They started with solid Western data, used rigorous methodologies and found interesting patterns. Maggie Cascadden, Emily Block and Devereaux Jennings knew which of 240 Indigenous communities in Canada had signed on to do business with mining companies and which had not. But the three non-Indigenous researchers at the University of Alberta (U of A) were struggling with how to present their findings for peer-reviewed academic publication.
Then they met François Bastien, member of the Huron-Wendat Nation and University of Victoria (UVic) scholar, when he gave a talk at U of A in early 2022. Cascadden, Block and Jennings wondered if Bastien could help them get unstuck.
"I told them I'm willing to develop a relationship and we can see where it goes," says Bastien, associate professor and associate dean, Indigenous, at the Gustavson School of Business. "At the beginning, most of our conversations weren't about the paper."
