{"id":79118,"date":"2021-09-27T10:01:59","date_gmt":"2021-09-27T14:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=79118"},"modified":"2025-10-17T18:35:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T22:35:34","slug":"anako-indigenous-research-institute","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/anako-indigenous-research-institute\/","title":{"rendered":"Walking Together at the A\u0304nako Indigenous Research Institute"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Walking Together at the A\u0304nako Indigenous Research Institute\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

This past summer, Tasha Beeds<\/a> and a core group of nine women, men and Two-Spirit people walked carrying a small copper pail of water<\/a> from the source of the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta\u2019s Rocky Mountains to the river\u2019s junction with the South Saskatchewan east of Prince Albert, Sask., covering 1,100 kilometres over 36 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Visiting
Visiting Scholar Tasha Beeds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The walk was a ceremony, giving back to the water through song and gratitude while raising awareness about the need to protect water and amplifying the voice of the water itself.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cAs Indigenous peoples, we see water as a living entity,\u201d says Beeds, who has ne\u0302hiyaw (Plains Cree), Scottish-M\u00e9tis and Bajan ancestry and is the inaugural visiting scholar at the new A\u0304nako Indigenous Research Institute<\/a> at Carleton.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cPeople forget that water is alive, like the Earth,\u201d she says. \u201cWater is<\/em> life. These words are not just a catch phrase.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the journey, which is part of a long tradition among Indigenous peoples of entering into a relationship with the natural world, the walkers talked with farmers and residents of the towns and Indigenous communities they passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wildfires and drought are ravaging the west, and they were told about and bore witness to dried-up streams and depleted aquifers, parched berry bushes and scrawny wildlife, and the challenges faced by people who use water to grow crops or fish or swim in on hot days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Water<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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These interconnected stories reveal a crisis that\u2019s both profound and personal, yet something that you might not notice zipping by on the highway.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThe water\u2019s message is urgent,\u201d says Beeds, whose PhD thesis, which she\u2019ll be defending this fall at Trent University, explores water walking as an Indigenous research methodology and as a \u201ccontemporary manifestation of ceremonies, intellectual traditions and cultural understandings that have existed since the beginning of time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cWater is a lens through which I look at the world, and that\u2019s what research is all about,\u201d says Beeds, who is also a visiting fellow in the University of Windsor\u2019s Faculty of Law and has taught at the University of Sudbury and University of Saskatoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWater walking is about consciously engaging with the future. We are making a plea across all cultures: What kind of Ancestor are you going to be? What are your grandchildren going to say about you? Are they going to say you were so obsessed with your phone, you didn\u2019t look up and now there\u2019s no more water left?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Water\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

Connection and Collaborative Research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Beeds is an inspiring choice to be the first visiting scholar at A\u0304nako, an Algonquin word that means \u201cconnection, an extension, a generational continued connection.\u201d Her work embodies the institute\u2019s goal of serving as a collaborative research hub, a connection point for community members and faculty and students from different departments, and as a source of mentorship for Indigenous methodologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\u0304nako, which builds upon the foundations laid from 1993 onwards<\/a> by the Centre for Indigenous Research, Culture, Language and Education at Carleton, will bring together researchers, students and Indigenous communities to foster dialogue and understanding of ethical, balanced and respectful research with Indigenous peoples and in Indigenous territories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kin\u00e0m\u00e0gawin\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a response to the 2020 Kin\u00e0m\u00e0gawin Report<\/a>\u2014specifically, call to action no. 31, which outlined the need to establish an institute to continue, consolidate and further promote innovative and collaborative Indigenous research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plans for the upcoming year include a directory of Indigenous research projects, student research and writing groups, research talks and film screenings, and grant-writing assistance. Anybody interested in joining the institute and helping to shape its path is invited to get in touch<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\u0304nako is currently co-directed by Indigenous and Canadian Studies Prof. Kahente Horn-Miller<\/a>, the Assistant Vice-President of Indigenous Initiatives at Carleton, and Music Prof. Anna Hoefnagels<\/a>, Director of the School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies. Elders and other leaders from the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg<\/a> and Algonquins of Pikw\u00e0kanag\u00e0n First Nation<\/a> bestowed its name based on the goals of the institute.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cInstitutes like this are rooted in creating a genuine space for Indigenous ways of knowing and being in the academy,\u201d says Beeds, who will join A\u0304nako remotely from her home territory in Saskatchewan, although she\u2019s excited about visiting Ottawa and spending time on the Rideau River that flows past the Carleton campus.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cIf you bring Indigenous knowledge into an institution, things can shift. That\u2019s the truth behind reconciliation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Banff<\/figure>\n\n\n

Lessons From Across Canada<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anishinabekwe PhD student Cheyanne Thomas<\/a>, a member of the Couchiching First Nation<\/a>, helped steer the direction of A\u0304nako by working as a research assistant for a year in the lead up to its launch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"PhD
PhD Student Cheyanne Thomas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of her major projects was collecting information from the two dozen or so other Indigenous research centres at universities across Canada, to learn what works and what ideas A\u0304nako could adopt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas saw some amazing and eye-opening initiatives, such as an effort to write briefs that break down complex political issues into everyday language at one institute, and workshops that match experienced researchers with undergraduate Indigenous students\u2014so they can learn how to do their own research\u2014at another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese are programs we can model,\u201d says Thomas, who had to step back from A\u0304nako this fall because she is teaching and needs time for her own research.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cBut mostly, I saw that our projects have to be multidisciplinary and community-driven, so scholars and community members can work together on issues that have real-world implications and people can develop the skills they need to lead their own research going forward. If you can train somebody, more fulsome research will emerge.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\"Water
Water Walkers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

—
\nMore Stories<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past summer, Tasha Beeds and a core group of nine women, men and Two-Spirit people walked carrying a small copper pail of water from the source of the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta\u2019s Rocky Mountains to the river\u2019s junction with the South Saskatchewan east of Prince Albert, Sask., covering 1,100 kilometres over 36 days. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":79207,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[13],"cu_story_tag":[1930,1920,1927],"class_list":["post-79118","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-research-discovery","cu_story_tag-equity-diversity-and-inclusion","cu_story_tag-faculty-of-arts-and-social-sciences","cu_story_tag-indigenous"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":"blueprint"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/79118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/79118\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97600,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/79118\/revisions\/97600"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=79118"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=79118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}