Backgrounder on Indigenous Research

Indigenous Research

ICWR provides a network for research training, resources and links that are relevant to diverse communities, individuals, organizations, agencies and contexts. For Indigenous peoples, there is no doubt that western-based research has a contested history; it has been used to exploit, appropriate, silence, and justify harmful policies, practices and actions against Indigenous peoples.

Through the Indigenous Child Welfare Research Network, we hope to highlight research methods, practices, ethics and protocols that are working within Indigenous communities.

It is time that communities and agencies use and adapt research methods to meet their own needs. We hope you will take advantage of what the Network has to offer and contribute to this amazing process of change.

The ICWR Vision

An important theme for the network is “coming together” and as such, we invite collaboration from all groups of Indigenous peoples - on/off reserve; status/non-status; Métis, Inuit, First Nations, urban and non-Indigenous. We are open to your feedback, critique, advice, guidance and leadership in this important project.

We hope that the Network will highlight Indigenous approaches to research that are grounded in the experiences and voices of diverse Indigenous peoples. We believe Indigenous communities have within themselves, the culturally appropriate tools for responding to Indigenous needs. We believe that research should come from within our communities and should benefit those participating. We believe that resilience should be celebrated and is the keystone for confronting the struggles faced by our families and communities. We hope to move forward in a good way so that our work might benefit our children and our children’s children.