Indigenous Community-Based Researcher Pathway

The Indigenous Community-Based Researcher Pathway was established by IOF’s Indigenous Initiatives Committee (with unanimous IOF support) in 2023. We created this Pathway to enable graduate students to complete their program requirements at a distance, if desired, in whole or in part, so they may reside in their Indigenous community context(s) during their studies.

By creating a flexible learning environment for students, this Pathway supports a range of UBC and IOF institutional and strategic goals, namely UBC’s Indigenous Strategic Plan:

“A first step in the right direction would be to work towards a major increase in Indigenous students, staff, and faculty. The more we are able to increase Indigenous access to UBC, the more this knowledge will become part of our community in non-tokenizing ways.”

– UBC Indigenous Strategic Plan Engagement Participant

Eligibility and Course Requirements

At this time, Pathway participation applies only to the 18-credit M.Sc. thesis (two-chapter thesis) stream; we will be expanding to Ph.D. in the near term. This requires completing FISH 500 (3) and 9 credits of electives, from three of the six elective categories detailed here. FISH 500 is offered in a hybrid format (in-person and online), and the following 3 suggested electives would fulfill the course requirements:

• FISH 506I – Co-Creating Aquatic Science (3)
  Online with week-long in-person gathering; Category 3, 4, or 5
• HGSE 320A – Indigenous Fisheries Science (3)
  Online; transitioning to 2-week intensive field course in 2025; Category 4
• FISH 548 – Directed Studies in Oceans and Fisheries; any Category

Other courses at UBC (or beyond) can also fit into these requirements, such as the University of Victoria and QQS Projects Society of the Heiltsuk First Nation’s “Koeye Field School: Indigenous Knowledge, Science, and Resource Management.”

How to Apply

Each prospective Pathway participant is considered on a case-by-case basis. Participation in this Pathway is not a given; it requires supervisor and community support, as well as approval by the Indigenous Initiatives Committee .

Applications (available here ) are to be submitted as a single PDF to cif@oceans.ubc.ca (Subject line: Pathway Participation).

Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis but must be submitted at least two months in advance of the proposed start of Pathway participation.

Applications must include the following key elements:

• A description of the student’s connection to the Community/Nation (300-600 words or <5 min. video);
• A summary of Pathway participation benefits for:
  • the student (both professionally and personally);
  • the Community/Nation; and
  • the IOF (300-600 words or <5 min. video)
• Two offerings of support (letter or audio/video recording): a 1-2 page signed letter (on letterhead) from the student’s academic supervisor, and a 1-2 page signed letter (or audio/video recording) from the Community/Nation representative(s). The Community/Nation representative(s) might include a council member, a marine/fisheries coordinator, an elder or youth, as we recognize the appropriate person(s) will vary by context. Any familial relationships (if applicable) should be clearly stated within the letter.

Expectations and Contingencies

Student Expectations:

• Complete Indigenous community-based research as specified for the Pathway;
• Complete program requirements (see here);
• Maintain regular communications with your supervisor;
• Participate in and provide updates at lab/team/IOF meetings and events; and
• Provide ongoing feedback on the Pathway by raising questions, concerns, and ideas! This is to be directed to the Indigenous Initiatives Committee via: cif@oceans.ubc.ca.

Supervisor Expectations:

• Provide ongoing mentorship, guidance, and research support (as is expected for all graduate student supervisors (see here);
• Work with the student to ensure access to technologies and capabilities required for productive remote work (e.g., computer, Wi-Fi, workspace);
• Maintain regular communications with the student; and
• Work to ensure equitable treatment of all team members and maintain strong group cohesion through online, hybrid, and in-person opportunities for all.

Contingencies:

• Both student and supervisor agree to review, adapt, and complete the Checklist of Expectations for Graduate Student and Supervisor and note specific considerations around Pathway participation;
• Should barriers, challenges, or conflicts arise, the typical procedures set out for student–supervisor conflict resolution will be followed; and
• Should one of the above-listed courses become unavailable to the student (e.g., instructor leave), the student, supervisor, and advisory committee will work together to identify suitable substitutions.

Student and Community Experiences

“To build sustainable and equitable relationships with our freshwater and ocean systems, the processes through which we, as researchers, do our work matter, as do our relationships with different systems of power. By [creating] this Pathway, the IOF will be participating in the deconstruction of divides between academic and community-held knowledge that, in Canada, often reflect inequitable, colonially-enforced relationships between Western and Indigenous science[s]. This Pathway will provide IOF the opportunity to support research that meaningfully and ethically engages with the strengths of community-held knowledge by creating the conditions that allow students, such as myself, to be intentionally relational and present with the communities they seek to do research for and with.”

– Pathway Participant

“Our relationship with the waters and fish is of great importance to [our] People. These relationships are essential for our Nation as a source of food, livelihood, health, ceremony, and more. Through [this Pathway], [the student] can support these relationships and the wellbeing of [our] First Nation. More specifically, this work will bring new information to light that can inform [our] restoration and management efforts and be of use for other organizations in the area.”

– Community Partner

N.B. Names of students and communities have been anonymized for privacy.