The Indigenous Research Network (IRN) at the University of Toronto is strengthening international partnerships by establishing the International Indigenous Research Consortium.
In alignment with its 2022-2027 strategic plan, the International Indigenous Research Consortium seeks to foster global collaboration and knowledge exchange on Indigenous-led research, ensuring that Indigenous community priorities, Indigenous research methodologies, data sovereignty and research ethics are at the forefront and respected in academic settings.
"We are building something that reaches across continents but is rooted in community values," says Dale Turner, director of the IRN, one of several U of T institutional strategic initiatives .
"This work is not just about research - it's about relationships, reciprocity and responsibility to each other and to the knowledge systems we are protecting and revitalizing together."
Strengthening global ties
The first steps toward realizing a global Indigenous research network took place earlier this year when Turner, who is also an associate professor in the department of political science and the Centre for Indigenous Studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science, visited the Indigenous Knowledge Institute at the University of Melbourne. There, he focused on forging relationships with Indigenous scholars around shared priorities such as governance, land rights and knowledge sovereignty, laying the groundwork for future collaborations.
In April, Meagan Hamilton, managing director of the IRN, along with Sheryl Lightfoot, a professor in the department of political science and at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, travelled to Sápmi, the traditional territory of the Sámi people, in Norway and Finland (Sámi territory also extends into Russia and Sweden).
Built on relationships Lightfoot has established as a leading expert in global Indigenous politics, this visit included meetings with scholars at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Sámi Allaskuvla (Sámi University of Applied Sciences), the Sámi Museum and the Sámi Parliaments in both countries.
Collaborators concentrated on exchanging approaches to Indigenous research ethics protocols at their respective institutions and explored opportunities to co-develop courses on Indigenous research ethics and methodologies. This is important, as the initiatives would support the advancement of research practices grounded in Indigenous values and ensure scholarship and ethics are shaped by and for Indigenous researchers.
"There is an urgent need for Indigenous scholars globally to connect and share experiences on similar challenges related to assertion of lands rights, resource extraction and development imposed on our territories, and the preservation of our languages," Hamilton says.
"The IRN is working to create a space for these conversations to happen."
Connecting the Global South
Indira Quintasi Orosco, a PhD student at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) and research assistant to Turner who co-ordinates collaborations between the IRN and Ziibiing Lab , returned to her home country of Peru this summer to contribute to expanding relationships between the IRN and Indigenous scholars and Indigenous studies programs in the Global South.
Quintasi, who is of Quechua heritage, focused her visit on institutions that emphasize community-based research and decolonial approaches in education - especially those working to preserve Quechua language and culture, which originate in the Andean region of Latin America.
"As someone from Peru who has lived in Toronto for nearly a decade, I've deepened my understanding of my Quechua identity while recognizing my place in the diaspora," she says. "That comes with responsibility to keep reconnecting with our culture."
Near Cusco, a city in the Peruvian Andes, Quintasi visited the Instituto de Educación Superior Pedagógico Público Túpac Amaru de Tinta. The teachers college is known for its training in intercultural bilingual education and its long-standing work with Quechua-speaking communities. The school integrates Indigenous knowledge into its curricula and community projects.
She participated in its Quechua language program and gave a short talk about her experiences in their English program and engaged with student presentations about their regional traditions and cuisine.
Quintasi also visited the Centro Bartolomé de Las Casas (CBC), a well-known institution in central Cusco focused on Indigenous research and pedagogy, with an emphasis on revitalizing the Quechua language in the Andes and Amazon regions. CBC's Colegio Andino centre promotes the Andean-Amazonian approach to Buen Vivir, or "Good Living," a philosophy rooted in harmony with community and nature.
She hopes these initial conversations and visits will lead to meaningful student exchanges and collaborative learning across borders to enrich understanding of Indigenous studies in the Global South.
"These experiences left me inspired by how these institutions and communities balance local priorities with global perspectives and seek to engage collaboratively with partners across regions - something the IRN is striving to build," Quintasi says.
A commitment to ethical research at home
Since its establishment in 2019 as part of U of T's response to the Truth and Reconciliation Committee of Canada's Calls to Action, the IRN has laid the groundwork for the consortium and its wider mission by harnessing opportunities closer to home.
In September, it co-hosted the A&S Indigenous Research Ethics Symposium with the Dean's Advisory Committee on Indigenous Research, Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Arts and Science. The event featured insights from multidisciplinary U of T faculty, government representatives and community leaders on fostering respectful collaboration, supporting Indigenous knowledge systems and strengthening relationships between academic and community settings.
Consortium partners from Taiwan travelled to Canada to join the IRN at the 52ndannual Temagami/N'Daki Menan Colloquium . Held on the traditional territory of the Teme-Augama Anishinaabe (TAA) in Northern Ontario, the interdisciplinary academic conference and land-based learning experience focused on the relationship between people and place.
The IRN also co-hosts a lunch and learn series with the Ziibiing Lab, featuring speakers on Indigenous studies, settler colonialism, environmental justice and identity - often within a Canadian context, but also an international lens.
"We are excited to create opportunities for Indigenous students and researchers at U of T to connect globally, share stories and knowledge, and learn from one another in ways that support meaningful, community-driven research," Hamilton says.
