ID: 2075
Presenting Author: Olivia Thom
Session: 699 - Best Practices in Land Use Surveys and Better Information Sharing
Status: pending
An Indigenous-led approach grounded in Haudenosaunee governance shows how Twanatahle:nas as method builds trust, counters misinformation, and advances Indigenous health research.
This presentation shares insights from the development of an Indigenous-led, community-owned environmental health survey with the Onʌyota’a:ka Nation. Guided by the Haudenosaunee Kayanlʌ’ko:wa (Great Law of Peace) and the principle of Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing), the research employed “Twanatahle:nas as method,” a culturally grounded practice meaning “we all visit.” This approach centers trust and relationship-building as foundations for ethical data collection and knowledge sharing.
Conventional land use surveys and socio-environmental frameworks often separate ecological risk, health, and community well-being. In contrast, this work shows how distinctions-based, community-specific understandings of health—rooted in governance, culture, and relationships—must guide environmental research design and interpretation. Through Indigenous-led community-based participatory research, reciprocity and governance counter misinformation and foster confidence in data use.
The project was co-led with Yukwanulha Yukwanikuhliyo, a group of Onʌyota’a:ka women whose leadership ensured survey design, data ownership, and interpretation reflected community values and priorities. Findings show that Indigenous-led surveys generate reliable, culturally relevant data on land use and wellness while rebuilding relationships among knowledge holders, researchers, and decision-makers. Centering Indigenous governance and relational accountability, Twanatahle:nas as method offers a framework to strengthen ethical engagement, transparency, and trust in socio-environmental research.
Olivia is Oneida (Haudenosaunee) with mixed settler ancestry and a Research Coordinator at the University of Guelph researching Indigenous-led environmental health risk assessment approaches
Coauthor 1: Diana Lewis
Coauthor 2: Yukwanulha Yukwanikuhliyo N/A