16. Culture and Ethics in First Nations Educational Research

Abstract

In this paper, we share phenomena experienced by a multi-cultural research team working collaboratively with Wolastoq (Maliseet) First Nations Elders to document rapidly disappearing Wolastoq language, culture, and knowledge. This knowledge will ultimately be stored in databanks for future educational, community, and heritage use. Embedded within this research experience is a constantly evolving ebb and flow of culture, being, and relationships. As a collaborative research team, we explore ethical ramifications of dynamic, symbiotic relationships we share with Elder participants, requirements of university ethical review processes, and how this process shapes the knowledge that we collaboratively produce. We question how this nexus of cultures and ethics of researchers and collaborators directs the educational materials that we construct. Situated between the high tide of ethical standards and the low tide of the application of these ethics, is where the tides meet, and standards and praxis interact. Lastly, we suggest ways to supplement the ethics review process for social and educational research to better respect the individual rights and rationality of participants with whom we research, deepening the significance of such studies and promoting social justice.