In 2020 the Kahnawà:ke Education Center implemented a new Research Policy and Code of ethics with the education system. Through this policy, the Kahnawà:ke Education Center is using research and collaborative activities as a tool to pursue our strategic goals as leaders in Indigenous education, engaging in research relationships in a healthy and meaningful way for the benefit of our staff, students, future generations.

Indigenous community-based research presents an opportunity for capacity building to bolster efforts towards reclaiming ancestral knowledges and languages. The growing demand for Indigenous research often leads to unhealthy research practices, exploitation, and/or research fatigue. Research and partnerships conducted through a community-led process is an act of knowledge reclamation, providing a pathway to a stronger, healthier, and more prosperous future for Indigenous peoples. These processes of relationship building are driven by community needs, strategic goals, and the responsibility of safeguarding data, knowledge, and information.

The Kahnawà:ke Education Center’s Research Policy & Code of Ethics provides a model for Indigenous community-based education research, grounded in Haudenosaunee worldview. The policy is implemented by the Education Research Consultant. Discussion and decisions on requests and applications are made through a consensus-based decision-making process within the Education Research Committee.