INQ retreat for northern researchers | 2024

The INQ professional community is invited to participate in the Retreat for northern researchers, which will be held November 13-15, 2024 in Saint-Paulin au domaine Le Baluchon (Mauricie).

Target audience

• professors
• research professionals
• postdoctoral fellows

Pricing

• Regular registration 
  $400.00
• Registration of postdoctoral fellows    
  $250.00

Four principal themes will be addressed 

• Indigenous culture and knowledge
• Research-action with the communities
• Knowledge mobilisation and sharing
• Governance, regulation and funding of northern research 

Objectives and anticipated outcomes 

The objectives of the retreat :

• Provide participants with guidelines for ethical research practice in the north and for establishing links with northern communities;
• Provide a forum for discussion of the essential elements that define northern regions, and to present a vision of the main issues facing northern Quebec (>49^o) and the Canadian Arctic;
• Introduce participants to the ecosystem of Quebec's northern expertise, and encourage networking;
• Encourage knowledge transfer and participatory research.

The anticipated outcomes :

• Through lectures and sharing of experiences during the retreat, participants will broaden their knowledge of the North.
• Participants will be given the tools they need to interact with local communities when planning their projects, in order to best meet the needs of the population. To this end, the retreat will focus on sharing of experiences and practical workshops. The presence of members of Indigenous communities in several training modules will provide a more comprehensive understanding of their specific needs and contributions.
• Participants will be able to expand their network of expertise through the presence of researchers from Quebec and other parts of Canada as well as partners from northern communities.

Speakers (to see all confirmed speakers, please consult the training program)

Joséphine Bacon is an Innu from Pessamit. Poet, director, lyricist, storyteller, lecturer and teacher, she is considered one of Quebec's leading authors. Having learned to listen to the words of the elders, she now passes on traditional knowledge and teachings with wisdom and generosity. Through her vast experience, Ms. Bacon will share her reflections on culture, decolonization and the process of reconciliation. 

Jennifer Brazeau is an Anishinaabek woman from Kitigan Zibi, a mother of two, and a kokum to a young granddaughter. She is currently the Executive Director of the Centre d'amitié autochtone de Lanaudière (CAAL). Jennifer represents the province of Quebec on the National Association of Friendship Centres and also serves on the Board of Directors of the Musée d'art de Joliette. Prior to this role, she dedicated nearly 10 years to Quebec Native Women. Her career has been marked by a deep commitment to Indigenous communities and the promotion of their rights.

Atanniuvik: Research Governance in Nunavik
For nearly five years, nine organizations in Nunavik have worked together to create Atanniuvik, 'the place where permission is sought'. This non-profit organization was officially incorporated last June and is set to begin operations in 2025.

Its main roles are to review and oversee research, provide community approval for all research projects in Nunavik, identify and communicate the research priorities of Nunavik communities, manage and share research information with the public, support community research needs, and assist researchers in adopting co-research approaches.

This presentation will offer an overview of the review process mechanics and explain how Atanniuvik will help create review criteria specific to each community in Nunavik.

Amélie Breton is Atanniuvik's Regional Research Manager, a trained anthropologist with over 22 years of experience in Nunavik. Prior to joining Atanniuvik, she spent five years working on a cultural safety research project for the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services.

Decolonization at Work at the McCord Stewart Museum: A Sustainable Practice

In 2008, Canada formalized its commitment to reconciliation with the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples of its territory by establishing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Upon the conclusion of its work in 2015, the Commission issued a report urging the Canadian Museums Association (CMA) to review national museum policies and practices in light of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted in 2007.

While the release of the CMA's Moved to Action report in 2022 has given new momentum to decolonial museology, several Canadian museums have been engaging in various initiatives since the 1980s concerning the cultural assets under their care, in consultation with Indigenous creators, elders, or other representatives.

