3rd Breakout Session

Thursday, April 17, 2008, 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM:     Tribal Knowledge Track

Sharing Cultural Knowledge: Lessons Learned from Implementing Indian Education for All
The Office of Public Instruction has been developing culturally relevant resources for Indian Education for All. During this session we will share issues that have arisen regarding appropriate content and the curriculum review protocols that we have utilized. The Montana Advisory Council for Indian Education (MACIE) serves as an advisory council to OPI regarding Indian Education issues. This council has representation from all Montana tribes.
Presenter: Mike Jetty.

Building an Online Native American Archive: Problems and Premise
What if there was a singular reputable Internet entity where one could compare arrowhead styles between two tribes, two regions, or by use? What if, on that same website, one could also research treaties for any given tribe? Then, if the information was incorrect, submit modifications? What if tribal communities were in charge of the information? The technology exists, and the technical skill is emerging within Native American communities. With the advent of the ‘Web 2.0’ paradigm (user created content), the premise of an Internet based cultural archive has come within reach. However there exist philosophical, technical and legal barriers.
Presenter: Michael Running Wolf Jr.

1888-2008: 120 Years of Historical Memory, Fact, Silence, Production
The research, writing and presentation of the Blackfeet Tribal History Project located on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation will be presented in a 45-minute historical DVD, a written guide, and five historical posters. This session will discuss issues of presenting from within the circles of diversity, conflict and commonality. What is protected within the camp today versus the pre-reservation setting? The intellectual transfer contradictions. The workshop will also show what presentation of knowledge, degrees of knowledge, transferred responsibilities and expansion of knowledge share in common.
Presenters: Carol Murray (Na tao waa pii saki); Lola Wippert (Ini skim ma kii).

Protecting Indigenous Intellectual Rights and Knowledge in University-level Education
In the educational pipeline from Head Start to the doctorate, Native American students encounter several points of narrowing that prevent them from achieving the levels of learning, training, and certification that they seek. The move to institutions of higher education, such as universities, represents a significant kink in the pipeline. This panel seeks to explore Indigenous knowledge and perspectives on the textual, pedagogical, and institutional levels within the university system and suggests ways of both dismantling racisms and advocating for indigenous sovereignty.
Presenters: Kathryn W. Shanley; David L. Moore; Kathleen Kane.

Pikuni Rite of Passage in Ceremonial Learning
This session will share findings from a doctoral dissertation regarding “rite of passage” into realms of knowledge in Pikuni ceremonial learning. The presentation will include how the integrity of Pikuni knowledge is protected and preserved through the ritual “Rite of Transfer”. The participants are then invited to a dialogic praxis on establishing boundaries when teaching and learning Native American studies.
Presenter: Donald D. Pepion, Ed.D.

Thursday, April 17, 2008, 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM:     Research/Institutions Track

Navigating Ways of Knowing and Finding Collaborative Space in Community Development Research
Participants will look at reflective case studies of negotiating the paths between funders, researchers, and communities to find collaborative space for participatory research in community development in American Indian communities. This workshop targets capacity building through 1) a concern for community-building within; 2) international development experience that builds respect for indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing and doing; 3) approaches to Lessons Learned (sharing research findings in multiple communities); and 4) negotiations for research support that require very different cosmologies. Participants will work on scenarios to develop insight into such negotiations.
Presenters: Teresa Trumbly Lamsam, Ph.D.; Cornelia Butler Flora, Ph.D.

Qualitative Phenomenology (QP): A Decolonizing Research Method
This is an interactive workshop based on the use of real life stories and experience as sources of knowledge and community empowerment. Teachings, demonstrations and dialogue are included in this workshop. Subjective partnership is discussed as a main part of the research process. It is a method that has been used in three research initiatives in the Native/Aboriginal community by the presenter, a Canadian Aboriginal person, all with very positive receptions. One of these received “Honourable Mention” in a major American research award competition and has also resulted in a published article in one of the American Psychological Association’s premier journals (McCabe, 2007). Another article is under review for inclusion in the Canadian Journal of Native Education.
Presenter: Glen McCabe, Ph.D.

Strategies for Strengthening Tribal/University Research Partnerships: A Discussion of Culturally Respectful Participatory Models that Offer Promise and Potential
The history of research in tribal communities is one that has been troubled by misunderstanding and miscommunication. It can be labeled troublesome, at best, and is certainly often contentious. In terms of trust-building, we maintain that this relationship has been detrimental to universities, as well. There are presently a number of model ethic agreements and similar documents to draw from, as well as development of Institutional Review Boards (IRB) in Indian Country. Still it is not unusual to hear of disregard for ethical considerations on the part of researchers. There are too few models for participatory research questions development, methodology, and dissemination of findings. This workshop will provide an overview of some of the challenges and opportunities for research partnerships with tribal group and universities. The three presenters represent a School of Social Work (student, alumni, and faculty) and a SAMHSA funded Native Children’s Trauma Center (co-PI and research).
Presenters: Patty LaPlant, Blackfeet; Marilyn Zimmerman, Assiniboine/Sioux; James Caringi.

If Methods Were Horses, Then Theorists Would Ride: One Researcher's Story of Contemplating and Complicating 'Western Thoroughbreds'
This Indigenous Knowledge Workshop examines critical crossings and the role of reciprocity in the context of institutional and/or community research projects. In addition to defining what is meant by "critical crossings" and "reciprocity", workshop participants will be guided through the process of a contemporary community research exploration (First Contact). Immersing ourselves in Role play and a small group dialogical process will help us connect the impact of past, present, and future forays into Indigenous Communities for the purpose of research. For the culminating project of the workshop we will collaborate on a "Charter for Relational Research."
Presenter: Winona Wynn.

Involving AI/AN Substance Abuse Programs in Participatory Research
This session describes the research undertaken by the presenters and 21 AI/AN substance abuse treatment programs from the U.S. and documents the postive impact of cultural/traditional interventions.
Presenters: Joe L. Connor, Ph.D.; Carol Nice Connor, Ph.D.