Recipient Organization
Tohono O`odham Community Action (TOCA)
P.O. Box 1790
Sells,AZ 85634-1790
Performing Department
Education
Non Technical Summary
The Tohono O'odham Community College (TOCC) submits this new proposal for the TCRGP Capacity Building Option in the category of Pathways to Research. The proposal is titled "Building a Community-Based Research Plan at the Tohono O'odham Community College"; leading co-PIs are Adrian Quijada and Teresa Newberry, full-time faculty at TOCC. The goal is to build a Statement of Community Needs and a Research Development Plan for TOCC that responds to current and future needs of the Tohono O'odham Nation (TON). These documents will arise from visioning sessions conducted by faculty, students and a facilitator with the TON's districts and communities, government departments, schools and tribal stakeholders and our partner the University of Arizona. Activities proposed are:a) Research forum with district and communities representatives. This one-day forum will include participation by TOCC Faculty, TON department representatives, UA researchers, and community members.b) Collaborative planning workshop. Brainstorming and planning sessions with TOCC Faculty, TON department representatives, UA researchers, and community members. An outcome of this planning workshop is at least one proposal will be submitted to TCRGP.c) District and community visits. Workshops will be followed by visits to communities, district meetings, and events, which will provide opportunities to inform communities about the project and receive input on the Statement of Community Needs and Research Development plan.d) Consultation with UA partners, TON departments, and communities. In addition to community visits, PIs and students will attend meetings with UA partners and TON department representatives to obtain feedback.e) Documents distribution. Documents will be distributed widely among the different TON government departments and the various districts and communities.f) Co-PIs will receive professional development in Indigenous research methodologies. This will help maintain their currency in the field.g) The creation of an Indigenous Research class, which will include training in CBPR, decolonizing methodologies and case studies that incorporate both TEK and Western Science.We will evaluate the impact and progress of this grant using the American Indian Higher Education Consortium's Indigenous Evaluation Framework (IEF) approach adapted to the unique Tohono O'odham culture.The major challenge to the success of this project is community participation, engagement, and developing a sense of ownership for the project. In order to make the project effective, we are involving TOCC students as well as stakeholders from institutions with long experience in working with Native American Nations. Therefore trust and confidence can be achieved in the context of communities' support.
Animal Health Component
10%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
10%
Applied
10%
Developmental
80%
Goals / Objectives
The primary goal of this proposal is to build a TOCC-RDP based on a Statement of Community Needs (SCN) from community consultation, institutional partnership, and active participation of students.Objective 1: Establish a CBPR agenda for TOCC in the areas of food, agriculture, natural resources, and environmental health that responds to current needs of the communities by incorporating TEK.Objective 2: Involve students in the process of research planning and community consultation as in the CBPR approach.Objective 3: Documenting changes in perception about research at TOCC before and after the consultation.Objective 4: Increase and cultivate collaborative initiatives with TON departments and the University of Arizona.Objective 5: The development of an Indigenous Research class, which will incorporate both TEK and western science.Objective 6: Strengthen ethical policy and behaviors that include the Man in the Maze and incorporate core values from the Himdag ("Our way of Life"), which include T-Pi:k Elida ("Our deepest respect") and I-We:mta ("Working together") in research as a result of our project evaluation.
Project Methods
The project will consist of three input activities followed by two document outputs that are the basis of the research plan: SCN and TOCC-RDP (See Fig. 1). During the two-year process, students will be actively involved in assisting in the organization of workshops and visits to districts and communities. These activities will consist of the following:a) A research forum with district and communities representatives.This one-day forum is planned for January 2018 and will be held at the Himdag Ki: Museum (HK) of the TON. This will include participation by TOCC faculty, TON department representatives, UA researchers, and community members. This workshop will also include cultural orientation for visiting UA researchers to be given by elder Camillus Lopez, who teaches language, history and culture at TOCC. Training overviews on Indigenous research and CBPR methods will be offered by Miriam Jorgensen and Rachel Starks, respectively research director and senior researcher at UA's Native Nation Institute (NNI); Francine C. Gachupin, assistant director of the Native American Research and Training Center (NARTC); and Keith James, director for UA's Tribal Initiatives and American Indian Studies. These presentations will include lectures and participatory activities. This will be followed by a visioning participatory workshop led by Gary Forbes, a consultant with decades of experience in working with tribes, including the Tohono O'odham. The direct product of this workshop will be the SCN.b) Collaborative planning workshop.The SCN will provide the basis for brainstorming and planning sessions with TOCC faculty, TON department representatives, UA researchers, and community members at a follow-up collaborative planning workshop. This workshop will occur during January 2019. Participants will explore and propose potential collaborative projects by organizing research teams and establishing timetables for the development of proposals and target agencies. Further cultural orientation will be provided for visiting UA researchers. An expected outcome of this planning workshop will be one proposal which will be submitted to TCRGP.c) District and community visits.Workshops will be followed by visits to communities, district meetings, and events, all of which will provide opportunities to inform communities about the project and to gather further input on the SCN from the community members. This will include collaborative opportunities and how communities can be involved in the research process. This will be followed up by a presentation of the final TOCC-RDP and outcomes of this project. These meetings will involve students, co-PIs and collaborators from the UA, including Miriam Jorgensen and Rachel Starks (NNI), Francine C. Gachupin (NARTC), Stuart Marsh and John L. Koprowski (SNRE).d) Consultation with UA partners, TON departments and communities.In addition to community visits, PIs and students will attend meetings with UA partners and TON department representatives to obtain feedback on the progress of the TOCC-RDP and other activities. Students will meet with researchers in fields relevant to the needs expressed in the SCN. This information will be incorporated into the TOCC-RDP. The two documents, the SCN and the TOCC-RDP, will be reviewed by stakeholder representatives (liaisons), UA partners, TOCC faculty members, and participating students in order to ensure their accuracy and clarity.e) Distribution of SCN and TOCC-RDP.Both documents will be distributed widely among the different TON government agencies and departments and the various districts and communities. The plan will be archived on TOCC's website for full access. Students who participate in the project will offer presentations at districts and communities to share their experiences and learning during the course of the project.f) Co-PIs will receive professional development in Indigenous research methodologies.Via attendance at the Fall 2017 American Indigenous Research Association, workshops through the Native American Research Training Center (NARTC), and ongoing collaboration with the UA's NNI as part of the MOU between TOCC and NNI. In addition, Keith James of AIS will provide mentorship during this process. This professional development will help maintain currency in the latest developments in Indigenous research methodologies for the co-PIs. g) The creation of an Indigenous Research class.This class will include guest lectures, training in CBPR, decolonizing methodologies and case studies that incorporate both TEK and western science. This course will explore the linkages between western science and TEK and how they can be implemented in the context of TON's SCN. This course will include a focus on the processes involved in the generation of new knowledge unique to TEK. This will ensure that knowledge and expertise gained in this project will have a lasting impact at TOCC and throughout the Tohono O'odham Nation. The development of this class will begin in the summer of 2018, be finalized by Fall of 2018 and be offered in Spring 2019.