Imua!

By Alex Keone Oldroyd, 2nd year MDP student

Last year I wrote a very optimistic post on this blog about the power of transformation in the face of disaster. When I revisit that post today, especially the line “I like to believe there is no loss, only opportunities for change,” I can’t help but chuckle, not because I now think what I wrote was naïve (even if it was quixotic), but because after a year of the pandemic it’s hard not to feel like part of me has been lost.

Months of zoom fatigue, social distancing (read: isolation), temporal distortion, pandemic overwork, executive dysfunction, and emotional fatigue gave me some serious burnout this winter. It was hard not to give into feelings of self-doubt and the despair of spending so much of a critical time in my life under pandemic paralysis. What would all of this mean for my future?

In my winter, it hardly felt like there was any sort of “transformation” that could come from wasted time. The me that last year believed that even amid disaster there was opportunity for constant progress now believed that this season of difficulty would dog me for decades.

Fortunately, both versions of me are wrong.

Burnout isn’t an easy thing to overcome. It usually begins with acknowledging that you’re burnt out, setting boundaries, taking time to reflect and rest, and rediscovering and refocusing on the meaning of your work. I’m fortunate that I had understanding professors, a strong support network, and a built-in change of pace at the end of the semester. But ironically, the thing that has helped me most is my field placement.

This summer I have the honor of working for Kamehameha Schools, a prominent Native Hawaiian private school system with a strong focus on community and deep connections to my own family history (my grandfather served as a headmaster for KS, and we are descended from the school’s founder). At first, I wasn’t sure how I would handle as serious an undertaking as a field placement after a difficult academic year, but the chance to work for KS was a gift too great to refuse.

My work is with the Strategy Intelligence team, whose mission is to keep KS futures-ready as the organization educates the next generation of Kanaka Maoli leaders and deepens their impact on the lāhui. My role is to provide research and engagement support on several strategic priorities from COVID-19 vaccination efforts to measures of economic wellbeing and beyond.

The work so far has been rewarding, but I feel I’ve gained far more than I’ve given. My mother likes to say that whenever she returns to Hawaiʻi her “blood sings.” That’s the best way I’ve found to describe my experience this summer. My placement has helped me reconnect with my sources of strength that have been eroded by the pandemic: a sense of purpose and momentum, mentorship, the ʻāina, the lāhui, my ancestors, and more. Staying connected to those sources are what will help me avoid future burnout and persevere amid an ever-uncerain future.

Iʻm less eager than I was before to claim that there is no loss, only opportunities for change. My ancestors knew well that sometimes the only way to make progress on the ocean was to go backward. They also understood that life has its cycles and seasons. Transformation is not a linear process of constant upward progress, but a cycle of growth and flourishing and decay and loss.

And if after disaster and burnout no transformation has come? Well, sooner or later the seasons change.

Thinking About Indigenous Food Security and Research During COVID-19

By Taylor Wilson, 2nd year MDP student

In my previous blogpost regarding my field placement, I shared that I chose to re-adjust my placement plan and do something different. Some other students did the same as I did while others chose to continue their plans while adjusting to COVID-19 rules. Like I had previously mentioned I had initially planned to work in my home community of Fisher River Cree Nation. I was going to create a food guide. This guide was to map our food system and provide information on how to eat nutritionally and traditionally in ways that are accessible, affordable, and easy. I had hoped it could be a guide to revitalizing Fisher River’s unique food culture as they are a Cree community living amongst a sea of Anishinaabe communities. Unfortunately, that did not happen.

Corn growing m my yard in Fisher River

There were several reasons why I chose to not do my initial plan during the pandemic. One of the larger ones was that my community chose to close its borders to nearly everyone except for on-reserve members, which I found to be a valid choice. The other major reason I chose not to do my placement there during the pandemic was because of the topic. I was looking at food sovereignty and food security and I didn’t think it was fair or right that I, even as a community member, go to Fisher River during a time of uncertainty and do research about the food system.

If there is anything that MDP has taught me over my two years in the program, it’s the importance of doing research the right way. Fisher River is fortunate enough to be a thriving Indigenous community with capable and amazing community members, but it doesn’t exempt them from the myriad of issues surrounding Indigenous communities and the struggle for food sovereignty and security. Who was I to come into the community, someone who hadn’t lived on-reserve for nearly 10 years, and begin to question the food system during a time like this? Or ask questions about how people access and afford their food during what could arguably be called an economic crisis? Where access to affordable foods might be difficult. Not only that, commercial fishing, a huge source of income and food in the community, was halted across Manitoba. As soon as I realized these things, I called it off. I spoke with Shailesh and voiced my concerns, and thankfully (as much as we both would like to do this project), he agreed that this was not the right time.

