In order to be able to research issues concerning a particular indigenous group in Australia, approval is needed from that group, where they express that they want the research to be carried out.
– It is a way to ensure that history is not repeated where abuse has been committed through research, says Kristina Sehlin MacNeil.
She is deputy director of Várdduo – Center for Sami research at Umeå University, but has previously done research specifically in Australia. She studies conflict and power relations between indigenous peoples and other actors, such as extractive industries and states.
She sees it as ethically important that research dealing with indigenous peoples is done in collaboration with the groups concerned.
– We have a long history where research has seen indigenous peoples as objects to study.
“Nothing for us, without us”
Jon Petter Stoor, psychologist and researcher, works based on the motto “nothing for us, without us”. He is Sami himself and researches Sami health at Umeå University and the Arctic University of Norway.
We have a long history where research has seen indigenous peoples as objects of study.
To illustrate the importance of research being conducted in collaboration with Sami organizations, he mentions the report on young people’s health that was published this summer. The report was drawn up by the Public Health Authority and the Agency for Youth and Civil Society Affairs.
– The ambition was to get experiences from young people in various minority groups, but there were no Sami people involved. The authorities tried to get the Sámi to participate but were unsuccessful.
Jon Petter Stoor has just started working on a parallel study to the report, focusing specifically on the health of young Sami. The project, which is part of his postdoc, is carried out in collaboration with the youth organization Sáminuorra. The organization has appointed a steering group that will have recurring reconciliations with the researchers during the course of the project.
– We have just had a first meeting about the report that we are going to produce, says Jon Petter Stoor.
Influence how research is designed
By having recurring meetings and reconciliations, the representatives from Sáminuorra can make input and influence how the research is designed, so that it becomes relevant for young Sami.
– The Swedish report on young people’s health focused entirely on mental health, but the Sami youth have emphasized that they want our final report to have a broader focus. So we will meet their wishes by, among other things, including statistics on lifestyle and somatic health, says Jon Petter Stoor.
He says that the steering group within Sáminuorra will also help spread information about the project and give tips on how best to go about finding informants. Right now, within the project, they are producing a flyer about looking for informants. It will, among other things, be distributed during Jokkmokk’s market. The hope is that this study, unlike the authorities’ report, can raise the voices of young Sami.
– If we manage to get participants for our study, it could be seen as an example of how “nothing for us, but us” is not only about an ethical stance, but also results in us receiving material that would otherwise not be possible to collect, says Jon Petter Stoor.
As another example of the crucial importance that cooperation can have, he mentions the Sami public health study that researchers at Umeå University did on behalf of the Sami Parliament.
A lot of research is project-based, and that makes it harder to build long-term relationships.
– This was also a type of data that had not been able to be collected before, but which became possible when it was done in close cooperation with a Sami organization or − as in this case to − even on behalf of a Sami organization.
Important to build trust
Jon Petter Stoor sees that many Sámi are hesitant to participate in research projects because of the historical abuses. He believes that because of the history, it is important to build trust, so that it feels good for the participants to be involved.
However, that type of long-term relationship building is not always facilitated by today’s research structure. Rather, he feels that the structure encourages helicopter research, where the researcher flies in and retrieves material and then quickly flies away again.
– A lot of research is project-based, and that makes it more difficult to build long-term relationships.
He feels that the conditions are a little better in Norway than in Sweden.
– This is mainly due to the fact that Norway has more well-financed universities. Researchers in Norway have more of their own research time financed in their position.
Kristina Sehlin MacNeil also highlights long-termism as important to be able to build trust and conduct indigenous research in an ethical manner. In Australia, she came into contact with the yarning method. It can be described as an interview method where the conversation moves more towards conversation than towards information extraction interview.
– Working like this takes longer and requires you as a researcher to be prepared to give of yourself, she says.
Had to pause the data collection
Kristina Sehlin MacNeil explains that collaboration requires one to be prepared to adapt as a researcher. It is not enough to simply offer the affected group to participate on the terms of the researcher and the academy.
