NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: South Slave Region

Tags: social sciences, traditional knowledge, politics, wildlife management, wood buffalo

Objective(s): To understand public attitudes, beliefs, and values toward wood bison and their management in Wood Buffalo National Park.

Project Description: The objective of this research would be to understand public attitudes, beliefs, and values toward wood bison and their management. By addressing key issues and local and Aboriginal attitudes, beliefs and behavioural intention toward wood bison and the diseases that they carry, this applied research will aid in a better understanding of how these community perceptions can contribute to the management of this animal in Wood Buffalo National Park. The researcher intends to conduct this research in three regions: Fort Chipewyan, Fort Fitzgerald / Fort Smith, and Garden River. This research will take a mixed methods approach by using two methods for data collection: focus groups and questionnaires. Participation in the study would be voluntary and participants have the right to refuse to answer any question, withdraw consent to participate in the study, or request that their information be withdrawn from the study at any time. Responses will be kept in strict confidence and stored in a secure location for seven years by the principle investigator, reviewed only by members of the research team. Focus groups are events in which researchers select and assemble groups of individuals to discuss and comment on topics of relevance to different research projects. They are dynamic conversations amongst participants of the study which shift power relations between researchers and those being researched. Focus groups are used to promote self-disclosure among participants and to foster an atmosphere of trust with the aim of understanding how participants truly feel about the subject of discussion. This method will be used to provide context and increase understanding of how culture, history, and personal experience influence perceptions and to appreciate the issues and politics at hand. Generally, one compares and contrasts the information from a minimum of three focus groups which have similar characteristics. The researcher would recruit 5-10 participants per Aboriginal group through word of mouth. In the off-chance that focus groups are too difficult to schedule, the researcher will use semi-structured interviews with individuals as a back-up method. In either case, the same recruitment method and questions will be used for focus groups and interviews. With the approval of participants, the researcher will tape-record and transcribe the discussion, which would take up to two hours. An honorarium will likely be given to those who participate in the qualitative portion of this study. A discussion with Aboriginal group leaders will provide further insight into the amount that is appropriate. The second form of data collection would be a questionnaire of about 30 questions administered through face-to-face interview. Questionnaires are used to gather original data about people, their behaviour, experiences and social interactions, attitudes and opinions, and awareness of events. Quantitative surveys have the capacity to characterize the attitudinal landscape of these communities and generalize the data so that it is representative of the wider local populations. The researcher would recruit participants through random sampling door to door. The questionnaire would take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. Local involvement will be very important in this project from the planning stage and throughout the research. This project is intended to be a co-operative project between communities, the researchers, and Wood Buffalo National Park. The researcher is hoping to travel to each of these communities to meet with local Aboriginal groups to listen and learn about how to shape this study and provide something useful to the community. Incorporating these ideas will be key to making the results of this project useful to the communities involved. The researcher is hoping to also hire research assistants from the communities involved to aid in finding community contacts, translation, and with the research itself, which will provide educational and economic benefits. The results of this project will be shared with the communities in the form of a report as well as community forums where discussion will be encouraged. The goal is that this project will provide educational benefits to the communities as well as social and economic advantages. In addition, by listening and documenting the views of residents, they will be directly integrated into the decision-making process lead by Parks Canada regarding bison and their management. The results of this study will be communicated in person to individuals and the communities in the NWT through meetings and public forums. The thesis, a brief summary, and any papers produced will be provided to the Aurora Research Institute, the local schools, and the band offices, as well as to those individuals who wish to have a personal copy of the results. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from June 4, 2012 to August 31, 2012.