There are many amazing community-based research studies being conducted by or with Indigenous Peoples across our lands. It can be challenging for research teams to figure out wise practices for conducting research at the best of times. This is even more so during a pandemic where keeping distant is the best way to care for one another. Many researchers find themselves and their teams at different stages of their research wondering things like: how do we do participatory analysis when we can’t bring everyone together? OR: How can I still create a safe and welcoming environment for my interview when I can’t be in the same room as the person I’m talking with?
Staff at the AHA Centre and The Pacific AIDS Network/REACH have been wondering these things too, so we thought: why not create space for members of our research communities to come together to learn from and support one another as we struggle with this new reality. And so, we are extending an open invitation to join us for the Sharing Space Community of Practice Virtual Gatherings. This opportunity is open to anyone trying to sort out how to do research in a good way, given our ‘new—COVID—reality’. We can brainstorm together, or simply build a supportive environment at a time when many of us have no idea what to do.
This ‘gathering of minds’ is open to anyone engaged in Indigenous research. You may be a peer researcher, a student, community member, Knowledge Keeper or even a researcher with an academic appointment! We won’t have all the answers, but together, we may be able to arrive at solutions. So, if you have an interest in how research is done in a hood way, and you’re looking for a place to talk research in the time of COVID, this might be the place for you! We hope to host this gathering every two months, but the first two sessions will be held a month apart, beginning in Jan 2021, until we can bring our teams together in person again.
The Format
In advance of our gathering, we will reach out to a research team, inviting them to share briefly about their project. We will ask these teams to answer two questions:
- What worked well?
- What’s been tricky?
After the team has shared we will open the floor for discussion, questions and an opportunity to share and learn from our research community.
Dates
- January 12, 2021, 9:00-10:30 AM Pacific time
- February 16, 2021, 9:00-10:30 AM Pacific time
- Further dates to be determined
If you have questions please feel free to contact: Sherri Pooyak, [email protected], or Joanna Mendell, [email protected]