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Research Involving Indigenous People (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis), Communities, and Nations

Home » Research Ethics » Research Involving Indigenous People (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis), Communities, and Nations

All research involving Indigenous People (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis), Communities, and Nations that are conducted under the auspices of York University must be reviewed and approved by the Indigenous Research Ethics Board (IREB) prior to beginning the research. This includes faculty research and student research (thesis/dissertation, MRPs/Projects, and course-related projects) that may have been previously reviewed by delegated review committees.

For all other research conducted at the University, the Senate Policy on Research Involving Human Participants and its associated Human Participants Review Committee (the HPRC) apply. Non-Indigenous related research involving human participants should be submitted according to the HPRC or the delegated review committee, based on the type of research being conducted.

New! Procedure for the Inclusion of Indigenous Participants and/or Previously Collected Indigenous Data Identified After Project Approval

  1. If a researcher with an HPRC-approved protocol needs to amend their project to: i. intentionally expand the participant pool to include Indigenous Peoples, Communities, and/or Nations; or ii. address the unintentional and/or accidental inclusion of previously collected data from Indigenous Peoples, Communities, and/or Nations; the researcher must contact the IREB Chair to discuss the project details prior to submitting an amendment.
  • Following consultation with the IREB Chair, and, when appropriate, discussion with the committee, the researcher shall submit an IREB amendment application, addressing how the project will appropriately engage with Indigenous rights, protocols, and knowledge systems.
  • The IREB committee will review the submitted amendment application, and the researcher will be informed of the decision following the committee’s next meeting.

Ethics applications must be submitted to the Office of Research Ethics through the online system, YU Ethics Review.

All research involving Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis), Communities, and Nations conducted as part of graduate or undergraduate coursework, undergraduate theses, independent projects, graduate Major Research Papers (MRPs), and graduate theses/dissertations/pilot projects, must be reviewed by the IREB. Ethics applications must be submitted to the Office of Research Ethics through the online system, YU Ethics Review.

Additional Requirements for Students:
All graduate student researchers must complete the TCPS Tutorial to fulfill the required ethics education component. A valid certificate of completion must be uploaded with the ethics application. Applications submitted without this certificate will not be accepted for review.

Note:
Graduate students must submit their thesis/dissertation proposal to the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) before applying for ethics review. Once approved, FGS will provide an approval email with a unique proposal approval number and instructions for accessing YU Ethics Review. Your ethics application must include proof of proposal approval from FGS. Applications submitted without this documentation will not be accepted for review.

All applications must be submitted via the online system, YU Ethics Review.

Before submission, please review the Learning Resources available on the Research Ethics Portal website. These resources provide guidance on navigating the YU Ethics Review system and include step-by-step instructions for preparing and submitting your ethics application.

If, after project initiation, researchers whose study was approved by the HPRC recognize that their study requires additional inquiring with Indigenous participants or involves data sets requiring specific Indigenous participants analysis, communities, knowledges, this constitutes a material change to the project’s ethical scope.

Researchers must immediately contact the Indigenous Research Ethics Board (IREB) before continuing any analysis, interpretation, or dissemination of related material, and prior to submitting an amendment application. Following consultation with the IREB Chair and, when appropriate, discussion with the committee, the researcher will be directed to submit an IREB amendment application through the Office of Research Ethics.

To initiate this process, researchers should email ore@yorku.ca to schedule a meeting with the IREB.

The IREB will guide the research team through a process that may include:

  • Assessing whether the inclusion of Indigenous peoples or data requires Indigenous governance or data sovereignty processes;
  • Pausing analysis until appropriate Indigenous engagement or oversight is established;
  • Identifying relevant Indigenous partners, organizations, or governance structures for consultation;
  • Amending consent, data management, and authorship plans to align with Indigenous research ethics principles (e.g., OCAP®, community-specific frameworks, TCPS-2 Chapter 9).

This process ensures that Indigenous rights, governance, and ethical frameworks are respected.

Indigenous research protocols, including minimal and more than minimal risk protocols, are reviewed by all the committee members in monthly meetings. Submissions must be received by the following deadlines in 2026 for a protocol to be reviewed in the next monthly meeting.

  • February 6
  • March 6
  • April 3
  • May 8
  • June 5
  • July 10
  • August 7
  • September 4
  • October 9
  • November 6

Please note that there are no committee meetings in December.

Guidelines and Consent Form Templates are available on the Human Participants in Research section of the Office of Research Ethics website.