Projects

I engage in research that is collaborative, grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and address needs identified by Indigenous peoples, communities and nations. Below are some of the projects that I am and have been involved in:

Current:

Principal Investigator (2021-2026). The Waasegiizhig Nanaandawe’iyewigamig Mino-Bimaadiziwin Project: Cancer Prevention through Traditional Healing

Working from the standpoint that settler colonialism is a determinant of Indigenous health, this project seeks to prevent cancer through traditional healer practitioner appointments and seasonal medicine camps in the Kenora area. This project is conducted in partnership with Waasegiizhig Nanaandawe’iyewigamig Health Access Centre (WNHAC).

Principal Investigator (2021-2023). Indigenizing Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR): Exploring how post-secondary institutions can recognize Indigenous community-based knowledge during credit and degree-granting processes. ONCAT

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) is a process whereby students may obtain credits for knowledge and skills that they have acquired outside of an accredited institution from formal or informal environments.  The two main aspects of PLAR are: 1. identifying prior learning that is equivalent to learning that occurs within an accredited institution; and, 2. Evaluating if prior learning has met the threshold of equivalency. The project, conducted in partnership with Nokiiwin Tribal Council and Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment & Training Services (KKETS) will explore how post-secondary institutions can recognize Indigenous community-based knowledge during credit and degree granting processes, as well as the readiness of institutions to do so

Principal Investigator. (2020-2022). The Indigenous Food Guide Project. Lakehead University SSHRC Explore Fund: Indigenous Research Capacity Development (IRCD) grant program.

Conducted in partnership with WNHAC this project seeks to support the creation and implementation of an Indigenous food guide that is grounded in Indigenous traditional knowledges.

Co-Principal Investigator. (2019-2024). Educating for Equity: Building Culturally Safe Care through Indigenous Narratives. Funded by CIHR, Project Grant.

This project examines two health service hubs for Indigenous peoples in Ontario: Thunder Bay and London to support the implementation of targeted local strategies of relationship building, health service provider education and policy work that can bring about systemic change to ensure that First Nations, Inuit, Métis peoples have improved access to and experiences with health care services. This project is conducted in partnership with many health service providers and/or Indigenous organizations in Ontario.


Previous:

Principal Investigator. (2018-2019). Investigating Food Sovereignty as a Best Practice Framework for Health Interventions in Rural and Urban Hubs in Northern Ontario. Funded by CIHR, Catalyst Grant.

In partnership with WNHAC and Shkagamik-Kwe Health Centre (SKHC), this project created an Indigenous health framework that acknowledges deep and meaningful relationships with the land and a series of educational videos.

Principal Investigator. (2018/2019). Indigenous Program Pathways, Phase Two: Student Experiences. Funded by ONCAT (Canadore College Principal Applicant).

In follow up to phase one, this project explored Indigenous program pathways in Ontario from the perspectives of students. This included Indigenous learners in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous programs and non-Indigenous learners in Indigenous programs through a mixed methods collaborative approach.

Co-Investigator. (2018/2019). The Indigenous Circle: Reconciliation and Resurgence through Food in Northwestern Ontario. Funded by SSHRC, partnership engage grant.

Co-Investigator (2018/19). “When the Snow Blankets the Earth, It is Time to Tell Stories”: Using Digital Technology and Indigenous Storytelling to Communicate Research on Lac Seul First Nation’s History. Funded by SSHRC, Indigenous Research Capacity and Reconciliation Connection Grant.

Co-Investigator. (2017/2019). Nokiiwin Student Transitions Research Project. Funded by INAC, New Paths for Education: Research, Measurement, Evaluation and Knowledge Transfer Initiative.

Principal Investigator (2015-2018). Indigenous Quality Assurance – a northern colleges collaborative approach. Funded by the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities, Targeted Initiative Fund. (Principal Applicant, Mary Wabano).

Through this project an Indigenous quality assurance process with the capacity to interface with the current provincial process was created for use in the northern colleges. This included the development of a set of quality assurance standards.

Principal Investigator (2016-2017). Pathway Inventory of Indigenous Postsecondary Programs and Community Based Deliveries (aka. The Indigenous Pathways Inventory Project, Phase 1). Funded by the Ontario Council of Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT). (Principal Applicant, Jeannette Miron).

Using a mixed methods approach, this project sought to understand the status of Indigenous program pathways in Ontario from an institutional perspective.

Principal Investigator (2014-2016). Best Practices in Aboriginal Learning Among Ontario’s Northern Colleges. Funded by the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities, Targeted Initiative Fund. (Principal Applicant, Brenda Small).

Co-Investigator (2014-2016). Pathways for Aboriginal Learners: Collaborating across Aboriginal Institutes, Colleges and Universities. Funded by the Ontario Council of Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT).