ABSTRACT
Forest researchers are increasingly interested in working with Indigenous communities to address some of the most pressing environmental issues of our time, including climate change and deforestation. For many Indigenous peoples, forest-related knowledge and practices are situated at the core of daily life. Indigenous forest-related knowledge is often held within relational systems wherein inter-dependencies are attended to within social relations, cultural protocols, and customary governance systems. While Indigenous peoples have always conducted research according to cultural and community norms, protocols written by Indigenous communities to guide non-Indigenous researchers are relatively new. Following years of non-reciprocal and unethical research in their community, the Li̓l̓wat Nation in British Columbia, Canada, co-produced the S7i̓stken Li̓l̓wat Research Protocol, a guide for non-Li̓l̓wat researchers that is modelled on the construction of the traditional dwelling structure of the Li̓l̓wat people. Using autoethnography, the authors recount and critically reflect on their respective experiences conducting forest research according to the S7ístken Research Protocol. The authors connect these experiences to broader theories and approaches from the literature on Indigenous research methodologies. Accounts are offered candidly to show how reflexivity can enhance the research process and outcomes, and to bring light to the often-intangible benefits for researchers in following community-led processes.
