Decolonizing and strengthening Indigenous research: International perspectives

Blog
April 6, 2018
Author(s):
Dina Guth, PhD, Program Officer, Research Grants & Partnerships Division, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)

This is a Congress 2018 blog about event #1212. Click here to find out more about it.

How does the research community act on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) call to strengthen Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods at post-secondary institutions? The social sciences and humanities must lead the way in engaging and learning from different perspectives to respond to this question.  

For Congress 2018, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) has gathered a panel of leading international scholars to explore strengthening Indigenous research and research training through a global lens. Come hear how countries such as Australia, Mexico and others have begun Indigenizing research and education, and what models they can offer towards responding to the TRC’s calls to action. Join us for an afternoon of stimulating discussion!   

Here is some additional details on how this event will take place:

Opening ceremony

Noel Starblanket is Elder-in-Residence at the University of Regina. A longtime advocate for First Nations organizations, he has served as Chief of the Star Blanket Cree Nation, Chair for Treaty Four Chiefs, Vice-Chief for the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations.   

Moderator

Dominique Bérubé is Vice-President, Research Programs, at SSHRC. She holds a doctorate in environmental sciences from the Université du Québec à Montréal. Prior to joining SSHRC, she held a variety of senior positions in research administration at the Université de Montréal. From 2012 to 2015, she chaired the board of directors of Érudit, which provides access to publications on social sciences and humanities research.

Panelists

Emiliana Cruz is Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social in Mexico, and Director of the Chatino Language Documentation project. A linguistic anthropologist and native speaker of Chatino, her research aims to empower native speakers to study and teach their own languages.      

Aileen Moreton-Robinson is Distinguished Professor of Indigenous Research at Queensland University of Technology in Australia, and Director of the National Indigenous Research and Knowledges Network. A leading scholar of race and whiteness theory, she is an executive member of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Consortium.

Rowena Phair is Project Leader in the Education and Skills Directorate of the intergovernmental Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). She is the former Deputy Secretary of Student Achievement in New Zealand’s Ministry of Education. In 2017, Phair led the OECD study: Promising Practices in Supporting Success for Indigenous Students.

James Riding In is Interim Director and Associate Professor of American Indian studies at Arizona State University and Editor of Wicazo Sa Review: A Journal of Native American Studies. Instrumental in the development of American Indian studies at Arizona State, Riding In is a public figure known for his research and advocacy for repatriation.  

Linda Tuhiwai Smith, PhD, FRSNZ, CNZM, is Professor of Māori and Indigenous studies at the University of Waikato in New Zealand. She has helped establish a number of research institutes, including the Māori Centre of Research Excellence as a founding Co-Director. She has also served on New Zealand’s major research funding boards. Her book, Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples, has been an international bestseller since its publication in 1999.