This contribution will trace the main developments regarding the place of cultural assets, Indigenous artists, and perspectives, as well as the museological practices concerning them at the McCord Stewart Museum since the 1980s. It discusses decolonization and indigenization, aimed at Indigenous cultural self-determination, as a sustainable practice, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Anchoring indigenous research in local issues
How can we ensure that all actors in northern research benefit from a participatory action research framework and a perspective of co-creation of knowledge?

José Gérin-Lajoie will discuss examples of consultation, research agreements, funding applications, field camps, knowledge sharing and feedback from the Imalirijiit project, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2025!

Prof. Guilherme is developing her research on drinking water quality in Nunavik in close collaboration with northern communities and regional authorities. The goal of the presentation is to use a concrete example to demonstrate the benefits of collaborative research.

The specific example presented is as follows: At the end of spring 2023, the Nunavik village of Kangiqsualujjuaq faced a drinking water emergency due to a leak in the main pipe that carries water from the spring to the water treatment plant, threatening the village's drinking water supply for the rest of the year.

The project, led by Professor Stéphanie Guilherme's team, collected data that was critical to understanding the events and implementing the solution to secure the water supply. As part of the presentation, Alain Tourigny will share valuable tips with training participants on how to facilitate and maximize collaboration between researchers and regional authorities.

Sabaa Khan of David Suzuki Foundation will moderate the panel:

Climate and environmental justice: discussion of Northern issues

Canada's northern regions are warming three times faster than the global average. Alongside climate change, chemical pollution—from pollutants used in global production and consumption chains—disproportionately affects the Arctic, which has become a global sink for contaminants. Beyond these growing threats, northern communities and ecosystems are also burdened by the lasting pollution from abandoned, poorly managed mines, posing immediate and long-term risks to the environment and human health. To open the panel, Lisa Koperqualuk, President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada, will provide insights into the importance of environmental justice for Inuit communities. Sabaa Khan, an environmental law specialist, will then discuss Canada’s recently enacted Environmental Justice Act and the opportunities it presents to address ongoing environmental injustices facing vulnerable communities across Canada. The panel will conclude with a conversation between Sabaa Khan and Elizabeth Pijogge, a researcher on northern contaminants for the Government of Nunatsiavut, about plastic pollution—an all-too-common issue for northern Indigenous communities.

Biography of Sabaa Khan

Sabaa Khan (DCL, LL.M., LL.L) is a lawyer and the General Director for Quebec and Atlantic Canada at David Suzuki Foundation. She is a member of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law, the Quebec Bar, and the steering committee of the National Association of Women and the Law. Her legal research on environmental governance has been widely published, including by the Nordic Council of Ministers, the United Nations University – Institute for Sustainability and Peace, the Leiden Journal of International Law, Cambridge University Press, and the Four Societies Conference of International Law. She is also the co-editor and author of the collective work La nature de l'injustice : Racisme et inégalités environnementales, published by Écosociété. Sabaa holds a doctorate from McGill University’s Faculty of Law, where she was an O’Brien Fellow at the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism and a member of the Labour Law and Development Research Laboratory.

The Podcast: A Boundless Format for Democratizing Access to Your Scientific Research

Whether you're on public transport, going for a walk, or cooking, you can choose podcasts as an active mode of learning. This broadcasting medium fits seamlessly into the modern life of its audience and has now gained a foothold in the research world. In this workshop, we will explore the different stages of podcast production to distribution and develop collective ideas. Why choose a podcast? Who should be given a voice? What tools should be used? Come lend your voice and your ideas!

Marie-Christine is currently completing her PhD in ecotoxicology at Université de Montréal. Her research focuses on understanding the fate of rare earth metals—metals found in Canadian soils and used in the development of technologies—in the water, sediments, and organisms of the St. Lawrence River. Throughout her PhD, she developed her creative skills by creating scientific infographics, comics, and science communication content on social media. For the past three years, she has co-hosted the Les Lucioles podcast, which highlights student research in biology, in French. She has since moderated panels at several events, including the Nuit des Chercheuses et Chercheurs, and led workshops and conferences to introduce other scientists to audio-based science communication.

