{"id":34341,"date":"2020-03-05T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/researchdev\/2020\/03\/05\/books-illustrate-thought-leadership-in-indigenous-formed-and-led-research-2\/"},"modified":"2025-01-30T09:51:32","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T14:51:32","slug":"books-illustrate-thought-leadership-in-indigenous-formed-and-led-research-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/research\/2020\/03\/05\/books-illustrate-thought-leadership-in-indigenous-formed-and-led-research-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Books illustrate thought leadership in Indigenous-formed and -led research"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two new books from Osgoode Hall Law School, on<\/em><\/strong> Indigenous research and the relationship between Indigenous peoples and Canada, illustrate York\u2019s thought leadership in this field. Professors Deborah McGregor and Karen Drake have produced edited collections that will make lasting contributions.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the coming years, Indigenous leadership in York\u2019s collaborative, socially engaged research will create a unique space to support contributions to Indigenous knowledges within and beyond the academy.<\/p>\n

In articulating this research opportunity, York affirms a commitment to respectful, relevant, Indigenous-formed and -led research, scholarship and related creative activity. This research promises positive and critically needed change to policy, practice, community and cultural life and ultimately, relationships among us all.<\/p>\n

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Deborah McGregor<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

One way to create this space is through publications that help to shape the research discussion and add to our understanding of this vital area of study. Two professors at Osgoode Hall Law School have done precisely that.<\/p>\n

\"Karen<\/p>\n

Karen Drake<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Professor\u00a0Deborah McGregor<\/strong>, also in the Faculty of Environmental Studies, has edited a collection with Jean-Paul Restoule (University of Victoria) and Rochelle Johnston (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto):\u00a0Indigenous Research: Theories, Practices, and Relationships\u00a0<\/em>(Canadian Scholars\u2019 Press, 2018).<\/p>\n

Professor\u00a0Karen Drake<\/strong>\u00a0has edited a new book with Brenda Gunn (University of Manitoba):\u00a0Renewing Relationships: Indigenous Peoples and Canada<\/em>\u00a0(Wiyasiwewin Mikiwahp Native Law Centre, University of Saskatchewan, 2019).<\/p>\n

McGregor shines a light on how Indigenous approaches to research are carried out in practice<\/h3>\n

McGregor, who is Anishinaabe from Whitefish River First Nation, Birch Island, Ontario, is a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice. Her research program seeks to develop a distinctive environmental justice framework based on Indigenous knowledge systems and the lived experience of Indigenous peoples. Her work provides a much deeper understanding of environmental injustices facing Indigenous peoples, and even more importantly, leads to viable approaches to addressing such challenges.<\/p>\n

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Deborah McGregor\u2019s new book, Indigenous Research. Image reproduced with permission of the publisher.<\/p><\/div>\n

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McGregor\u2019s new collection,\u00a0Indigenous Research,<\/em>\u00a0makes a unique contribution to the literature because it moves beyond asking what Indigenous research is, and examines how Indigenous approaches to research are carried out in practice.<\/p>\n

Contributors to this 17-chapter volume share their personal experiences of conducting research within an academic setting in collaboration with their communities and with guidance from Elders and other traditional knowledge keepers.<\/p>\n

Topics include healing and transformative learning through Indigenous methodologies, conducting community-based research in First Nation Communities, storytelling in narrative inquiry, and research within relations of violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese stories are linked to current discussions and debates, and their unique journeys reflect the diversity of Indigenous languages, knowledges and approaches to inquiry,\u201d says McGregor.<\/p>\n

Drake considers renewing relationships between Indigenous peoples and the Canadian state<\/h3>\n

Drake is a citizen of the M\u00e9tis Nation of Ontario whose research interests include Canadian law as it affects Indigenous peoples, Anishinaabe law, M\u00e9tis law, property law and dispute resolution. Her work addresses the relationship between liberalism and Aboriginal rights, and the role of Aboriginal rights and legal education in promoting reconciliation. She previously served as a commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, on the Board of Directors of the Indigenous Bar Association, and on the Thunder Bay M\u00e9tis Council.<\/p>\n

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Karen Drake\u2019s new book, Renewing Relationships. Image reproduced with permission of the publisher.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Her recent publication,\u00a0Renewing Relationships,<\/em>\u00a0consists of a series of compelling essays by Indigenous legal academics about revitalizing relationships between Canada and Indigenous people.\u00a0Importantly, it reflects the many differing viewpoints from across the nation. \u201cSome Indigenous nations might embrace principles of reconciliation, while\u00a0others reject\u00a0the concept of reconciliation and advocate for\u00a0resistance or decolonization,\u201d Drake explains.<\/p>\n

This book, which features contributions by McGregor, Professor Signa Daum Shanks and doctoral student Robert Clifford, builds on existing literature about Indigenous-Crown relationships that addresses issues such as the inclusion of Indigenous laws, self-determination and the role of the constitution.<\/p>\n

The chapters pose vital questions, such as:<\/p>\n