(PEP1) Decolonizing Research Ethics

Conference Highlights, In-person, Panels and Plenary, Professional Development
Decolonization Subcommittee, Policy, Ethics, and Professional Concerns Subcommittee

Colonial approaches to research involving Indigenous peoples have been criticized for extracting knowledge from Indigenous people and communities; lacking meaningful consultation, reciprocity, and respect; misrepresentation; and harming Indigenous peoples, among other issues.  Moreover, archival and other textual forms of research with respect to Indigenous peoples have reproduced colonial power-knowledge practices.  In the wake of the TRC, some Canadian universities have committed to prioritising ethical Indigenous research, including working to establish Indigenous research ethics boards.  Current guidance on Indigenous research in Canada is found in the “OCAP Principles” (Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession) and Chapter 9 of the Tri-Council Policy Statement.  Are such measures to ensure ethical research with Indigenous peoples adequate?  How are they interpreted and implemented in the ethical review of research?  This panel explores the question of how to- and what it means to- engage in ethical research with Indigenous peoples in the present, and how to engage in ethical research with historical and textual materials.  In addition to the procedural ethics of institutional review boards, this panel also welcomes different concepts of ethics and how to practice ethics in the process of knowledge creation.

Panelists:

  • Chelsea Gabel, McMaster University
  • Bobby Henry, University of Saskatchewan
  • Michael Hart, University of Calgary
  • Elizabeth Carlson-Manathara, Laurentian University
  • Kahente Horn-Miller, Carleton University
Tags: Indigenous Studies, Knowledge, Research Methods

Organizers: Augustine Park, Carleton University, Jeffrey Denis, McMaster University