Thompson Rivers University’s (TRU) Knowledge Makers Program, a unique and award-winning Indigenous research network, is receiving global recognition later this week.
A global edition of the Knowledge Makers journal featuring the research of 21 Indigenous women from 16 countries is being celebrated and launched as a publication by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome this Friday. In recognition of TRU’s invaluable partnership in this unique and transformational project, a delegation from TRU and authors from the Knowledge Makers Indigenous women’s research cohort were invited to attend and speak at the unveiling.
Sparked from the All My Relations Research Centre at TRU with the FAO, the award-winning Indigenous research network, gives a powerful voice to Indigenous women who historically, have not been heard on global issues of importance including climate change, food security.
On Friday, March 7, Dr. Rod McCormick, Dr. Shannon Wagner, and Dr. Airini (now at University of Saskatchewan and a co-founder of Knowledge Makers when she was at TRU) are joining in the ceremonial publication launch of this special edition of the journal. Attending virtually are Dr. Sereana Naepi, Jeneen Herns-Jensen, Chuying Jiao, Alexis Gottfriedson and Joanne Brown. The event is timed to coincide with International Women’s Day on March 8.
“Knowledge Makers (KM) is dedicated to transforming research — removing privilege and elitism to ensure all global citizens have access to methods for sharing their wisdom. While today we are celebrating a tangible outcome of KM, the impact of KM goes so far beyond the tangible. Participation provides voice, where otherwise voice may not have been heard, and it provides critical Indigenous knowledge and methodology from the vital perspective of lived experience,” said Wagner, TRU vice-president Research.
Research explores community issues
The call for participants went out globally in late 2022 through the All My Relations Research Centre and the FAO. Indigenous women across the world’s seven socio-cultural regions were selected to join in this unique Knowledge Makers Program, led by Naepi and supported by Dr. Rod McCormick, Sandra Bandura, Herns-Jensen, Jiao, the online learning team at TRU and the Office of the Vice-President Research.
The women participating are from Indigenous Peoples in Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Sweden, Russia, Nepal, Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Turkey, Mexico, Venezuela, United States, Canada, New Zealand and Kiribati. For a year, they studied online and held group discussions as they were mentored and created peer-reviewed research articles covering topics important to their communities in the themes of Indigenous women, Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems, and climate change.
Last year, the Coyote Brings the Food Conference was held at TRU to mark and celebrate the completion of the program and forthcoming journal publication; members of the special edition cohort came to Kamloops or attended online to present their work and meet fellow Indigenous scholars and Knowledge Makers alumni.
The All My Relations Research Centre and FAO have worked together closely since 2020 to bring this idea, program and publication into reality. The official publication launch of this Knowledge Makers Journal Volume 8 special edition at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy marks an important accomplishment for the Indigenous women of the cohort, as well as TRU and FAO. The project has inspired interest in future meaningful research partnerships with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Congratulations to everyone who has been involved and contributed to Knowledge Makers.
Want to join the celebration? If you’re an earlybird, you can watch the Zoom livestream (password 77891136) from 5-6:30 a.m. (2-3:30 p.m. Rome time) on Friday, March 7.
Read the journal: Knowledge Makers Special Edition — Indigenous Women, Indigenous Peoples’ Food and Knowledge Systems, and Climate Action, Volume 8, 2024.
