Maamwizing: People Collaborating Together

SUDBURY (April 25, 2022) — The Anishinaabe term maamwizing refers to “people collaborating together.” While research can often be regarded as an overwhelming, intimidating, and even lonely process, Maamwizing holds a different view and, in turn, offers a unique experience for students. Discovery, rooted in collaboration, encompasses the Maamwizing Indigenous Research Institute’s approach to honouring Indigenous worldviews through holistic relationships between nii’kinaagaanaa (all my relations), which includes all that is above, below, and around us, bringing these elements into our work.

“Knowledge sharing has always been a traditional practice among Indigenous communities, empowering generations of learners to explore and understand their world. It is akin to ceremony, informing our journey and relationship with the elements,” explains Dr. Susan Manitowabi, Interim Associate Vice-President with the Office of Academic and Indigenous Programs.

“Maamwizing recognizes the deliberate sharing of knowledge and history is a sacred transfer of wisdom, safeguarded by the principles of respect and reciprocity. The honour to learn from communities and receive this transfer must be earned through relationship building and approached with humility. This is where Maamwizing always begins but never ends the relationship,” adds Dr. Joey Lynn Wabie, Maamwizing’s Interim Director, a Laurentian alumnus, and Assistant Professor in the School of Indigenous Relations. “Emphasizing that community-driven research is strength-based and relies on engagement to uncover answers and interpret knowledge that has always been, it is never deficit-based – we all move forward together in a sustainable way.”

Dr. Susan Manitowabi adds that “part of Maamwizing’s research involves exploring ways of ‘Two-Eyed Seeing’ where we build reciprocal relationships that align research initiatives with the community’s needs. We grow, shift, and change as a result of our relationships, but our journey never ends just because the research does; they go on forever.” This mantra is evident in the relationships shared by students, faculty, and allies.

Students play a central role within Maamwizing through Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Enhancements (SAGE) and are involved in a vast variety of research projects. Encouraged to attend committee meetings, students learn how to contribute to decision-making through collaborative engagement. Ophelia O’Donnell, a graduate student from Henvey Inlet First Nation, is actively working with Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation in a community engagement role.

“I joined Maamwizing as a graduate student member and quickly learned that Maamwizing is more than a research institute. It is a group in which members can collaborate, seek guidance, and support each other, beyond research,” she states.

Alicia Williamson, a fourth-year Indigenous Social Work student hired to learn about Indigenous research at the graduate level, works closely with Dr. Wabie and shares insights on the impact that Maamwizing has had on her life.

“Maamwizing has been fundamental to my growth and exploration of research as an Anishinaabe student. It is integral for Indigenous students to see Indigenous people within spaces such as Laurentian University as leaders, researchers, and change-makers. It is even more critical that Indigenous students are provided access to opportunities that allow them to envision themselves in these positions.”

Maamwizing offers mentorship as well as a safe place for students to gather and grow. A home-away-from-home for many students, the unique and nurturing opportunity to learn alongside faculty and staff members leads to self-determination. Students are welcomed into the Maamwizing family with many graduates returning to teach Indigenous Programs or establish careers in the North.

From an ally perspective, Dr. Kevin Fitzmaurice, Laurentian University’s Truth, and Reconciliation Coordinator and Affiliate Member of Maamwizing, recalls an early career experience where after listening to a teaching from Elder Michael Thrasher, Kevin requested a one-on-one interview with Michael to learn more. Michael agreed, and after their first interview, he invited Kevin to call and check in the following week. Kevin agreed, and after doing so, the invitation to call the next week was extended again and then again. Decades later, Kevin continues to meet and learn from Michael. Community members and Knowledge Keepers are never considered research subjects to Maamwizing; they become family and life-long friends.

Dr. Susan Manitowabi describes the Institute as offering students “a culturally-safe space to learn, thrive, and foster relationships as paramount to the success of their research. We teach our students to learn from dreams and legends, to uncover stories that have been carried through generations. Indigenous research is uplifting; it is community and curiosity, and the understanding of research not as something to be feared but as something to be cherished. It is the gift of wisdom passed down through time immemorial.”

Beyond lifelong relationships, Maamwizing seeks to produce sustainable research outcomes for every community engaged. Dr. Joey-Lynn Wabie shares the reflection that “often, researchers will approach their projects with publication as their primary goal. At Maamwizing, learning together and sharing our discoveries is the goal. Sometimes, our research results look like a community manual rather than a scholarly piece where there is a first, second, and third author credited. Certainly, we must publish, but how we publish is framed by our desire to share wisdom and to collaborate in the best interest of the community and as a good relative.”

Learn more about authentic community-based research and relationship building.

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Contact:
Dr. Susan Manitowabi
Interim Associate Vice-President with the Office of Academic and Indigenous Programs
Laurentian University
SManitowabi@laurentian.ca