Monthly Archives: October 2023

Dm luyeltga’nu – dinner celebrating 25 years of community reseaerch

Monday, October 23 twenty-five years of cooperative community-based research was celebrated in Lach Klan, Gitxaała. The diner was hosted by hagwil hayetsk (Charles Menzies) on behalf of UBC. Dr Clare Crowston, Dean of Arts, UBC-V was there on behalf of UBC to acknowledge the work and support and involvement of Gitxaała community members in the project. The dinner also marked the end of Charles’ active in-community research.

Speaking notes, hagwil hayetsk.

Over the past 25yrs five of my academic research projects have been done in collaboration with people from Gitxaala. This amounts to about one third of my academic research. Another third has been with fisherfolk in France and Ireland. The other third about settler society.

Doing research with Gitxaala has allowed me to connect with and be in service to my ancestral community.  Beginning research in this territory 25 years ago was an important homecoming for me both personally and professionally.

All the Gitxaala related projects focused on natural resources: forestry, fisheries, and traditional food harvesting.  All focused on the importance and relevance of Gitxaala knowledge for shaping forests and oceans. This reflects my family’s connection to commercial fishing and my own experiences on the water.

Our first projects, starting in 1997 were forestry. The first documented Tsimshian involvement in the forest industry. The second focused on how local ecological knowledge could inform natural resource management practices.

In 2004 we started a series of climate change projects. One part of this involved collecting and analyzing ancient pollen from Banks Island. Teddy Gamble took me and a field assistant down to Patsy Cove where we hiked into the bog to take samples. While we did that Teddy had to run to Heavener Inlet to anchor.

In 2008 we began a project focused on fish traps & villages in Gitxaala territory by appropriating archaeological methods. This phase of research lasted almost a decade.

Having always been beguiled by mountain goats -Mati – we began a project exploring mati territory on Pitt Island in 2017, a project that has now drawn to a close. The end of mati project work has inspired this event.  It has always been a part of the collaborative process between UBC and Gitxaala to mark the milestones of our partnership.  This is the third time that UBC leadership has come to witness a celebration of our research.

This dinner acknowledges Gitxaala as a community, this is UBC expressing appreciation for 25 years of cooperative research. It is also a moment for me to acknowledge all the hard work of the community over these years and some of the people who have been pivotal in this. I am unable to name everyone as so many people have been involved in so many different ways.

When I first came home, I was welcomed, taught, and mentored by family and community. I acknowledge that support, that care, that was given to me. Being among family and friends has provided a haven when the world of the university was less hospitable.

Billy Gamble and Vonnie Hutchinson have been a steady support. On my first visit ashore in Lach Klan Vonnie put me up and took me round to meet family who welcomed me home.

Smoygyet He:l, Russell Gamble, shared his time with me.

I grew up with stories about K’moda and then was fortunate to be able to be there with He:l, Teddy Gamble, and my father 20 years ago. It was a privilege to hear those three men talk about that place. I had been there many times before on my father’s boat, but that time with the three of them was special.

Merle and Ernie Bolton have hosted many students over the years. They have also provided me and my colleagues with advice and encouragement. This event in particular relied on Merle’s tireless support.  Ernie has also provided Sm’algyax expertise and insight that have been so important to understanding how our language and territory are interwoven. We have relied on him heavily over the years.

Over the years UBC students, community researchers, and I have spoken to many people about research. More than one dozen UBC graduate students wrote their theses and project reports on their research with Gitxaala community members. Much of this research has been done alongside of Caroline Butler who started as a student researcher and then made the north coast her home. Caroline and I have been blessed with mentors who have been patient with us as we each learned to be the persons we are today.

During the archaeological research, I was often on a boat skippered by Teddy Gamble and crewed -at different times- by Vince Davis, Tim Innes, Philip Gamble, and Russ Gamble.  Along with us were community researchers including among them Greg McKay and Ken Innes.

Sam Lewis, Raven McMahon and Clayton Hill were community researchers who helped us to develop the team-based method that has been the foundation of the work.  Cyril Aster has also supported many of the students in their learning about food harvesting and processing.

The Elders and hereditary leaders of Gitxaala have been the most important guides in this work.  Each of the Elders of this Nation has contributed to this work in some way – through providing their knowledge in interviews, providing feedback in meetings, or identifying research needs and priorities. Their knowledge and expertise is the foundation of this work.

During these years there have been many council members who have taken an interest in the UBC/Gitxaala cooperative research project. Soon after the project began Clifford White was elected Chief Councilor. This was also at a moment when development in the Port of Prince Rupert intensified. Clifford, and then subsequent councils, asked me to prepare a series of reports, background documents, and expert opinions in support of Gitxaala Laxyuup.

I have during these years found myself working on reports for Gitxaala about underwater power lines, wind turbines, tar sand pipelines, oil and gas tanker routes, and mineral claims. Clarence Innis, as councilor and hereditary leader was often there supporting this work through his advice and mentorship.