Cyrielle Maison, of the David Suzuki Foundation, will moderate the panel:

Revitalizing Indigenous legal traditions through culture

In Canada, there are many indigenous legal traditions specific to each nation. Of cultural and identity significance, these legal traditions evolve over time and resist colonization and systemic racism. This panel discussion will bring together Melissa Mollen Dupuis, Innu activist and facilitator from the Ekuanitshit community, Jennifer Brazeau, Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, Executive Director of the Centre d'Amitié Autochtone de Lanaudière, and Anne Eschapasse, President and CEO of the McCord Stewart Museum, to discuss the role culture can play in revitalizing Aboriginal legal traditions. Several initiatives and examples of mobilization will be presented to illustrate the importance of culture and the transmission of knowledge in the struggle for rights. They will also discuss the role that cultural institutions can play in the process of decolonization and reconciliation.

Documentary co-creation as a tool for knowledge sharing

Iphigénie Marcoux-Fortier is passionate about documentary co-creation processes. Proteriform and in motion, they nourish and define her practice, which unfolds over the course of collaborations in local and international, rural and urban, aboriginal and non-aboriginal, boreal and austral contexts. Documentary art is a political and poetic act connected to beings and territories, a beacon and bridging gesture towards a more sensitive engagement.

A member of the Ekuanitshit (Mingan) Innu Nation, Mélissa Mollen Dupuis is an animator, indigenous activist, environmentalist, actress, director, and mother of two young children. She currently hosts the weekly show Kuei! Kwe! on Radio-Canada's Ici Première. She is also the director of the Forests Campaign for the David Suzuki Foundation, president of the mobile organization Wapikoni, and co-founder of the Quebec chapter of the Idle No More movement. She has received several awards, including the prestigious The Ambassador of Conscience Award from Amnesty International in 2017. In collaboration with Élise Gravel, she has just published Nutshimit: un bain de forêt with Editions Scholastic.

Elizabeth Pijogge is an Inuk born and raised in Nain, Nunatsiavut, where she currently serves as the Northern Contaminants Researcher for the Nunatsiavut Government. She collaborates with a range of partners in universities and government departments, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), and the Northern Contaminants Program (NCP). Liz’s research focuses on sampling and monitoring contaminants in Arctic char, ringed seals, plankton, seawater, air, sea birds, and plastics in Nunatsiavut. Her primary research centers on plastics, working closely with Dr. Max Liboiron from Memorial University on a comprehensive monitoring program. This program samples a wide array of animals and environmental elements, from Arctic char to snow. In 2021, Elizabeth was recognized by her peers and awarded the Inuit Recognition Award for her impactful work.

Lisa Qiluqqi Koperqualuk was born in Puvirnituq, Nunavik. With a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Concordia University, she holds a Master’s degree in Anthropology from Laval University. Lisa served as ICC’s Vice President of International Affairs in the Canada office from 2018-2022 before being acclaimed as President of the ICC Canada office at the 14th General Assembly on July 18, 2022. As VP International Affairs, Lisa focused much of her work in the areas of international shipping regulations successfully leading the ICC to receive provisional consultative status to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) where Inuit are the first Indigenous People to be represented under their own status. In Lisa’s current role as President of ICC (Canada), she also serves as Vice Chair of ICC internationally. She works for Inuit interests in self-determination advocating Inuit political and economic autonomy, social justice and protection of the environment, culture and language. 

Please note that Lisa Qiluqqi Koperqualuk's contribution to the training will be pre-recorded and broadcast as part of the training.

Canadian Arctic and Northern Research Ecosystem

Northern research in Canada is marked by achievements that have, over the years, built a research capacity that many teams and networks across the country are renowned for. In light of the environmental transformations in the North, interest in this research has grown, creating a dynamic ecosystem composed of centers, institutes, networks, and infrastructures, working closely with northern communities and various public and private partners.

This presentation aims to equip professionals and early-career researchers with a clear understanding of this ecosystem and the role of key players, in order to foster sustainable and fruitful collaborations.

Partners