‘Naadmaadmi’: reflections of Aboriginal community members engaged in sport psychology co‐researching activities with mainstream academics

Abstract

When attempting to work with people from Indigenous cultures, mainstream researchers often encounter cultural differences, mistrust and a general resistance to community research. These challenges have emerged within the sport psychology domain as a consequence of mono‐cultural, Eurocentric research paradigms, which have marginalised Indigenous populations and disconnected community members from their traditional teachings and values. The current project was developed out of a partnership among mainstream academics and Aboriginal community members in northern Ontario, Canada, who have been engaged in sport psychology co‐researching activities for six years. The purpose of the current study was to elicit Aboriginal community members’ reflections of engaging in research with mainstream academics, based on past experiences as well as more recent efforts among the current bicultural team. The overarching intent was to encourage mainstream researchers interested in working within the Aboriginal community to adopt culturally reflexive practices that are meaningful from the local standpoint and to resist traditional mono‐cultural approaches. Conversational interviews were employed with nine Aboriginal community members who were also engaged as co‐researchers throughout the project. The community co‐researchers delineated negative and positive research experiences and outlined the specific strategies that contributed to each. A community composite vignette was developed as a narrative supplement to the data and reflects a unique and culturally relevant process within the study.

Keywords:

• Indigenous research
• participatory action research
• praxis
• vignettes

Notes

1. Through collaborative bridging between researchers and community members, Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve and Laurentian University have embraced the community value of Naadmaadmi which translates into helping each other towards a mutual goal. This is explained in further detail in ‘Discussion’ section of the paper.

2. While the term mainstream may have different meanings associated with it, it generally references the dominant cultural group within a given region. Within the current paper, mainstream is used to refer to individuals who are of White European descent.

3. In Aboriginal culture, talking circles are a traditional way of bringing people of all ages together with the intent of sharing knowledge, experiences and values in an orderly social context (see Running Wolf and Rickard 2003). Participants are seated in a circular formation, which is symbolic of the interconnectedness of all life and is a sacred theme in Native culture. Participants are asked one at a time to respond to a question or topic, while the rest of the circle listens respectfully and considers the information.