As I stand here today, in this hall, I remember the words of the late smoygyet He:l, speaking here at the reopening ceremony in 2004. He spoke about the strength of this community, the things that this community has accomplished and would accomplish through working together as one.

This dinner celebrates one small bit of that strength, a strength that made this research collaboration a reality for twenty-five years.

 

Publications from Twenty-five Years of Community Engagement

For twenty plus years students have worked with me on collaborative projects within Laxyuup Gitxaała. Some have conducted research as part of ethnographic field schools (2006, 2007), others have worked as research interns with Gitxaała Nation, and others still have been research assistants working directly with me as research assistants and/or collaborators.  Providing student research opportunities is an expectation placed on faculty at research universities like UBC.

Under the collaborative research relationship with Gitxaała all research data collected is considered to belong to Gitxaała Nation, but the Forests and Oceans for the Future Research Group has been granted a license to publish results of our ongoing research.  Publications are reviewed by appropriate members of community leadership and/or community agencies.  Some of the students have produced final reports for internal community distribution, others have gone on to produce theses and some have published peer reviewed articles. This post is a summary of theses and peer-reviewed publications that have emerged from the past twenty-five years of collaborative research and highlights the work done by students.

Readers will note that most of the student researchers’ published peer reviewed articles are sole authored pieces by the students themselves (the exceptions reflect long term professional collaborations).   While acknowledging that the data belongs to Gitxaała Nation, it is important to ensure that the intellectual work of preparing reports, theses, and publishable articles of student authors is clearly recognized. Where the working relationship developed into one of professional colleagues in which we both come equally to the writing table then there is a trajectory of co-authorship.

For most of the students their involvement ended with the submission of a report to Gitxaała Nation. Their reports included any interviews or related data for use by Gitxaała as community leadership saw fit.  The data attached to those reports remained the intellectual property of Gitxaała Nation.  My own publications do not make use of or (usually) reference to the student reports. My objective has been to encourage the student authors to prepare their own materials for publication, as long as it has been reviewed by Gitxaała prior to publication.

One other technical point of note: UBC ethics requirements. Under the terms of UBC’s Behavioural Research Ethics Board (which follows the Tri-Council Policy on Research Ethics) research data must be held at UBC in a secure location for at least five years after the close of a research project. In addition, UBC considers the faculty member supervising student research (either in courses or for graduate study) to be the principal investigator (PI).  Sometimes students misunderstand this point. Being the PI of record doesn’t mean that the faculty member ‘owns’ the student’s work, it merely lays out legal obligations and responsibilities of the faculty member. Thus,  as a faculty member supervising student work I am legally responsible for the research practices of students under my supervision and have therefore a legal obligation to ensure, to the best of my ability, that proper ethical practices are followed.  This also means that I am obligated to store research data in a UBC facility for at least five years.  After five years I destroy what data may have been left with me.  Original copies of research data are held permanently by Gitxaała Nation in their research archives. Sometimes students also hold copies of research data, but for field school students Gitxaała expected them to return all materials to Gitxaała Nation at the close of their course when they handed in their final projects.

Research Reports that Became Theses

Developing out of two ethnographic field schools (2006, 2007) and a host of research internships have come a strong collection of MA Theses, listed here in reverse chronological order.

Research Reports that Became Peer Reviewed Publications.

Each student in the two ethnographic field schools submitted a written report on their fieldwork to Gtixaała Nation (or, to their community partner if they weren’t working with Gitxaała). Some of these students turned their reports into peer reviewed publications.  Five students published reflections on fieldwork in a special section of the journal Collaborative Anthropologies: “Collaborative Service Learning and Anthropology with Gitxaała Nation.” 2011.  4:169-242.

  • Solen Roth. “In and Then Out of Gitxaała, Becoming One of Its “Butterflies”
  • Natalie Baloy.  “Getting the Story Right.”
  • Robin Anderson. “Whose Field is it Anyway?”
  • Jennifer Wolowic.  “See What Happens When You Give Us the Camera.”
  • Oralia Gómez-Ramírez.  “Racial and Gender Politics in Service Learning.”

Several other students have published peer reviewed chapters or articles independently of the above project.

Miscellaneous Related Research Reports

Over the period of field research a number of research reports have been produced by students, associates, and contractors working within the Forests and Oceans for the Future reserach group.  Though these reports do not arise from specific fieldschool or internship projects they are relevant to the general corpus of materials produced through the collaborative project.

Research Associates and Assistants

Between 1997 and 2002 the provincial agency, Forest Renewal BC, funded a series of community-based reserach projects.  A range of different types of publications were produced which included curriculum materials for the K-12 school system and a special section of the Canadian Journal of Native Education.

