NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: South Slave Region

Tags: social sciences, traditional knowledge, forest fire, fire ecology, fire history

Objective(s): To explore the experience, knowledge and methods of former Aboriginal forest firefighters, and to add to the knowledge-base available for future firefighters in this and other boreal forest communities.

Project Description: The request for a research project to explore the experience, knowledge and methods of former Aboriginal forest firefighters, came from within the community - the community of identity as firefighters within the overall Aboriginal community in Ft. Smith, NT. This project is completing its second year after receiving an original research license and ethics review in February of 2017. It has progressed slowly due to funding and researcher time constraints. The research project provides an opportunity to share the oral history of these men and women and the traditional values, experience and techniques they relied on. It is also meant to honour their work and to add to the knowledge-base available for future firefighters in this and other boreal forest communities. Given the power dynamic between Aboriginal firefighters and government institutions, the research team will rely on Indigenous and community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches. This means that local involvement is a given and that participants will be involved in every part of the research, not only by sharing their knowledge, but also in guiding and making decisions related to the research. The research team intends to use a model that fully respects local ways of producing and sharing knowledge in the context of their extensive experience, their request for research and provides research results in forms that are useful to the community. While significant Western science-based research on forest ecology has been carried out in the region, no research on this community's experience and perspectives has been carried out. Similar research has been carried out in other boreal locations and the research team wishes to add to this work. The research team is using a model that fully respects local ways of sharing knowledge and provides research results in forms that are useful to the community. The methodology proposed uses a decolonizing model based in Indigenous research and CBPR methodology. It follows Indigenous knowledge gathering processes including proper protocol by putting respect for traditional values and experiential knowledge first. Using qualitative ethnographic methods which include Indigenous story telling methodology, sharing and focus groups, observation and individual interviews, this community based participatory research (CBPR) project will be conducted in three phases. The research team is just completing the first organizational phase. As discussed in the ethics review process and related to sampling concerns, the team has contacted approximately 35 potential participants who meet the research requirements (Aboriginal, fought fire out of Ft. Smith, no longer employed in fire fighting) regarding the project and their potential interest in participating. Contact has been made through home visits, reaching out in public places and taking advantage of public events to provide information (i.e. Aboriginal days). Project advisers recommended that rather than starting out with group meetings as originally intended, the research team will start by interviewing the oldest fire fighters. Some of them have had up to three interviews due to the rich data and their keen interest. Interviews to date have been conducted by the Principal Investigator (PI) and a summer research assistant. Transcription and initial analysis is almost complete. The second phase is now planned for the 2019 field year. This will be the primary data collection period including interviews with a wider group of participants as well as culturally-based storytelling session which additively increase material in an enjoyable fashion as people recall and recapture experience together. Focus groups will be used to clarify this material and to check the PI's understanding. In the final, third phase, now planned for 2020 the research team will work with the data though qualitative, Indigenous and CBPR methods of analysis and checking their match with advisers recommendations and perceptions (i.e.- the research team does not want to rely so much on Western methodology that the team remove the world view of the firefighters). If funding can be found, the research team would like to send a few of the advisers or key participants to a conference where they can present on this project. Local presentations will be made to all relevant groups and in relevant contexts. There are many opportunities for local involvement, primarily as research advisers, participants and assistants. The research team took part in local Aboriginal days activities by having a display about the project with a picnic table available for people to sit and talk about their fire experience and will do so again next year. The research team will be taking pictures of the older Aboriginal firefighters this year and have them and their stories displayed in the community, and some of them will be presenting their stories at community gatherings. Opportunities for youth to engage with the firefighters will also take place. It is anticipated that dissemination of results will take place throughout and include speaking at a variety of venues throughout the NWT and though informal community-based dissemination activities. Academic papers will be written and a plain language summary provided to government and other organizations. A training manual will be produced if funding can be found. The South Slave Divisional Board of Education will be approached to produce a children's book on a youths development as a firefighter. Discussion of a possible film has also been put forward by a Smith's Landing Elder. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from May 27, 2019 to December 31, 2019.