- [Narrator] Indigenous Ways of Knowing,
Considerations for Researchers Working
in Indigenous Communities:
Permission, presented by the Center
for Native Child and Family Resilience.
Researchers need to plan time to engage with the community
in a way that meets their needs.
To do so effectively, they need to learn about
and use Tribally specific cultural protocols
and obtain the Tribal community's permission
in a culturally responsive manner.
Seeking permission provides an avenue
for demonstrating respect
for a community and for its members.
S'ina Ikikcu Win, Takes the Robe Woman.
Ethleen Iron Cloud Two Dogs is an Oglala Lakota citizen
who also has Crow ancestry.
She has worked in the field of children, youth, family
and community development with special emphasis
on culturally appropriate interventions
and helping tools for more than 35 years.
- [Ethleen] I think knowing the protocols of the community,
the nation, the village, wherever we're going into,
I think that's really important.
And I think that would really speak
to respect and honor for the people.
One of the things that I think about
is John Neihardt came to our people
and asked to speak to somebody that knew our grandfather,
Crazy Horse, our great leader,
and he wanted to interview them.
And so, somebody sent him to one of the relatives,
elder named Black Elk, and he asked him if he knew of him
and if he could interview him, and he said,
"I've been waiting for you."
"You're going to tell my story."
He said, "You're going to tell my vision."
So he said, "But I can only,"
and this wasn't just right away.
This was over time, you know.
"And I can only tell you if you're related to me,
"because this is my vision," he said.
So he adopted him as a son, and he prayed about it.
They filled the sacred pipe, and they prayed,
and he shared his vision.
So that vision is now "Black Elk Speaks,"
and it's translated into hundreds of languages.
People really take to his story and his vision.
But what if he walked away and said,
"No, I want to speak to somebody
"about the grandfather, Crazy Horse,"
or "No, I don't want to be adopted."
That would have been lost, but it was meant to be.
It was meant to be that way.
- [Narrator] Cultural and customary adoption
is an Indigenous example of a culturally protocol
that is used to expand family systems
rather than diminish them.
In this story, Black Elk could only tell his vision
to a family member who would then have a responsibility
to carry on the teachings, ensuring continuity of knowledge
and tradition to another generation.
Researchers should consider community-based permissions
as well as institution-based permissions
such as review boards.
Joan LaFrance, Doctor of Education,
is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.
She is the owner of Mekinak Consulting,
an evaluation service specializing
in the educational program, evaluation,
research and management studies.
- [Joan] I just want to encourage the fact
that we have to work a lot with outside evaluators,
many of whom are not Indian, and relationship building
is something that they're responsible to do
as well as we are and I as Native evaluators.
I encourage people to think about their community
that they're going to work with
even though it's not an evaluation task,
to be present if they're having
any kind of treaty day ceremonies or celebrations,
so they can see what this community looks like
when it comes together and what they care about.
I even encourage maybe dropping in on an elder
or a senior lunch program, because seniors love new visitors
and get a chance to talk with and get to know people.
- [Narrator] Relationships are critical
and require being present in the community,
not only at research events,
but also as part of the community.
In order to be effective, research and Tribal communities
requires meaningful community engagement
and relationship building to truly understand the needs
and strengths of the tribe.
Every community is different, so it is important
to follow their specific cultural protocols
and meet with diverse community members.
The Center for Native Child and Family Resilience
was funded by the Children's Bureau,
Administration for Children and Families,
US Department of Health and Human Services
under cooperative agreement No. 90CA 1853.
The contents of this product are solely the responsibility
of JBS International Inc.
and do not necessarily reflect the official views
of the Children's Bureau.