Qun’ngiaqtiarlugu (taking a closer look) at Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit in Community-Based Participatory Research

Abstract

The research processes that take place with Inuit communities are as important as the findings these studies reveal. There is a growing body of literature that highlights community-based participatory research (CBPR) as a successful approach for collaboration between universities and Indigenous communities. However, missing from the literature are studies examining the congruency of CBPR with Indigenous ways of knowing. This doctoral study used a case study approach to examine a CBPR project conducted in partnership with communities across Nunavut, Inuit organizations and Dalhousie University that aimed to adapt, pilot and utilize the Community Readiness Model (CRM) with Inuit communities to improve community readiness for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevention interventions. This case study examined the alignment of the principles of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) and CBPR. Two-Eyed Seeing provided the conceptual framework for this study and data was collected from CRM project documents, interviews with CRM project team members, and the researcher’s reflective journal entries. Data was analyzed through thematic analysis. The results of this study provide an in-depth understanding of how Western (Academic) and Indigenous (Inuit) ways of knowing interact within a CBPR HIV prevention intervention study. This study provides new understandings about IQ within CBPR, and about research that draws upon these two knowledge systems. With increasing research interest across Inuit Nunangat, understanding Inuit-university research partnerships and Inuit-specific research approaches is beneficial to both communities and researchers alike. This study adds to the growing body of literature examining research processes with Inuit communities emphasizing the importance of relationality, reflexivity, allied scholarship, and pushing beyond the current status quo of research practices and expectations.