Working with Northern Communities to Build Collaborative Research Partnerships: Perspectives from Early Career Researchers

Tondu, J.M.E.; Balasubramaniam, A.M.; Chavarie, L.; Gantner, Nikolaus; Knopp, Jennie A.; Provencher, Jennifer F.; Wong, Pauline; Simmons, Deborah

doi:10.14430/arctic4416

Cited by 42 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…PAR methodologies have been used in building food systems across Canada (Blay-Palmer et al, 2013), including Indigenous communities . Consistent with other work in the North, which utilizes Community Based Research (CBR) approaches (Berkes & Jolly, 2001;Pearce et al, 2009a;McGregor, Bayha, & Simmons, 2010;Armitage et al, 2011;Tondu et al, 2014), research was conducted alongside representatives of the community, observing -but also contributing totheir activities. Through building trust and open and transparent communications these partnerships and collaborations directly benefit the community (Angell & Parkins, 2010;Tondu et al, 2014).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change, community capitals, and food security: Building a more sustainable food system in a northern Canadian boreal community

Spring

Carter²,

Blay-Palmer

2018

CanFoodStudies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Canada’s North offers unique food systems perspectives. Built on close cultural and spiritual ties to the land, the food systems within many northern communities still rely on the harvesting and gathering of traditional food and function through the sharing of food throughout the community. However, social, economic and environmental pressures have meant that some communities rely more on food purchased from the stores, which can be unhealthy and expensive, leading to high rates of food insecurity and chronic health problems in many communities in the North. Northern communities are now dealing with the impacts of climate change that are increasing pressure on the food system by limiting both access to the land and the availability of traditional food sources. This research presents a case study from the Northern Canadian boreal community of Kakisa, Northwest Territories. Using a Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology, community members play an active role in identifying threats to the community food system, as well as developing community-based solutions to foster adaptation and transformation of their food systems to become more resilient to the impacts of climate change. By using the Community Capitals Framework to identify multiple stressors on the food system this research illustrates how a community can allocate available capitals to adapt to the impacts of climate change as well as identify which capitals are required to build a more sustainable food system.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change, community capitals, and food security: Building a more sustainable food system in a northern Canadian boreal community

Spring

Carter²,

Blay-Palmer

2018

CanFoodStudies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To facilitate these ambitious community objectives, we developed a community-collaborative research project (Tondu et al 2014) to explore questions about biocultural diversity. An interdisciplinary approach was essential to conducting effective applied research, conservation, and management questions that addressed the interdependent complexity of northern socialecological systems , Liu et al 2007, Gavin et al 2015, Rissman and Gillon 2017.…”

Section: Study Area and Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creative convergence: exploring biocultural diversity through art

Polfus¹,

Simmons²,

Neyelle³

et al. 2017

E&S

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT. Interdisciplinary approaches are necessary for exploring the complex research questions that stem from interdependence in social-ecological systems. For example, the concept of biocultural diversity, which highlights the interactions between human diversity and the diversity of biological systems, bridges multiple knowledge systems and disciplines and can reveal historical, existing, and emergent patterns of variation that are essential to ecosystem dynamics. Identifying biocultural diversity requires a flexible, creative, and collaborative approach to research. We demonstrate how visual art can be used in combination with scientific and social science methods to examine the biocultural landscape of the Sahtú region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Specifically, we focus on the intersection of Dene cultural diversity and caribou (Rangifer tarandus) intraspecific variation. We developed original illustrations, diagrams, and other visual aids to increase the effectiveness of communication, improve the organization of research results, and promote intellectual creativity. For example, we used scientific visualization and drawings to explain complex genetic data and clarify research priorities. Visual facilitation during meetings helped establish accurate representations of both cultural and biological diversity by externalizing heterogeneity and avoiding standardization. Group mind mapping enhanced collaborators' ability to visualize connections between Dene concepts, like bets'erıhchá "respect" and caribou, and to recognize differences between knowledge systems that challenge translations and reduce the effectiveness of research outcomes. Collaborative visual products, like posters that represented different caribou types, allowed Dene partners to more clearly articulate subtleties within caribou intraspecific variation that are manifest through distinct dialects, place-based relationships, and cultural practices. Our results point to the potential for visual art to be used to improve communication, participation, and knowledge production in interdisciplinary and cross-cultural research collaborations and to enhance the sustainable stewardship and protection of biodiversity.

