In plain language, what is your project about? What questions are you trying to answer by doing this research
One project we have completed is an environmental scan on the level of Indigenous content in undergraduate nursing programs across Canada – what is compulsory, what is elective, how is it being delivered and what departments are involved. We hope this work will bring to light a broader understanding of the status of Indigenous content being included in nursing curricula and where and how apparent gaps may be filled. It could also be used to inform the development of an Indigenous focus certificate or diploma program at the university. In a similar vein, we are now developing a protocol for a scoping review of allyship frameworks that are being used in universities and colleges across the country. What framework does a program use? What activities on campus, and in the community and workplace, are being used to support this framework? Finally, in another piece of work, we are also engaging in a participatory action research study on the use of Gladue pre-sentencing reports for Indigenous offenders in New Brunswick. Mawoluhkhotipon also provides spaces for nursing students to complete their community clinical rotation; we currently have or have had six students completing this rotation with us. This work is germane to health since culture is an important social determinant of health. The impacts of colonialism on the Indigenous culture and Indigenous ways of knowing and healing have been devastating for communities and undercut the role culture has in creating a vibrant, healthy and cohesive society. Their projects are acts of allyship, directed by our Indigenous guides, and are meant to bring attention to this on a population basis.
How – if at all – has the COVID-19 pandemic changed your research project and/or collaboration? Part of the program’s original mandate was to embed research into the program delivery, and specifically, to learn more on what it means to train people in allyship; how the trainers themselves experience the program; and the impacts the program can have on a sense of allyship in our participants. Then the pandemic hit, and we had to change course. The program and this line of research will be picked up once COVID-19 is over, but because of the pandemic, we were forced to adapt and find meaning in other areas of program work. And because of that, we have been motivated and directed by our Indigenous leaders to assume a more activist role in our work; in fact, we recognize now that an integral part of our research is advocacy and activism. What advice would you give to others on building a successful research collaboration To engage in a successful research collaboration with Indigenous community partners, you must first acknowledge your settler status. There’s a lot we don’t know because of the privilege afforded to us through colonialist perspectives, and we need to be educated. We are both very intentional in respecting the notion that the genesis of what we do is identified and approved by the Indigenous community. So, it’s important to have that input, guidance and approval of Indigenous peoples on your project. To achieve that, you need to make time to form a really solid, trustworthy relationship. We have spent semesters meeting and getting to know people and advocating for both the small and the large things. The Mawoluhkhotipon Ally & Safe Space Program for Wabanaki and Indigenous Peoples is a program at the University of New Brunswick, Saint John, and is funded in part by the New Brunswick Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour. The team continues to engage on various projects, and this post will be updated with publications as they become available. Sheila Croteau
Beloved Indigenous Elder Amanda Myran Piluwitahasuwin: Office of the Assistant Vice-President Indigenous Engagement University of New Brunswick Moira Law, PhD Department of Psychology, University of New Brunswick Saint John Catherine Hamilton, PhD Department of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of New Brunswick Saint John Isdore Chola Shamputa, PhD Department of Nursing & Health Sciences, University of New Brunswick Saint John Loretta Waycott Department of Nursing & Health Sciences, University of New Brunswick Saint John Alison Luke, PhD Research Associate, Centre for Research in Integrated Care University of New Brunswick Saint John Adam Kelly Student Services, University of New Brunswick Saint John *(as of July 2020, Adam has moved away from NB and no longer works in this role.) Dino Tremblay Student Administrative Assistant Mawoluhkhotipon Ally & Safe Space Program for Wabanaki and Indigenous Peoples Department of Psychology, University of New Brunswick Saint John Elisabeth Nombro, BA Hons (Psyc) Research Assistant, Mawoluhkhotipon Ally & Safe Space Program for Wabanaki and Indigenous Peoples
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