Doing research on/in/with Indigenous communities during times like these means that as a researcher, even an Indigenous one, we need to think about the consequences, impacts, and realities of what our research does. Honestly, even without the pandemic, we need to consider these things. Even with our community partners being open, willing, and excited to work on this project, we need to understand and consider the impacts any research we do. I encourage other researchers, students, organizations who want to do research with Indigenous communities to think about what this pandemic is doing to Indigenous communities, and consider “is this the right time to be doing research”?

I look forward to working on this project in the future and being back home on the land. For now, I will continue to do work and learn about what research is and needs to be.

Yours, Taylor 

My yard in Fisher River

Remotely connected with the land that gives life

By Henok Alemneh, 2nd year student

I first found out about the Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage Site from my academic advisor when I was in my very first semester in the MDP program. I have since been building relationships and working with the Pimachiowin Aki Corporation (PAC), which is a non-profit charity organization mandated to coordinate and integrate actions to protect and present the outstanding universal value of a boreal forest Anishinaabe cultural landscape. Through PAC, the First Nations of Bloodvein River, Little Grand Rapids, Pauingassi and Poplar River and the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario, collaboratively manage Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage Site. Pimachiowin Aki, which is Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) for “the land that gives life”, is one of the world’s few UNESCO World Heritage sites recognized for both its cultural and natural values.

In my current field placement opportunity with PAC, I have been tasked to work on two main projects. The first project has been to undertake a research and present options and recommendations to the PAC Board of Directors, for consideration by the Pimachiowin Aki First Nations, for an Indigenous-owned and controlled economic development corporation with a mission to develop and deliver a for-profit Indigenous tourism facility and experience in the World Heritage Site.

This research project has now been completed, thanks to the continuous inputs and guidance from my supervisors Bruce Bremner, PAC Board Co-Chair & Alison Haugh, PAC Executive Director. Conducting research, report writing, and teamwork are among the key practical experiences I gained through this project. 

The second project I am currently working on focuses on proposing a business plan in accordance with the recommendations of the research project. Once the business plan is finalized, it would be presented to PAC Board who would make decisions on the next steps. So far, the field placement activities have provided me with opportunities to apply some of what I learned in the MDP program, particularly through Research and Business Planning courses.

Unlike my previous field placement that involved travel and in-person community engagement, the COVID-19 pandemic we are in has now forced many of us to work from home. In my view, traveling out to the outstanding Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage Site, getting the opportunity to engage with some community members and connecting with the land and culture would be irreplaceable experiences. However, the stories I get to hear and read, the interactions I have with my supervisors, the articles I reference, and the reflections I make in the papers are helping me connect remotely with Pimachiowin Aki, the land that gives life, until the time and opportunity to go in person arises.

Living in the Clouds - Ngaruawahia, New Zealand

By Leah McDonnell, 2nd year MDP student

 

This is the sunset from the base of the hill, our accommodations are at the top of the hill

The Fly agaric mushroom grows on campus - looks like something out of Mario Bros.

For my placement with the Waikato-Tainui College for Research and Development, I am living at the top of a hill, surrounded by luscious green (and sacred) mountains, with the Waikato, a river of outstanding beauty and power running through the landscape.  The mountains reach high into the sky and often seem to have clouds that rest on them, sometimes even roll down them, bringing a brisk rainfall to keep the grass and plants fed. 

In general in New Zealand, Kiwis (New Zealanders) seem to have great respect for nature and the pristine countryside.  Where I am living and working is no different.   

Leah by the Waikato River that runs through the campus

I am working on a program that uses different aspects of the land (particularly the river) to implement programming that supports and facilitates cultural connections for Maori youth.   

Personally, I believe very strongly in the effectiveness of a program that uses a hands-on approach for youth.  I believe this to be more fun and engaging for children, and too be fair, even for adults.   

The strength I believe I can offer my placement is looking from an international perspective in regards to similar projects that are happening back home, their strengths, weaknesses, successes, and challenges.  While it took me a few weeks to truly understand my positionality here, I am confident in it now, while still understanding that it may change.

Internship Experience at the United Nations University- Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH)

By Oluwabusola Olaniyan, 1st year MDP student

“Our environment must be protected by all means!” This has been my song since I became aware of the words “climate change” and “sustainability.”  In fact, the dynamic interactions between us, our environment and the earth as a whole are fascinating, but worrisome is the rocketing nature of humankind towards an unrecognisable existence. Therefore, it is imperative to understand and address environmental issues beyond the local, state, and national levels into an international level and this work experience is what I acquired in UNU-INWEH as a research intern.