show abstract

“…Tout d'abord, il faut identifier les lieux et les partenaires ou se faire identifier par la communauté (getting in); puis faire des visites préliminaires et gagner la confiance de la communauté (getting there); co-construire la problématique de recherche ensemble, collecter les données en groupe, les analyser de concert (getting along) et enfin les valoriser, les traduire de telle manière qu'elles puissent alimenter la prise de décision (getting out) (ibid.). Toutes ces étapes nécessitent beaucoup d'humilité, de patience et une grande capacité d'intégration et d'adaptation aux défis auxquels la communauté doit faire face (Tondu et al 2014). Nous utilisons les quatre étapes de Stewart pour décrire le projet TUKTU et sa progression.…”

Section: Le Développement Minier Au Nunavutunclassified

Impacts du développement minier sur les hommes et les caribous à Qamani’tuaq au Nunavut: approche participative

Blangy

Deffner²

2015

etudinuit

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Au Canada, le développement minier pose de nombreux défis aux communautés autochtones qui y voient un véritable potentiel économique, mais aussi des risques pour leur mode de vie basé sur une économie mixte combinant économie salariale et activités de subsistance. Au Nunavut, la communauté de Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake) se trouve confrontée aux impacts des activités de la mine d’or de Meadowbank et est actuellement en phase de négociations pour un deuxième projet minier, une mine d’uranium proposée par la compagnie Areva. Les connaissances encore fragmentaires des impacts miniers, surtout sur les plans social et culturel, permettent difficilement à la communauté de se positionner. Le bien-être des habitants ne dépend pas seulement d’un bien-être matériel mais aussi de l’accès au territoire et du maintien des activités de subsistance. Les résultats de notre étude, basée sur une approche participative, montrent que la mine de Meadowbank a déjà fortement affecté la communauté de Qamani’tuaq: exacerbation des problèmes sociaux, création de tensions familiales et accroissement des disparités salariales. Par ailleurs, les craintes quant aux impacts de nouvelles infrastructures, dont une deuxième route minière, sont nourries par l’expérience de la mine d’or en activité qui a des impacts majeurs sur l’environnement: retombée des poussières sur la végétation et déviation de la route de migration des caribous. Dans cet article, nous décrivons une nouvelle approche de recherche collaborative développée avec la communauté sur le long terme, lente, adaptée au rythme des événements miniers et reposant sur la participation d’assistantes de recherche inuit.Mining development in Canada poses many challenges for Indigenous communities, who believe it has real economic potential but also risks for their way of life, which is based on a mixed economy that combines wage employment with subsistence activities. In Nunavut, the community of Qamani'tuaq (Baker Lake) is confronted with the impacts of the Meadowbank Gold Mine’s activities and is currently negotiating for a second mining project: a uranium mine proposed by Areva. Knowledge about mining impacts, especially social and cultural ones, is still too fragmentary to enable the community to make informed decisions on the proposal. Qamani’tuarmiut well-being depends not only on material well-being but also on having access to the land and maintaining traditional activities. The results of our study, based on a participatory approach, show that the Meadowbank gold mine has already seriously impacted the community of Qamani’tuaq by creating family problems, by increasing wage disparities, and by exacerbating social problems. Fears of impacts from new infrastructures, including a second mining road, are worsened by experiences with the currently operating gold mine, which include major impacts on the environment, dust falling on the vegetation, and diversion of the caribou migration route. In this paper, we describe a new approach to collaborative research. This approach, developed with th...

show abstract

Working with Northern Communities to Build Collaborative Research Partnerships: Perspectives from Early Career Researchers

Cited by 42 publications

References 32 publications

Climate change, community capitals, and food security: Building a more sustainable food system in a northern Canadian boreal community

Climate change, community capitals, and food security: Building a more sustainable food system in a northern Canadian boreal community

Creative convergence: exploring biocultural diversity through art

Impacts du développement minier sur les hommes et les caribous à Qamani’tuaq au Nunavut: approche participative

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About