In addition, Caroline Butler, PhD, ( formerly a UBC graduate student) and I produced a series of papers that started with the FRBC project but have continued since as our own collaborative relationship shifted from student/ research supervisor to colleagues and co-researchers. These papers are all based upon research conducted by Butler and Menzies in collaboration with Gitxaała community researchers.

  • 2000.    Caroline Butler and Menzies. “Out of the Woods: Tsimshian Women and Forestry Work. Anthropology of Work Review. 21(2):12-17.
  • 2001    Menzies and Caroline Butler. “Working in the Woods: Tsimshian Resource Workers and the Forest Industry of BC.” American Indian Quarterly. 25(3):409-430.
  • 2006. Menzies and Caroline Butler. “Introduction: Understanding Ecological Knowledge.”   In Charles R. Menzies (ed). Traditional Level Ecological Knowledge and Natural Resource Management. 1-17. Lincoln, Nebraska: Nebraska University Press.
  • 2007    Caroline Butler and Menzies. “Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Indigenous Tourism.” In R. W. Butler and T. Hinch (Eds). Tourism and Indigenous Peoples. Pp. 18-31. London: Elsevier.
  • 2007.  Menzies and Caroline Butler. “Returning to Selective Fishing Through Indigenous Fisheries Knowledge: The Example of K’moda, Gitxaała Territory.” American Indian Quarterly 31(3):441-464.
  • 2008.  Menzies and Caroline Butler. “The Indigenous Foundation of the Resource Economy of BC’s North Coast.” Labour/Le Travail 61:131-149.
  • 2011.   Menzies and Caroline F. Butler.  “Collaborative Service Learning and Anthropology with Gitxaała Nation.” Collaborative Anthropologies 4:169-242.
  • Caroline Butler, Linda Matson, and Menzies. “Newcomer Self-Provisioning on the North Coast of British Columbia. New Proposals.” Vol. 8(1).
  • 2019. Menzies and Caroline Butler. “Redefining University Research Enterprises: partnership and collaboration in Laxyuup Gitxaała.” In Irene Bellier and Jennifer Hayes (eds). Scales of governance and Indigenous Peoples’ rights in a globalized world: New rights or same old wrongs? London: Routledge.
  • 2021. Menzies, Charles R. and Caroline Butler. “Centering Community Knowledge in Resource Management Research.” BC Studies no. 209 (Spring 2021): 103-124.

Menzies’ own papers

Over this period I have also published papers that emerged out of my ongoing research with members of my family and community. Listed here are the most relevant ones.

  • 2022. hagwil hayetsk  (Charles R. Menzies). “Grief, Extinction, and Bilhaa (Abalone).” In Valérie Bienvenue and Nicholas Chare (Eds). Animals, Plants, and Afterimages: The Art and Science of Representing Extinction.  New York / Oxford: Berghan Press.
  • 2015. Charles R Menzies. “REVISITING “DM SIBILHAA’NM DA LAXYUUBM GITXAAŁA (PICKING ABALONE IN GITXAAŁA TERRITORY)”: Vindication, Appropriation, and Archaeology.” BC studies 187(Autumn):129-153.
  • 2015. Charles R. Menzies. “In Our Grandmothers’ Garden: An Indigenous Approach to Collaborative Film.” In Aline Gubrium, Krista Harper, and Marty Otañez, (eds). Participatory Visual and Digital Research in Action.  Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Books.
  • 2015. Charles R. Menzies.  “Oil, Energy, and Anthropological Collaboration on the Northwest Coast of Canada.” Journal of Anthropological Research. Vol. 71(1):5-21
  • 2013. Charles R Menzies.  “Standing on the Shore with Saaban: an anthropological rapprochement with an Indigenous intellectual tradition.” Collaborative Anthropologies  6:171-199.
  • 2012     Charles R. Menzies. “The Disturbed Environment.  The Indigenous Cultivation of Salmon.”  In Benedict J. Colombi and James F. Brooks (Eds.) Keystone nations: Indigenous Peoples and Salmon across the North Pacific. Santa Fe: School for Advanced Research. Pp. 161-182
  • 2010. Charles R. Menzies. “Dm sibilhaa’nm da laxyuubm Gitxaała: Picking Abalone in Gitxaała Territory.”  Human Organization 69(3):213-220.
  • 2006     Charles R. Menzies. “Ecological Knowledge, Subsistence, and Livelihood Practices:  The Case of the Pine Mushroom Harvest in Northwestern British Columbia.”  In Charles R. Menzies (ed). Traditional Level Ecological Knowledge and Natural Resource Management.  Pp. 87-104. Lincoln, Nebraska: Nebraska University Press
  • 2004. Charles R. Menzies. “Putting Words into Action:  Negotiating Collaborative Research in Gitxaała.”  Canadian Journal of Native Education  27(3):15-32.
  • 2001. Charles R. Menzies. “Reflections on Research With, For, and Among Indigenous Peoples.”  Canadian Journal of Native Education  25(1):19-36.