In fulfilment of my study plan and towards earning an academic credit for the partial fulfilment of my Master’s program, I served as a secondary research intern at the Water and Human Development sector of the UNU-INWEH, an organisation that acts as the “United Nations’ Think Tank on water.”

My research examined global wastewater production and statistically analysed the results of the study. The credible research outcomes are relevant to respond directly to regional and global water crisis that facilitate efforts to meet UN Development goals. To an extent, the research results provide scientifically based evidence and knowledge to help resolve the global pressing water needs and thus, accelerate solutions to world challenges at the interface of water and development practice. The significance of the research is the centrality of water to sustainable development. Basically for the research, data were collected, organized, mined, managed, synthesized and analysed using excel spreadsheets and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). This way, the data analysis and synthesis provided insights, taking the research beyond pure facts. 

One of the most significant aspects of my internship was being surrounded by a network of passionate people whose main mission is to make differences in society by providing effective solutions through research methods. This allowed me to learn more from them, and helped me to understand the necessity to apply research for resolving problems in development matters. 

Finally, I was presented with a distinction award for the successful completion of the research.

UNU-INWEH Director, Dr. Zafar Adeel presenting award to Oluwabusola .

Winding down Researching Resilience

By Dev Kashyap, 2nd year MDP student

With just a couple weeks left in my University of Winnipeg field placement in south-east India, I can't believe how time has flown by. However, in reflection, the past month has been a whirlwind of visits to 'Adivasi' or Indigenous communities in and around our base of Kotturu, in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Myself, along with my MDP classmate Manna Sainju and host organization Appropriate Reconstruction Technology Information Centre (ARTIC), have reached our goal of completing all key informant interviews and focus group discussions with our selected participating Adivasi communities in the month of July.

July took us through the beautiful landscapes of three local rural counties or "Mandals" as they are called in Andhra Pradesh; some of them accessible only by rugged roads. Part of what we have learned revolves around the similarities in Adivasi habitations in terms of the effects on them from changes over the past 30 years: globalization; emerging technologies and government programming and policies. What is certain is that all of these communities embody resilience in terms of their day-to-day living. Things that we take for granted in North America - such as constant electricity, piped water directed to our homes and easy access to irrigation - are amenities that require planning and hard physical labour in many cases here in rural India.

All in all, I am grateful for my experience here, the assistance I have had in my research from the team at ARTIC, and last but not least the willingness of the research participants to contribute to my higher learning about the rural experience of Adivasis in south Asia. Resilience is manifest in their processes of living day-to-day here and embodied in the daily tasks performed by Adivasi communities. Resilient communities carrying on in the face of externally-driven changes.

Dev, Prakash, Yamuna and Shrimaiji from ARTIC, and the research participants from the community of Bommika, Andhra Pradesh

On the Trail for Millets

By Dev Kashyap, 2nd year MDP student

After over a month in South Asia, I finally feel I am settling into a groove. The journey has led me to Kotturu, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. The weather is hot and it is pre-monsoon season with temperatures daily hitting low-to-mid 30 degrees Celsius, but our arrival in this rural setting was just after a debilitating heat wave that caused somewhere around 1,000 deaths in the region. The hot days usually get relieved with evening showers, but by mid-afternoon a seat in front of a fan, bottled water in close proximity, is the appropriate posture.

 

Dev on top of ARTIC sign in Kotturu, India

Amidst the heat and humidity, the purpose of our trip to this part of the world has commenced: researching ‘Adivasi’ (the local word) or Indigenous resilience in the face of environmental and external-driven change in the region around Kotturu, Andhra Pradesh. Specifically, the research is revolved around the traditional crop of Millets, a nutritious ‘ancient world’ grain whose cultivation has been in steady decline in recent years due to the introduction of ‘non-native’ food crops and cash crops into the area. Our research has been possible with the help of our host and local NGO, Appropriate Reconstruction Training and Information Centre (ARTIC), who have been doing grassroots development work in the area for over 30 years.

Since millets production and subsequently consumption has been in such decline over the last few decades, the first month of our field placement can be summarized as being ‘on the trail for millets’.  The trail has led us to local government and administrative offices, meeting officials in agriculture, health, local development. Furthermore, community visits have been conducted in more than 10 villages to get an idea of which communities will be targeted as part of our research.