Pathfinders

Pathfinders is a CINE initiative designed to support Indigenous Peoples’ food systems by responding to community interests and concerns. Pathfinders is at the same time, an opportunity to connect undergraduate and graduate students in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (FAES) with meaningful and relevant research opportunities in the areas of Indigenous Peoples’ food systems and environment in collaboration with Indigenous communities. The program fosters the principle of reciprocity through interdisciplinary knowledge exchange and supports community-engaged research.

Students

• Receive a cultural safety training to support respectful and ethical engagement
• Gain research experience with meaningful, relevant projects in both academic and community settings
• Develop relevant skills for academic, professional, and community-based work
• Gain hands-on participatory research experience that supports Indigenous food systems, health, and well-being
• Build mentorship relationships, including opportunities for graduate students to gain experience as mentors
• Receive a stipend to support their participation in the project and further their research skills

Faculty

• Strengthen relationships with Indigenous and community partners through collaborative, community-driven projects
• Gaining experience in mentoring graduate and undergraduate students effectively and ethically, addressing community knowledge priorities, and navigating effective, short-term community partnerships
• Financial contribution for a student stipend for a project aligned with pathfinders
• Opportunities for co-authorship or co-creation of knowledge with students and communities, where appropriate and agreed upon.

Pathfinders will participate in a 4-month placement during the summer or the academic year. CINE uses a response strategy in which projects are initiated when communities reach out with concerns or questions. Each student will take the required cultural safety training prior to starting the project. Students are assigned to a specific part of the process depending on the nature of the request, the community’s preferences, and available resources.

A project agreement is developed with the community outlining the supervisor for the project, timeline, objectives, and deliverables. The number of participating students will vary based on the scope and needs of each project.

Projects will be based on community priorities and needs, and may focus on Indigenous Peoples’ food systems, including

• Nutritional health
• Environmental health
• Biodiversity

Projects in process

Nutrition video capsules

This community-led project aims to develop short nutrition video capsules highlighting the traditional food system of the community and how these food systems can promote food security and nutrition in the current context. The videos will support knowledge sharing by linking traditional foods with their cultural and nutritional significance