Roots of Change:

Building Connections with Indigenous Communities to Reduce Barriers and Create Capacity

Roots of Change is a multi-faceted project that seeks to fundamentally transform connections between Indigenous communities and UAlberta. We know what barriers we need to dismantle and what changes we need to make, and we need to act now to create more equitable partnerships, to integrate Indigenous ways of knowing within the university and its research.

We propose a community engagement initiative that, like the medicine wheel, has separate components, but is ultimately interconnected.

Researcher Database

A part of Roots of Change starts with creating a comprehensive researcher database of all UAlberta Indigenous-engaged research for scholars, students, and community members to explore. By connecting with existing knowledge, we give communities direct access to what in the past has been a closed environment, with universities extracting information from communities and offering little in return. 

We have developed a database with an interface that enables UAlberta researchers to add their projects. This work is part of a more significant effort to identify Indigenous-focused research at the University of Alberta to specifically connect to Indigenous community needs and make researchers, funders, students and community members aware of the work being done. The longer-term hope is that this cataloguing will support those involved by identifying potential collaborations, resources and access for communities, nations, and organizations.

Indigenous-Engaged Researcher Database

Roots of Change Podcast - Coming Fall 2023

Part of gaining knowledge is sharing that knowledge within and beyond the community, and ensuring that all those involved in creating that knowledge have their own voices heard.

This podcast will  highlight the work from some of the best Indigenous-engaged researchers from across Canada. 

This would expand upon UAlberta’s existing Presenting our Presence video podcast and SKIPP’s Community Voices program, which is a virtual space for community members and scholars to discuss Indigenous-engaged research, to further the shift towards knowledge, understanding, and acceptance of research that is rooted in reconciliation and advances decolonization.