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Ecological research ‘in a good way’ means ethical and equitable relationships with Indigenous Peoples and Lands

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 8, pages 595–598 (2024)Cite this article

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The current and fervent uptick in the natural sciences of seeking to engage with Indigenous partners signals a change in attitudes towards Indigenous knowledge systems and Peoples as well as their rights, but comes with a substantial amount of risk, burden and peril. To aid scientists in conducting research ‘in a good way’, we offer key insights and guidance that are rooted in our own scientific training and communities of practice.

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Acknowledgements

A.J.R., D.A.M., C.M.F. and J.N.P. acknowledge support from their Canada Research Chair positions in Indigenous Fisheries Science, Indigenous Environmental Justice, Freshwater Restoration Ecology, and Indigenous Environmental Science, respectively. A.J.R., C.M.F. and J.N.P acknowledge support from NSERC Canada and D.A.M. acknowledges support from SSHRC Canada. L.E.E. acknowledges support from the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. A.K.M. acknowledges support from her Liber Ero Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Territory, Centre for Indigenous Fisheries, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Andrea J. Reid

  2. Traditional Land of the Huron-Wendat, Seneca and Mississaugas of the Credit, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Deborah A. McGregor

  3. Traditional Land of the Huron-Wendat, Seneca and Mississaugas of the Credit, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Deborah A. McGregor

  4. Traditional Land of the Mississaugas of the Credit, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

    Allyson K. Menzies & Jesse N. Popp

  5. Unceded Territories of the Lekwungen-speaking Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ Peoples, Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Department of Geography, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

    Lauren E. Eckert

  6. Traditional Territories of the Three Fires Confederacy of First Nations – Ojibway, Odawa and Potawatomi, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

    Catherine M. Febria

Authors
  1. Andrea J. Reid
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  2. Deborah A. McGregor
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  3. Allyson K. Menzies
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  4. Lauren E. Eckert
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  5. Catherine M. Febria
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  6. Jesse N. Popp
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the conceptualization, writing and editing of this Comment.

Positionality statement: We are university researchers across diverse career stages (graduate student through to professor) with distinct Indigenous and settler identities (A.J.R. is a Nisg̱a’a citizen, D.A.M. and J.N.P. are Anishinaabeg, A.K.M. is Red River Métis and of mixed European descent, L.E.E. is of European settler descent and C.M.F. is Filipina). We are all united in promoting ethical approaches to research with and for Indigenous Peoples. We are all women who are currently situated in what is commonly known as Canada. Our disciplinary expertise spans fisheries, legal systems, wildlife, freshwater restoration and conservation, centring Indigenous knowledge systems in our collective approaches (often guided by elders, knowledge holders and other Indigenous community members who have shaped our research practices). Individually, we are often approached by others who engage in research and questioned about how to implement ethical research practices, which places inequitable labour on our shoulders and thereby reinforces gendered colonial, exploitative practices. Our work is also in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 94 Calls to Action17, a lack of recognition of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and stands with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and the movement’s ‘Calls for Justice’. Our collective intention with this effort is to reduce the burden that is placed on Indigenous scholars, while also asking for systemic and institutional changes (resources and funding) to support the relational labour required by all of those engaged in research. The message we share here is not novel — many resources, references and calls to action already exist, but clearly are not being read widely enough by the research community. Our intention is to (re)introduce readers of this Comment to existing bodies of thought and practice so they can continue or begin their learning journey.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrea J. Reid.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Reid, A.J., McGregor, D.A., Menzies, A.K. et al. Ecological research ‘in a good way’ means ethical and equitable relationships with Indigenous Peoples and Lands. Nat Ecol Evol 8, 595–598 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02309-0

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