Abstract
Guidelines and best practices to engage Indigenous people in Arctic regions in biophysical research have emerged since the 1990s. Despite these guidelines, mainstream scientists still struggle to create effective working relationships with Indigenous people and engage them in their research. We encountered this issue when we visited three communities on Alaska’s west coast to study impactful weather events and the formation of “slush ice berms,” which can protect towns from storm surges. As we worked to build relationships with residents of the towns, we found the existing guidelines are often helpful for telling us what to do—for example, they emphasize the importance of face-to-face communication—but researchers also need to think about how to do it (skills) and how to be (personal attributes). To demonstrate to Indigenous people that we value and respect their culture, researchers could learn to use language that is understandable and that reflects a collaborative rather than a top-down approach. We should be ready to adjust our schedules and to help the community we are visiting, rather than simply focusing on our own needs. We might look for benefits for the community and ensure residents understand and are satisfied with the research we are doing. Some of the necessary attributes we identified are curiosity, honesty, interpersonal awareness, empathy, flexibility, and openness. Although the skills and attributes presented here are useful to bridge the gap between cultures, we caution that there is no specific formula that can guarantee success.
Highlights
At a time when the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge is more relevant at all levels—from the global to the local—we see the need to support young researchers and new people entering the biophysical sciences who want to learn how to engage Indigenous communities in research and environmental monitoring
We were able to outline some of the limitations of guidelines and best practices for engaging Indigenous people in biophysical research and applying a communitycentered approach
Guidelines to engage Indigenous people in research contain suggestions on what to do and insights on how to engage residents in research, but we found that more tools were required on this latter point
Summary
At a time when the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge is more relevant at all levels—from the global to the local—we see the need to support young researchers and new people entering the biophysical sciences who want to learn how to engage Indigenous communities in research and environmental monitoring. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2017) promotes the inclusion of local knowledge in global climate science and policy processes, where governments support and encourage local adaptation and environmental monitoring initiatives. Newcomers to the field of biophysical science research recognize the value and importance of engaging Indigenous communities and building communities’ capacity to do their own research. Kendrick (2003) and Huntington et al (2010) emphasize the importance of cross-cultural communication to develop trust and build common ground Specific insights are documented in numerous publications—for example, Crowell (2001), Pearce et al (2009), and Wolfe et al (2011) identify the following steps as important: engaging face-to-face, early and ongoing communication, and hiring local people when conducting research. Huntington et al (2011) suggest the key elements for a successful collaboration based on trust and respect are a) the right personality, b) the right local partners, c) collaborative field work, and d) paid local researchers to collect high-quality data. Kendrick (2003) and Huntington et al (2010) emphasize the importance of cross-cultural communication to develop trust and build common ground
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