In 2020, I was awarded a Tier II Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Indigenous Governance. This research prioritizes innovations in Indigenous governance research methods. Within these dynamic methods, I see the potential for the research process to be co-constitutive, where Indigenous governance systems are revitalized through the research process itself. Two key elements underwrite this vision: the first is to develop innovative Indigenous research methods as a form of Indigenous resurgence in and of themselves; the second is to apply these research methods in a community-led process as a way to meet the applied needs of Indigenous communities today (see Jobin 2023).
Indigenous nations thrived in complex systems of governance before Canada became a country, systems that remain in place even in the face of Canadian attempts to diminish them (Jobin 2013; Ladner 2005). Whether we are coming together around kitchen tables, in extended families, in organizations, in governments, or in nation-to-nation relations, Indigenous governance happens around us every day (Lindquist, Jobin, Letendre 2024). My research focuses on responding to Indigenous communities seeking applied research to further goals relating to Indigenous governance . In doing so, this collaboration supports the development of innovative Indigenous research methods that are part of a resurgent paradigm and can be used to assist in the rebuilding of Indigenous nations.
This CRC research program is not just community-engaged, but community-led. By engaging collaboratively and iteratively with Indigenous communities and organizations, as research partners, this process aims to meet the governance needs of Indigenous communities from the design phase through to publication and implementation of research results. The program also includes training strategies and opportunities for Indigenous communities and organizations, University of Alberta Faculty of Native Studies and Indigenous Governance and Partnerships Program undergraduate and graduate students, as well as students and graduate students from other faculties. Both students and community-based collaborators work on specific community-led research projects, as well as methods workshops to develop research skills and relationships.
One of the outcomes of this research process is a conceptualization of an Indigenous resurgence methodology as a revitalizing force for the foundational aspects of an Indigenous society. An important advancement in this methodology will include the development of an Indigenous land-based research method that draws from land-based learning within a people’s territory. Through grounded intergenerational knowledge transmission that assists in rebuilding Indigenous land-based livelihood and language acquisition – which are key components of governance and nation-building – this land-based learning method will address one of the most pressing needs in Indigenous Studies pedagogy (Wildcat et al. 2014; Jobin 2016a). As my research program is focused on developing innovations in Indigenous governance research methods that will further the analytics of Indigenous resurgence; publishing these results will support a deepening of the existing body of research methods within the discipline of Indigenous Studies and Indigenous governance.
Click here for Dr. Shalene Jobin’s Canada Research Chair profile.
Shalene Jobin 