Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

I am an Indigenous (Mi'kmaw), Early Career Researcher, having finished my PhD in Policy Studies at Ryerson University in April 2019. However, I have been appointed an Assistant Professor & Special Advisor to the Dean of Indigenous Resurgence at York University since August 2018. Since starting this position, I have started to put together a community based and led research programme, including applying for two CIHR research funding: the Indigenous Gender & Wellness funding announcement and a Catalyst Grant for HIV/AIDS in Indigenous Communities. All of my research is community-based and led using Indigenous ways of knowing and being, including Indigenous and arts-based methods. However, I have never led, aside from my doctoral research, a research programme. This mentorship workshop will allow me the opportunity to gain useful skills to succeed in conducting good research with and alongside my communities and partners. Additionally, I hope to gain skills which will allow me conduct research which is not only fully community based but can also be recognized within the Western modes of the academy. Up until this point in my career, I have had few Indigenous mentors, aside from my doctoral supervisor, therefore an opportunity to attend this workshop will assist me in being able to expand my network of senior Indigenous researchers who I can connect with to seek guidance as I start my work. I would note that I am the only Indigenous faculty member in the Faculty of Health at York University, so the need to have strong guidance and mentorship not only in research but how to work in a Western academy, cannot be understated.