The following is a step-by-step guide outlining the process of developing and implementing this community-based research project.
Step 1 - Establishing a Lead Team
This is an excellent group project for bringing a community together. Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and families share their stories; Elders and Knowledge Keepers can provide guidance and support; and educators/business people/students/ community members can come together to assist the Lead Team in developing the project.
i) Lead Team members (preferably between 2 - 3 people) are from within your organization or educational institution (e.g., Friendship Centre, Early Childhood Education Centre, etc.) who will recruit others for the roles listed below (see Step 3).
ii) As the Lead Team for this project, scan your community and organization to assess what skills are available before looking elsewhere for assistance. Costs can be minimal and even linked to honouraria.
Step 2 - Background Information for the Lead Team
Before beginning your community 'Creation Stories' project, please read the Case Study and then the Handbook (Urban Aboriginal Knowledge Network, 2019) provided with this lesson plan (see 'Materials' section below).
- After reading the case study and the handbook (to help envision what your project could look like), the Lead Team establishes a project plan specifically for their community and ensures that all protocols, permissions, and any other requirements are adhered to.
- This project is based on: a) the collection of personal stories gathered through one-on-one interviews with community Elders and Knowledge Keepers, followed by; b) individual families being encouraged to create their own stories with their guidance.
- In order to properly engage your community in a safe and transparent manner, the community must maintain ownership of their stories and the final product. To ensure this, the First Nations ‘Principles of Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession’ are followed (for more details, see https://fnigc.ca/ocap).
- Ownership and Possession: First Nations have ownership and possession over their personal stories and how their information is used.
- Control and Access: First Nations control the data collection of personal stories that are shared through an interview process. Community members have access and control over their own stories, which means: the contributors can edit, add, or delete any part of their interview; permission must be gained to use their words in a printed booklet; and the final product is owned by the community.
Step 3 - Assign Roles
Once your Lead Team has decided on the format of your own community project and has a sound understanding of the path to be taken, assign the roles identified below (as needed based on your project's path):
Interviewer(s): _____________________________________________
Transcriber(s): _____________________________________________
Researcher(s) of the Traditional Territory: _________________________________
Interview Analysis: _________________________________________________
Booklet Assembly: _________________________________________________
Step 4 - Decide on Interview Questions and Conduct Interviews
i) Develop open-ended questions so the interview becomes a conversation - let it go wherever it needs to. See the suggested prompting questions below. Feel free to use these, adapt them, or develop your own.
ii) Determine who you want to interview and follow cultural protocols to invite people to participate. These can be Elders and Knowledge Keepers as well as community members and families.
iii) Interviews should be conducted by persons who the community feels comfortable with and who has the type of personality that can draw the best out of people. Being interviewed is an unfamiliar experience for many, so you want to create an environment that is comfortable and open.
iv) Interviews need to be conducted in a quiet place because they will be recorded. Interviewers can use smartphones or choose from the wide range of recording devices available - whatever best suits your community's situation.
v) Once an interview is completed, it is important to upload and save the audio file to a computer immediately to prevent losing the interview. For recording and saving audio files, it is best to have the help of someone who is comfortable with technology.
Suggested Prompting Questions (see the handbook in the 'Materials' section to see how these questions are linked to the Elders' voices and what they shared in the publication)
Examples of open-ended questions for Elders and Knowledge Keepers (i.e. principal storytellers for this project):
- What does family mean to your story?
- “Love is grounded in knowing the Creator and knowing you are an important part of life” (UAKN). What stories do you have to pass on love to the next generation? How do you share goodness with those you love?
- "Honesty: As you grow and learn to love, you learn to be honest with yourself and your Creator” (UAKN). How do you stay honest with yourself when you do not have much support? Our stories can be hard to share. How can you share your story in a way that is honest and empowering?
- History will always be a part of our story. How do you balance your history with your stories?
- What is the role of language in your life?
- How do you use your life experience to connect and help others in your life?
Examples of open-ended questions for individuals and families creating their own story:
- Has anyone ever asked you about your story?
- Are you comfortable telling your story?
- What is your story?
- How can you use your story to better understand yourself?
- How will you use your story to have a positive influence with your family?
- How can connecting with the Elders’ stories help connect your story to your culture?
- How does your traditional language support connections in your life?
- How do you use your life experience to connect and help others in your life?
Step 5 - Transcription of Recorded Interviews
If a community member has experience with transcribing, then please consider hiring that person(s) to help build community capacity. If there is no one available with experience, suggestions are to contact local or regional university students who have this background, or look into companies such as https://www.transcribeme.com where you upload an audio file and it is returned as a word document.
Step 6 - Research the Traditional Territory
This role requires researching the traditional territory of your community (including stories, poetry, art, and songs) to create a context of who your people are and how they came to be there.
Step 7 - Interview Analysis
If a community member has experience with interview analysis, then please consider hiring that person(s) to help build community capacity. If there is no one available with experience, suggestions are to contact local or regional university students who have this background.
Step 8 - Handbook Assembly
The Lead Team is responsible for the final assembly of the community's stories into a booklet to hand out to those involved with the project and the community in general (i.e. giving back to the community). Publishing, distribution, and sharing methods are up to the Team and the community to decide (see First Nations OCAP guidelines above). The handbook created by the Mi'kmaq Family Resource Centre (in the 'Materials' section below) provides an example of the layout and design for you to look at to get ideas of how you would like to design your own handbook.
