Though the project began in 2022, there were broader conversations about Indigenous-led research within the context of UBC and other Western academic institutions well before receiving a SIF. Reflecting on these conversations and the challenges of conducting community-based research at UBC, it became clear that to promote further dialogue and inspire change, dedicated spaces are needed for researchers and Indigenous community members to safely reflect, communicate, and collaborate to envision new possibilities. Noticing these spaces were largely absent within the University’s existing framework, the team shifted focus to provide support for meaningful partnerships from the ground up by asking, “What structures can we create, grow, and sustain to truly support these relationships?”
The findings from the Creating Structures project are a rich collection of themes organized into four categories: Strengths of Meaningful Partnerships, Continued Challenges in Partnerships, Student Voices: Ideas for Change, and Continued Challenges for Students. These findings are summarized in Creating Structures’ “Blueprint for Moving Forward with Reconciliation and Research,” which dives deeper into the story of the project, as well as in two infographics.
