Joint & Bone Initiative

Get Everyone Started - Indigenous Training Initiative – GEt’S-IT 

GEt’S-IT (pronounced “Get’s It”) was sponsored by BJI’s EXEC because assessments revealed that BJI members as a collective do not have adequate knowledge, partnerships and/or training opportunities to support self-reflection and learning about Indigenous ways of knowing, land-based learning and research approaches. Current capacity and interest among members are key considerations as BJI tries to support Indigenous learning within our MSK culture in a sustainable way. 
 

Aim

Raise awareness and build capacity by looking at what we do in a different way.

Overarching Goals

Enhance BJI members’ perspectives and understanding of Indigenous histories, ways of knowing and land-based learning;

Develop relationships with key stakeholders to set concrete and relevant goals related to learning and cultural competency within the BJI membership;

Empower researchers/educators to be more empathetic and aware of our responsibility to conduct research ethically;

Help decolonize BJI’s research training curricula; and

Support the goal of reclaiming participants’ rights in research and teaching.  

Objective 1

(Jan 2021 – Aug 2021)

Develop BJI in-house ALLIES with foundational knowledge and capacity to support learning and to begin the decolonization of BJI programs. 

Objective 2

(Apr 2021 – Dec 2021)

Create new PARTNERSHIPS to enhance knowledge and explore ways to incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing in BJI – so they can be valued as equal to academic approaches to knowing and creating knowledge.

Objective 3

(Sept 2021 – Dec 2021)

Build a GUIDE for BJI members to learn and engage our colleagues and trainees to conduct more CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE and RESPECTFUL RESEARCH with Indigenous community partners.

Anticipated outcomes: 

  • a group of 5-10 BJI members with personal/professional reflection experiences that enriches their perspectives and understanding of Indigenous histories, ways of knowing, and land-based learning. They will facilitate discussions and critical reflection to incorporate Indigenous approaches into BJI research initiatives – building capacity and impact potential; 
  • established relationships with key Indigenous and non-Indigenous stakeholders to support the ongoing identification of learning needs and mutual interest as well as to share expertise to decolonize MSK research and training; 
  • a set of concrete and relevant goals with an evaluation strategy in place for GEt’S-IT related to empowering researchers/educators to be more empathic and aware of their responsibilities to conduct research ethically and support participants’ rights in research; 
  • supports in place to better align proposals with public funding agencies’ Indigenized research programs; and 
  • a collection of lessons-learned and experiences to share with Western colleagues who are interested in getting started with Indigenous research training in their departments/units.

Working Group:

  • Dave Walton (Chair) - Health Sciences
  • Tom Appleton - Schulich
  • Tristan Boyd - Schulich
  • Sara Mai Chitty - Indigenous Initiatives
  • Harvi Hart - Health Sciences
  • Emily Lalone - Engineering
  • Jann Paquette-Warren - BJI Admin Team
  • Aaron Price - Engineering
  • Ana Luisa Trejos - Engineering
  • Marie Tyler - BJI Admin Team
  • Edward Vasarhelyi - Schulich
  • Shannon Woodhouse - BJI Admin Team

Upcoming Events:

For information on upcoming events related to this initiative please visit: https://boneandjoint.uwo.ca/events/Special_events.html 

Contact Us:

Contact bjiinnov@uwo.ca for more information or to get involved in GEt'S-IT.