Walking in Two Worlds: Engaging the Space Between Indigenous Community and Academia - Research Ethics and Reciprocal Collaboration

Oct 15, 2026

“Walking in Two Worlds” examines the emotional and historical weight of the term research for Indigenous peoples and argues that Indigenous research must be grounded in respectful, reciprocal relationships with communities. Through a collaborative project between the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and Brock University, it demonstrates how shared principles—respect, relevance, relationship, and reciprocity—challenge conventional university practices. The article highlights limitations and possibilities while outlining how community partnerships can be authentically formed.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages32

Reading Time1 h 21 min

AccessFree to download

Background: research and colonial legacies

Collaborative principles and the “two worlds” framework

Case focus: Six Nations and Brock University partnership

Rethinking university practices

Shared ethics and possibilities for authentic partnerships

Walking in Two Worlds: Engaging the Space Between Indigenous Community and Academia Sandra Styres York University Dawn Zinga & Sheila Bennett Brock University Michelle Bomberry Six Nations Police Services Certainly in the past and even in the present day, the term research for Indigenous people has been fraught with strong, negative, emotional associations; however, de‐ spite the many remaining challenges there is a shifting within the landscape of aca‐ demia to recognize that research on Indigenous issues must cultivate respectful and reciprocal relationships with those communities. In this study, we demonstrate that to conduct research collaboratively based on elements of respect, relationship, relevance, and reciprocity, all collaborators must walk in two worlds to balance the needs of communities with the systemic realities of academia. To illustrate our point, we focus our story on one project that is currently underway between the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and Brock University. In our narrative we illustrate how the relationships that were fostered call into question commonly accepted university practices as well as engage community partners in understanding some of the limita‐ tions and possibilities in some of those practices. This article focuses on some tough issues; however, the collaborators in this project are in the process of forging some‐ thing new that may serve as one example of how such partnerships can be authen‐ tically created. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 33, 3 (2010): 617 ‐ 648 ©2010 Société canadienne pour l’étude de l’éducation/ Canadian Society for the Study of Education Key words: Indigenous research, Indigenous ways of knowing, community‐based research, power‐sharing research, Hodenosaunee research method, research ethics Pour les peuples autochtones, le mot “recherche” a été et demeure toujours empreint de fortes associations émotives négatives; cependant, malgré les défis importants qui se doivent d’être surmontés, on constate un changement au sein du monde universi‐ taire : la reconnaissance que la recherche sur les thèmes et les réalités des peuplesautochtones doit d’abord et avant tout être fondées sur des relations réciproques res‐ pectueuses avec ces communautés. Notre étude démontre que pour mener une re‐ cherche réellement collaborative fondée sur les éléments du respect, de l’entrée en relation, de la pertinence et de la réciprocité, l’ensemble des collaborateurs doivent se situer dans l’entre‐deux assurant ainsi l’équilibre entre les besoins des communautésautochtones et les exigences du monde universitaire. Afin d’illustrer ce constat, nous vous partageons le déroulement et le dénouement d’une collaboration réelle entre les Six Nations de la région de Grand River et des chercheurs de l’Université Brock (On‐ tario) . Notre exposé narratif démontre comment la création et le développement deliens authentiques entre les membres de la communauté des Six Nations et les univer‐ sitaires ont remis en question des pratiques courantes de la culture universitaire et permis un espace discursif pour expliquer aux partenaires communautaires les limites et les avantages de certaines de ces pratiques. Cet article aborde donc des thèmes difficiles; cependant, les collaborateurs à ce projet sont à forger de nouveaux proces‐ sus et de nouvelles pratiques de recherche qui peuvent servir d’exemple pour la créa‐ tion de partenariats authentiques en recherche collaborative. Mots‐clés : recherche autochtone, modes de connaissance autochtones, recherches communautaires, recherche fondée sur le partage du pouvoir, méthode de recherche Hodenosaunee, éthique en recherche. Eurocentrism, a system characterized by intellectual privilege and epis‐ temic narcissism, has played a central role in the colonization of peoples globally. Within academia, and in particular the research field, the un‐ derpinnings of this Eurocentric orientation have long played a central role. Intellectual p

FAQs

Why does the article emphasize respectful and reciprocal relationships in Indigenous research?

It explains that research has long carried negative emotional associations for Indigenous peoples and that legitimate Indigenous research must cultivate relationships based on respect and reciprocity with communities.

How does the project describe collaboration between the Six Nations and Brock University?

It focuses on a project currently underway and narrates how relationships fostered with community partners call into question commonly accepted university practices.

What guiding principles are named as essential for truly collaborative community-based research?

The article centers the collaborative principles of Respect, Relevance, Relationship, and Reciprocity.

Oct 15, 2026

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