Decolonizing Data: Unsettling Conversations About Social Research Methods

Decolonizing Data explores how ongoing structures of colonialization negatively impact the well-being of Indigenous peoples and communities across Canada, resulting in persistent health inequalities. In addressing the social dimensions of health, particularly as they affect Indigenous peoples and BIPOC communities, Decolonizing Data asks, Should these groups be given priority for future health policy considerations? Decolonizing Data provides a deeper understanding of the social dimensions of health as applied to Indigenous peoples, who have been historically underfunded in and excluded from health services, programs, and quality of care; this inequality has most recently been seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on both western and Indigenous methodologies, this unique scholarly contribution takes both a sociological perspective and the "two-eyed seeing" approach to research methods. By looking at the ways that everyday research practices contribute to the colonization of health outcomes for Indigenous peoples, Decolonizing Data exposes the social dimensions of healthcare and offers a careful and respectful reflection on how to "unsettle conversations" about applied social research initiatives for our most vulnerable groups.

Table of Contents:
Contents List of Tables List of Figures Acknowledgments Dedication Preface  Relational Accountability About this Book How the Book is Organized 1.Introduction The Importance of Power and Place: Place-Based Consciousness Who is Indigenous? Indigenous Peoples and the Urban Landscape in Canada Indigenous Perspectives on the Good Life The Link Between Social Capital and Indigenous Well-Being 2. The Impacts of Colonization on Indigenous Health and Well-being Setter State Policy and Indigenous Peoples Assimilation Policy and Poor Health Outcomes The Indian Reserve System The Residential School System Historical Trauma for Generations to Come Acts of Reconciliation The 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) The 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) 3. Decolonizing Bodies and a Self-Governing Health System Indigenous Well-being and Urban Life Beyond the Western Medical Model and Decolonizing Bodies Health Transformation and Self-Determination Health Governance and the First Nations Health Authority 4. Social Capital Theory, Health Indicators and Indigenous Communities Historical Overview: Bourdieusian Social Capital and Health Status Social Capital Analysis and Applied Social Research Social Capital Theory and Colonization Moving Beyond the GDP: Social and Economic Indicators of Well-being How is Well-Being Measured in Canada? How is Indigenous Well-Being Measured in Canada? Indigenous Health Indictors Frameworks 5. Decolonizing Data and Critical Research Methods Decolonizing Methodologies Ethics: Honoring Indigenous Protocols and Relational Accountability Participation Action Research and Indigenous Communities Two-Eyed Seeing and Indigenous Health Outcomes Qualitative Findings The Origin Story of the First Nations Perspective on Health and Wellness Traditional Knowledge Data Governance and Ownership From Illness Models to Wellness Perspectives A Critical Data Approach Decolonizing Data and Indigenous Health Outcomes The 2012 Aboriginal People’s Survey and Measuring Historical Trauma Individual and Community Level Factors Affecting Indigenous Health Outcomes Quantitative Findings Transgenerational Trauma and Health Outcomes Indigenous Culture as Resistance to Trauma 6. Conclusion Indigenous-Based Determinants of Health and Wellness Social Capital and Indigenous Health and Wellness Critical Reflections Allyship and Solidarity Relational Allyship and Responsive Research Responsive Research, the TRAC Method and Indigenous Data Sovereignty The Limitations of Two-Eyed Seeing Indigenous Data Sovereignty References

About the Author :
Jacqueline M. Quinless is an adjunct professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Victoria.

Review :
Decolonizing Data is clear and concise. The literature is sound and conducted in a professional manner. This book will be useful in courses on decolonizing approaches, Indigenous methodologies, methods, health and well-being, social sciences, and research practices. - Michael Lickers, Associate Faculty and Indigenous Scholar in Residence, School of Leadership Studies, Royal Roads University Decolonizing Data is a valuable resource and guide to taking a decolonized critical approach to Indigenous research for practitioners, academics, and researchers.. The book notably takes an important stance in discussing and executing allyship in Indigenous research in an important area of health and wellness. Jacqueline M. Quinless offers a unique case study that is very helpful for non-Indigenous researchers who are wanting to engage with Indigenous research in a respectful way. - Lisa Monchalin, Professor of Criminology, Kwantlen Polytechnic University