Thanks to IPinCH Co-investigator Alison Wylie, the public panel discussion 鈥淐onstructive Engagement: Scientific and Aboriginal Communities in Collaboration鈥� brought together speakers in the fields of archaeology, health, and agriculture at 911吃瓜鈥檚 downtown campus on June 18, 2010. This IPinCH event was part of 鈥淥bjectivity in Science,鈥� a four-day conference sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), with additional support coming from 911吃瓜 Dean of Arts and Social Sciences Leslie Cormack.
George Nicholas first outlined the IPinCH project鈥檚 approach to collaborative research, then Albert (Sonny) McHalsie and David Shaepe from IPinCH partner organization, the St贸:lo Research and Resource Management Centre, discussed a range of interactions between academic researchers and St贸:lo. Doris Cook, of the Family and Community Medicine department at the University of Arizona, described successes of her home community, Akwasasne, in meeting health research challenges through collaboration, and becoming more comfortable in directing some areas of research. She also described the crafting of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) guidelines for Aboriginal research, stressing the crucial collaboration between CIHR, the Aboriginal community, the Aboriginal Ethics Working Group, and Alberta鈥檚 ACADRE Network, with its practical experience in ethics application processes. Laura Arbour, from UBC鈥檚 Medical Genetics department, presented cases involving researchers who returned Indigenous groups鈥� genetic material because it was being used for purposes outside of the groups鈥� consents. Finally, Louise Fortmann, of the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at University of California Berkeley, tied the talks together, introducing the concept of 鈥渋nterdependent science,鈥� made by collaboration of conventional scientists and 鈥渃ivil scientists,鈥� who have little academic training and develop local techniques useful in addressing on-the-ground needs, such as breeding plants for improved food production.