NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area, Sahtu Settlement Area, Dehcho Region, North Slave Region, South Slave Region, Qikiqtaaluk Region

Objective(s): To evaluate contribution agreements used to fund Indigenous-led stewardship initiatives (for example, Indigenous Guardians, Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, and Indigenous Community-Based Climate Monitoring) in order to inform future conversations on the re-storying of Indigenous-Crown fiscal relationships.

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No. 5817. Through interviews, this research seeks to evaluate contribution agreements used to fund Indigenous-led stewardship initiatives (for example, Indigenous Guardians, Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, and Indigenous Community-Based Climate Monitoring) in order to inform future conversations on the re-storying of Indigenous-Crown fiscal relationships. To situate my findings in a broader policy conversation, thereby making them more immediately useful to both federal employees and Indigenous partners, I have drawn on the Government of Canada Action Plan to Reform the Administration of Grant and Contribution Programs (TBS, 2018) to structure the research question: 1) Are the contribution agreements that are used to fund Indigenous-led stewardship programs effectively, efficiently, and meaningfully meeting the needs of Indigenous partners and the federal government? a. Are contribution agreement reporting and accountability requirements (1) harmonized across departments, (2) simple to administer and report on, (3) useful to both parties, and (4) developed in collaboration with Indigenous partners? b. If not, what barriers exist, and are there any current alternative federal contribution agreement practices that could be used to mitigate them? Drawing on Kovach (2006, 2010), this research will use a mixed qualitative approach that prioritizes Indigenous methodologies for gathering and interpreting knowledge, while also relying on a Western method of Reflexive Thematic Analysis (TA) (Braun, Clarke, & Rance, 2015) to group key lessons that have been interpreted from the data. As Pidgeon (2019) states, “when non-Indigenous researchers work with Aboriginal communities, the worldview of Aboriginal peoples must be central, not the views of non-Indigenous researchers” (p. 421). The researcher, as a non-Indigenous researcher, do not have a developed relationship with a specific Indigenous epistemology and will be working with one Indigenous community whose epistemology. In order to conduct and deliver this research in a good way that is meaningful to Indigenous participants and communities who may benefit from it, the researcher will (a) rely on the literature on an Indigenous Research Paradigm to guide my epistemological and methodological approach, and (b) incorporate flexibility and collaboration into the methods to ensure that research participants feel respected during and beyond the research process. This research process will require three main components: (1) cultivating relationships with rightsholders, (2) collecting stories, and (3) self-reflection. First, due to the researcher's work experience with Indigenous Guardians, some pre-research relationships have been developed with relevant federal and Indigenous rightsholders. The researcher will draw on these relationships to recruit rightsholders as key informants to participate in the study via email using a snowball sampling technique. To date, the researcher has begun reaching out to contacts in order to seek preliminary interest in the research (e.g., does this research have value/is it relevant to the rightsholders), and to expand the network through relationships with other potential key informants. The researcher has begun organizing informal pre-research conversations via video call or telephone with potential participants in order to build relationships, to clearly communicate my research motivations and intentions, and to decide on how to proceed. In these conversations, I inform potential participants that the research process, goals, and questions are flexible and can be modified to meet their needs. Interview questions will be sent to rightsholders before data collection begins to allow for prior reflection and input. After data collection, transcriptions, preliminary results, and final drafts will be sent to rightsholders for feedback and approval. I will continue cultivating these relationships after the research is completed. Secondly, the researcher will conduct open-ended, semi-structured interviews (30-60 minutes) over Zoom or telephone that draw on yarning (Barlo et al., 2021) and conversational methods (Kovach, 2010). According to Barlo et al. (2021), “yarning is a term commonly used by Indigenous Australians that simply means to communicate... the telling and sharing of stories and information” (p. 41). According to Kovach (2010), the conversational method “involves a dialogic participation that holds a deep purpose of sharing story as a means to assist others” (p. 40). Both approaches offer relational means for sharing information that allow the person being interviewed to control the conversation. While the researcher will use interview questions as a guide if needed or appropriate, the process will remain largely conversational and flexible. The conversations held during interviews and/or focus groups will be recorded. Third, the researcher will keep a research journal that records notes, observations, and personal reflections throughout the research process. This journal will help to develop a relationship with the collected stories, and to support the process of data analysis. Additionally, it will be used to track the researcher's personal transformation, as an active participant in the research, to better communicate positionality and subjectivity when analyzing and weaving together the research story. Drawing on Kovach (2006), my mixed qualitative analysis approach will comprise two components: (1) condensed stories that draw on Indigenous methodologies and (2) a Western method of Reflexive Thematic Analysis (TA) (Braun et al., 2015). First, the researcher will minimally edit transcripts, merging and condensing some responses without changing their order. This process will inevitably be influenced by my subjective interpretations and interests. To acknowledge subjectivity, the condensed stories will be followed by short personal reflections regarding the story that has been told. Secondly, TA will be used to offer a more analytical discussion of the transcripts. Once the research is complete, the researcher will ask rightsholders if they would like the results to be shared in their communities, and in what way. the researcher is open to providing presentations, workshops, publications, and other communication methods that can take place remotely. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from: February 01 - December 31, 2024.