Sharing Back the Research with the Community

By Sarah Wood, 1st year MDP student

For the second half of my placement, I returned to Winnipeg to work on data entry and analysis of the information gathered in the surveys on maternal health services that I collected in Norway House last month. After a month or so of this work, I returned to Norway House for Treaty and York Boat Days to disseminate some of the preliminary findings to community members during the health fair. The health fair drew a wide audience on this rainy August day. The participants explored the displays from various health initiatives in and around the community and filled out a health fair “passport” to win prizes.  

Our table at the health fair

Through working with Norway House during this stage of the project, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of the importance of reciprocity and sharing back the information gathered through research. Research has a long colonial history that must be acknowledged and challenged. Research should not be extractive, but reciprocal. During the health fair, quite a few people took the time to read through a pamphlet which graphically displays some of the results of the survey. There seemed to be significant interest from both men and women about the future of maternity care in the community.

I was also able to witness an exciting presentation in another area of Indigenous health during Treaty and York Boat days. Cindy Blackstock, First Nations child welfare advocate, was honoured by Norway House for her work with Jordan’s Principle. Jordan’s Principle, which seeks to end delays due to jurisdictional disputes surrounding healthcare for First Nations children, is named for boy named Jordan who was from Norway House. 

 

I was able to learn a lot about Indigenous maternal health during my time in Norway House and Winnipeg, but was also able to learn about many other intersecting health issues and initiatives under way in this vibrant Cree community.  

I would like to thank Norway House Cree Nation leadership for hosting me during my placement and Councillor Gilbert Fredette for his support in Norway House, as well as the staff at the Health Division for their help in ensuring I was able to distribute the surveys! I would also like to thank the research team at the University of Winnipeg, Dr. Jaime Cidro and Betsi Dolin for their guidance and support!

Cindy Blackstock speaking in Norway House

 

Standing on the Precipice of Uncertainty

By Stephen Penner, 1st year MDP student

Hold back from the LG2 Dam in Radison, Quebec

After 15 weeks of consultations with over 300 different members of the Eeyou Istchee from Chiefs to small entrepreneurs the facilitation team are to wade through the data, consult with our Director and respectfully and honestly give voice to the people in terms of the creation of the framework for a trade and commerce agreement.

Carrying the academic and experiential learnings that I have been honoured to have received is a critical part of the process. Along with these lessons it is also central to hold the principle accountability back to the people of the Cree Nation, who have entrusted us with this critical job.  To facilitate agency and respect the sacredness of story telling is the third pillar I have carried on my journey.  All of these weave their way through the long hours of trying to sort the responses and write a cohesive and coherent interim report.

These last few weeks have been tinged with a sense of loss, of leaving new friends too early, departing from a magnificent and sacred territory too soon and of trying to fill the upcoming void that will be missing the laughter and story telling that I have barely begun to scratch but have come accustomed too.  Like a tattoo, some things do not have to take a long time too mark you forever.

Old Northwest Warehouse in Fort St. George, former home to the Chisasibi Cree Nation before Hydro Electric Development

The report is very near completion.  I have a sense of anxiety that in order to deliver on the promises that we have started with this engagement, it will take structural change within the Cree Nation Government. As a facilitation team we had the privilege to hear the lived experiences and to have listened to voices of the people of Eeyou Istchee who were asking for a tool facilitate letting them live “Miyo pimatisiwin.”   With economic leakage of dollars south at upwards of 70% these voices seem to be reaching a unified call for change and asking for a way to reverse this trend.  As the leader of one of the largest Cree entities said “Our world demands jobs for our people.”

We were not doing a research project but actively engaging key community stakeholders and providing a platform with which they can shape policy.  Consultations felt like holding onto a treasured object- one that offers the possibility of turning wishes into actions.  The report once it is filed will have a life of its own.  It is my hope is that through the act of broad community consultation, the report, will ignite the fires of change and illuminate the way towards a brighter future for all of Eeyou Istchee.

Chinscumdin,

Stephen

Facilitation Team members playing pool (and eating wings!) at the Retro Daez Café in Chisasibi. A business that received funding from the Department of Commerce and Industry 

Community Data Generation for Better Informed Policy Decision Making and Development Efforts

By Adesuwa Ero, 2nd year MDP student

Without a shred of doubt, data has the potential to direct and drive how government resources are allocated and used. It is also widely agreed that data is useful in supporting meaningful development plans. An important aspect of my work with People’s Dialogue in Ghana was assisting with community profiling and mapping through the application of Geographical Information System (GIS) tools. 

Especially in this part of the world, accessing current and accurate community specific data can be very challenging, making development efforts and government actions sometimes slow, ineffective with minimal impact. For far too long, there has been a persistent disconnect between communities and their respective local and state governments due to the absence of working data to help drive appropriate development, culminating into poor governance measures and an uninformed populace.

Adesuwa facilitating a community consultation session with Bukom community for a solar energy project

An important component of the community enumeration, profiling, and mapping that we carried out is the broad and deep community involvement in the process. This process allows for the application of participatory rural appraisal techniques such as the use of transects, venn and polarization diagrams in identifying available public services, flood prone areas, eviction prone areas, community natural resources etc. Capacity building workshops are another essential part of the work, especially when dealing with the non-literate sect of the population. This is done to enable community residents learn and participate in the actual process. This has translated to high-level community appropriation of the process, and a more politically informed populace.

 

Community youth learning how to use a GIS tool in collecting data for their community enumeration

Community mapping and profiling, in this case, is particularly fundamental because it enables communities identify their development priorities and assist in having more meaningful dialogue with the government. Notwithstanding, the prevailing gaps in the process of improving the livelihood of the poor in developing countries includes grassroots access to government, the level of communication and genuine collaboration that exists between governments and communities. With an increasing availability of validated community data, what then is the turnaround time from generated community data to action (actual use of data gathered)?

The value of inclusive decision-making is, therefore, pertinent to greater success. It could lead to increased grassroots participation in local governance, increased government accountability, more people-centered policies, improved public services, income generating opportunities for youth, encourage partnership with local businesses and NGOs, and more representative leadership.