Resources for funding community-led research and highlighting scholarship and impactful work
Many funding opportunities exist to support research initiatives that integrate Indigenous knowledge and Western science. A majority of these efforts are led by academic institutions that engage Indigenous communities in varying degrees of participation ranging from consultation to equitable co-production (David-Chavez 2018, Bohensky and Maru 2011). Knowledge production in these contexts attempts to integrate Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into existing Western research frameworks (Daniel 2019, Nadasdy 1999). While recognizing the value of partnership across Western and Indigenous sciences, this funding opportunity seeks to shift the focus and center Indigenous methodologies, protocols, and values in research.
With this intention in mind, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant will support between 3 and 6 projects in the Indigenous Science track, each in the $25,000 to $50,000 range for a funding term of two years.
Ulana ‘Ike Director Dr. Rosanna Alegado co-authored a paper on the responsible stewardship of Indigenous Data with the earth sciences.
Abstract: In the age of big data and open science, what processes are needed to follow open science protocols while upholding Indigenous Peoples’ rights? The Earth Data Relations Working Group (EDRWG), convened to address this question and envision a research landscape that acknowledges the legacy of extractive practices and embraces new norms across Earth science institutions and open science research. Using the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) as an example, the EDRWG recommends actions, applicable across all phases of the data lifecycle, that recognize the sovereign rights of Indigenous Peoples and support better research across all Earth Sciences.
Ulana ‘Ike Director Dr. Rosanna Alegado was interviewed by Science magazine for an article on Indigenous Data Sovereignty.
Excerpt: For many Indigenous community members who remember examples of such data misuse, the solution is to decide which data are shared and whom they are shared with. “It’s not a free for-all,” says Rosie Alegado, an oceanographer at the University of Hawaii and a Native Hawaiian, adding, “‘Accessible’ means somebody can access it but you are still allowed to regulate it.” To scientists who might feel strongly about unrestricted access to data, “You should check your ethics,” she says. “That kind of thinking assumes best intentions, but [is] a little bit naïve, and within that naïveté is where bad actors can slip in.”
Tropical Medicine Clinical Laboratory
During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic testing capacity in Hawaiʻi was limited with private diagnostic labs often sending samples to the continental U.S. for processing resulting in long wait times for results. Responding to an immediate need of the community during a crisis the Ulana ʻIke Center of Excellence played a leadership role in establishing the first public diagnostic laboratory in Hawaiʻi, partnering with the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. With the Center leading the community outreach team, the lab was successful in securing $3.9 million in funds from the City and County of Honolulu. The lab provided free COVID-19 testing services across Oʻahu for underserved and uninsured community members and front-line workers. This effort was part of an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic but will yield long-term benefits for community resilience in Hawaiʻi by responding to infectious disease threats that are projected to worsen with climate change. These efforts were featured in The Oceanography Society magazine (view here).
Knowledge Stewardship
Hawaiʻi Sea Grant supported a Peter J. Rappa Fellow focused on research and analysis of intellectual property rights, practices, and agreements in the context of rural and Indigenous communities partnering with research and management institutions for natural resources stewardship. The Fellow was jointly mentored by the Ulana ʻIke Center of Excellence and Kua’aina Ulu ‘Auamo. The fellow produced a Data Accountability and Stewardship teaching tool drawing from research on data sovereignty practices and policies used by Indigenous communities globally. This teaching tool is intended to support communities in issues spotting around knowledge stewardship and access; support researchers to engage in ethical practice; and build capacity for both community and researchers to be more sophisticated in their understanding of intellectual property rights and issues. The Center has also worked to deepen partnerships with Conservation International in this area and plans to continue to pursue opportunities to identify and address intellectual property practices within research and resource management institutions that perpetuate inequities and overlook community ownership and needs.
Marine Biology Graduate Student Orientation Course
The Ulana ʻIke Center partnered with the Marine Biology Graduate Program at UH Mānoa and the Heʻeia National Estuarine Research Reserve to develop and lead an intensive three week graduate course Kūlana Noiʻi: Introduction to Place-based Research Methodologies in Hawaiʻi. The course was mandatory for all incoming Marine Biology Graduate students in the 2021 cohort and was aimed at providing students with a grounding in what constitutes a research paradigm and the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct place-based research in Indigenous spaces with a focus on Hawaiʻi. Through readings and lectures from experts students were exposed to multiple disciplines and knowledge frameworks for approaching scientific inquiry. The course used the Kūlana Noiʻi as an ethical framework to explore reciprocal, place-based research methodologies. Students also gained first-hand experience in building connections with local community organizations that implement Indigenous management practices. They worked alongside place-based stewards, researchers, and cultural practitioners to learn about conservation issues and practices in Hawaiʻi. In addition to place-based activities and panels, a series of self-directed learning broadened students’ skill sets and critical thinking as well as provided space for self-reflection towards integrating place-based dimensions in their graduate research. The course culminated with students developing a set of individual place-based research ethics, or their personal Kūlana Noiʻi, to inform their graduate work.
Learn more about the Ulana ka ʻIke Center of Excellence
Ulana ʻIke Center of Excellence
uhsg.ulanaike@hawaii.edu
Director
Rosie Alegado
rosie.alegado@hawaii.edu
Projects & Partnerships Coordinator
Katy Hintzen
hintzen@hawaii.edu
Each pattern represents a Center of Excellence. Learn more about the cultural connections and meanings behind them.