She tells, for example, that she had to pause data collection during her doctoral work for a period because the group in Australia she worked with, Adnyamathanha, rapidly lost several of its elders.
– Then they entered a mourning period of six months and could not participate. As a PhD student, you have quite a long time so it worked out, but in other situations such situations can be difficult to navigate. As a researcher, you have certain frameworks and deadlines to adhere to, and it is not always so easy to change the plan.
She believes that greater understanding is needed, for example among financiers, because collaboration sometimes requires a little flexibility.
…it’s about giving something back for the time you take. For example, it could be offering workshops or lectures…
Both Kristina Sehlin MacNeil and Jon Petter Stoor also emphasize that part of the collaboration is that, as researchers, in some way give back to the group that is the focus of one’s research.
– Then I don’t just mean that you should send a PDF of the report when it’s ready, but it’s about giving something back for the time you take. It could be, for example, offering workshops or lectures that are relevant to the organizations you work with, says Kristina Sehlin MacNeil.
She herself has, for example, lectured on conflict management for the National Confederation of Swedish Sami.
Sweden 20 years after Australia
At present, there are no clear guidelines within the academic world in Sweden for how research on issues relating to the Sami should be conducted. On the other hand, the national ban on the Swedish Sami has drawn up guidelines for research and project collaborations.
In 2020, the Sami Parliament came up with a research policy strategy that sparked some debate. The idea that Sami organizations should have the opportunity to influence what research is conducted – and how – is still controversial in Sweden, says Kristina Sehlin MacNeil.
– That is not the case in Australia at all. My colleagues there describe it as being 20 years behind them in our discussions.
Both she and Jon Petter Stoor have experienced that their collaboration with Sami organizations has led to their impartiality as researchers being questioned. They think that it is especially common if you are Sami yourself. Jon Petter Stoor says that he sometimes felt that his Sami identity was a burden in that way. At the same time, he knows that it is also an asset.
– The fact that I myself am Sami and work long-term with issues related to Sami health affects the inclination of both Sami organizations and individual Sami participants to participate in studies.
It is important that it is clear to everyone involved what the different roles are. When we as researchers interpret the results, we always do so independently
He does not think that collaboration makes it difficult to maintain his independence as a researcher, but welcomes conversations about the challenges that may arise.
– It is important that it is clear to everyone involved what the different roles are. When we as researchers interpret the results, we always do so independently, he says.
Kristina Sehlin MacNeil emphasizes that the independence of research is about working with scientific methods.
– As a researcher, you must be able to explain how you have arrived at a certain result.
Requirements for cooperation in several countries
In Australia, as in Canada and New Zealand, there have long been ethical guidelines for indigenous research, guidelines based on the needs and demands of indigenous peoples. In all of these countries, the ethical review of research concerning indigenous peoples is carried out in special bodies, by people with special competence. Even in Norway, research involving the Sámi is tested for ethics in that way, in a special committee. Jon Petter Stoor was part of the investigation that led to the establishment of that committee.
In several countries, for example in Canada, there are also special guidelines from the research councils which state that research on indigenous people must be done in collaboration with the group concerned. Such requirements are not set by the research councils in Sweden, and collaboration is also not a requirement for research projects to be approved during the ethics review.
Jon Petter Stoor thinks that all research that deals with the Sami should be done in collaboration with the Sami, but he is still not sure that it is right to demand it formally in Sweden at the present time.
– It would mean greater pressure on Sami organizations to participate in various research projects, and to cope with that the organizations would first need more resources. As it looks now, you don’t really have those muscles. A first step towards a clearer position for collaboration could instead be to draw up guidelines within the academy and at the research councils that this is how they want indigenous research to be conducted.
Read more:
The health study Sami health on equal terms Link to another website, opens in a new window.
The Sámi Parliament’s research policy strategy Link to another website, opens in a new window.
Also read in Curie:
Strengthen Nordic cooperation around fossil research (Curie)
Hard Road to Atonement (Curie)
Loaded question about Sami remains (Curie)
Relics create a headache for universities (Curie)
