Constructive Engagement: Aboriginal and Scientific Communities in Collaboration
Objectivity in Science: What is it? Why Does it Matter?
University of British Columbia
Public Panel: "Constructive Engagement: Aboriginal and Scientific Communities in Collaboration"
Fletcher Challenge Theatre at Simon Fraser University Harbour Centre
Friday, 18 June 2010
8:00-9:30 pm
Chair: IPinCH co-investigator Alison Wylie, Departments of Philosophy and Anthropology, University of Washington
This panel presented diverse perspectives on how collaborative partnerships with Aboriginal communities actually work in a range of fields. Our focus was on the transformative potential as well as the challenges posed by these collaborations. All too often, public debate is dominated by concern that a commitment to "democratize science" threatens the integrity and objectivity of scientific research, and by well grounded fears that Aboriginal interests will always be marginalized given long histories of conflict and dispossession. Panelists include scientists and Aboriginal partners engaged in collaborative research in archaeology, rural sociology, and medical genetics who will jointly comment on what makes collaboration possible; what Aboriginal communities expect from and can contribute to these projects; and how research in these fields is changed, and often substantially enriched, by such collaborations.
George Nicholas, IPinCH Director, Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University
Sonny McHalsie, Co-Director and Cultural Advisor, Stó:lo Research and Resource Management Centre, IPinCH Case Study Co-developer
Dave Schaepe, Co-Director and Senior Archaeologist Stó:lo Research and Resource Management Center, IPinCH Case Study Co-developer
Laura Arbour, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Island Medical Program, Victoria BC
Doris Cook, Affiliated Research Assistant Professor, Native American Research and Training Center, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Arizona - Tucson
Louise Fortmann, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California - Berkeley
