The status is Active (Partial). Responsive activity exists across several parts of the Call, including Indigenous research governance, Indigenous data sovereignty, Indigenous research ethics, Indigenous intellectual-property policy, and protection of Indigenous Knowledge in federal decision-making. Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami’s National Inuit Strategy on Research advances Inuit governance, ethics, data access, ownership, and control in research. The First Nations Information Governance Centre’s First Nations Data Governance Strategy and OCAP principles support First Nations control over data, information, and community-specific knowledge. Federal research bodies also support Indigenous research governance through the Strengthening Indigenous Research Capacity initiative, the Indigenous Leadership Circle in Research, and culturally safe peer-review work. ISED and CIPO have active Indigenous intellectual-property programming, and TCPS 2 Chapter 9 provides national ethics guidance for research involving First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples. However, the evidence does not show that Canada has created a single Indigenous Knowledge Institute with the combined mandate described in the Call, so implementation is active only in part.
Supporting Evidence
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Conducting research with Indigenous Peoples in Canada: ethical and policy considerations
Type of Evidence: Academic Literature
Summary of Key Findings:This paper critiques Western-centric research practices in Indigenous mental health and wellbeing, presenting a narrative review of Canadian and international materials to advocate for Indigenous research sovereignty and a fundamental shift in research paradigms.
Topics & Keywords:community-based research, decolonization of research, ethical research practices, Indigenous data sovereignty, Indigenous mental health and wellbeingLimitations:Key limitations include the preliminary nature of guideline compilation, conflicts between traditional research goals and ethical requirements, funding scarcity, inconsistent terminology, enforcement challenges across multiple organizations, need for cultural flexibility, and a prevailing research focus on disparities rather than strengths-based approaches.
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Yellowhead Institute
Type of Evidence: Organization Website
Summary of Key Findings:The Red Papers series and the Institute’s broader research collection articulate Indigenous agenda-making and structural critique traditions, challenging existing policy frameworks while centering Indigenous perspectives on governance, law, land rights, and accountability in Canada.
Topics & Keywords:climate justice, Indigenous governance, Indigenous law, Indigenous self-determination, land backLimitations:As a policy-focused research collection linking to multiple publications rather than presenting original data, the outputs are interpretive and agenda-setting in nature rather than empirically generalizable findings derived from controlled methodologies.
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