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Stirling, Kasey M.

University of British Columbia

Research with Indigenous Peoples is becoming more commonplace and encouraged across many fields, including the natural sciences. Yet, researchers and scientists do not always consider the ethical dimensions and implications of their work, which risks perpetuating the long histories and contemporary realities of unethical work on Indigenous Peoples in academia. In this thesis, ethical practices in partnered research with Indigenous Peoples are detailed in three studies at the intersection of aquatic ecology, Indigenous research methodologies, and community-based environmental research. Following an introductory chapter outlining the key motivations and intentions for this work, Chapter 2, “Experiences and insights on Bridging Knowledge Systems between Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners: Learnings from the Laurentian Great Lakes,” details core themes, actionable recommendations, and key questions in the realm of bridging knowledge systems and engaging in co-learning processes with Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners. This work emerged from an interactive online conference session on these themes, centred in the Laurentian Great Lakes, and has served as a foundation informing the processes and practices described in subsequent thesis chapters. Chapter 3, “Ethical practices in co-creating aquatic ecological research with Indigenous Peoples: a case study with Lower Stál̕əw̓ First Nations,” engages oral research methodologies in its reflection of the ethical dimensions and practises of partnered university–community aquatic ecological research. It centres the co-creation of a biocultural approach to assessing freshwater health in the Lower Fraser region of British Columbia (BC), which culminated in the preparation of a manual to guide future university–community research in this area (see appendix). Finally, preceding key take-aways presented in the concluding chapter, Chapter 4, “Ethical approaches to eDNA research on Indigenous lands and waters,” provides a critical perspective on the considerable harms that can emerge from environmental DNA (eDNA) research that advances without consent or ethical oversight from Indigenous Peoples implicated in the work, and offers nuance around underlying complexities at hand when working with eDNA on Indigenous territories. Collectively, this thesis represents aquatic ecological research—from ethics to genetics—that has been undertaken by university and community partners highlighting the importance of process and protocol in the practice of scientific research.

Text

2024-09-30

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/85619

Oceans and Fisheries

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/