Michigan State University partners, including the Native American Institute, have released a new resource titled Reciprocal Research: A Guidebook to Centering Community in Partnerships with Indigenous Nations. It offers university faculty and academic staff at MSU and beyond a framework for planning and reflecting on research partnerships. It can be used individually, in a community of scholars or within a graduate-level course.

The Reciprocal Research Guidebook helps university faculty and staff plan their work and motivations with intentionality and thoughtfulness before starting a research project within a Native community. It provides a cross section of potential scenarios and thought-provoking activities to support researchers in developing robust partnerships.

“Partnering with Native communities is a specialty area. You develop knowledge over years. It is a continuous learning experience. If you want to do this type of work, you have to put the work in,” said Christie Poitra, interim director of the MSU NAI, affiliate faculty member in the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program and core faculty member in the Center for Gender in Global Context.

“I wanted a resource that people could engage in low-risk learning activities and critically examine some of these questions and positionalities before they are in front of a community. We tried to make it user friendly for people from different academic backgrounds.”

The Reciprocal Research Guidebook encourages people to think about bringing their whole selves into their work. It complements the Honoring the Whole Student Workbook that NAI also developed for faculty in partnership with MSU, supporting the broader identities of students in STEM disciplines.

The Reciprocal Research Guidebook was made possible through a nearly $1 million National Science Foundation grant, related to renewable energy and perceptions in rural and tribal communities.

Read full story at MSU Today.