birch
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Depth Of Knowledge ◽  
The North ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Rising Sea Levels ◽  
Indigenous Society

Australia, in common with nations globally, faces an immediate and future environmental and economic challenge as an outcome of climate change. Indigenous communities in Australia, some who live a precarious economic and social existence, are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Impacts are already being experienced through dramatic weather events such as floods and bushfires. Other, more gradual changes, such as rising sea levels in the north of Australia, will have long-term negative consequences on communities, including the possibility of forced relocation. Climate change is also a historical phenomenon, and Indigenous communities hold a depth of knowledge of climate change and its impact on local ecologies of benefit to the wider community when policies to deal with an increasingly warmer world are considered. Non-Indigenous society must respect this knowledge and facilitate alliances with Indigenous communities based on a greater recognition of traditional knowledge systems.

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