Protocols For Engagement
Academic & Community Collaborations
The intention of this document is to support reciprocal, relevant, respectful and educational collaborations between PEPAKEṈ HÁUTW̱ and individuals or organizations outside the W̱SÁNEĆ First Nations community.
Collaborations that become partnerships will also involve agreements such as memorandums of understanding, outlines for appropriate engagement, and/or contractual engagement agreements as needed and appropriate.
Guidance for Potential Collaborators & Partners
This document applies to parties such as undergraduate/graduate students, professors, instructors, researchers, volunteers, and community organizations. Common collaborations at PEPAKEṈ HÁUTW̱ revolve around:
a) our native plant nursery and garden at the Tribal School
b) ecosystem restoration work in culturally significant places such as SṈIDȻEȽ (Tod Inlet)
c) the development of educational and employment programs aimed at supporting the next generation of land stewards.
Commitments to Guiding Principles
This section outlines the core commitments required for collaboration with PEPAKEṈ HÁUTW̱.
If you or your organization are not ready or able to meet these commitments, then please refrain from initiating collaboration. It may be that you and your organization are interested in building the capacity to meet these commitments. If so, we support you on this journey and look forward to hearing from you at a later time.
Self-awareness & Intentionality
PEPAKEṈ HÁUTW̱ considers ourselves ultimately accountable to the land, communiities and next generations.
Self-reflect: Consider your intentions for working with PEPAKEṈ HÁUTW̱. Do you want an indigenous community connection, an interesting term paper, to glean information and experience related to indigenous ways of knowing and being, or to save/improve PEPAKEṈ HÁUTW̱’s work? Is your project ultimately extractive? If, after sincere reflection, you answer yes to any of these questions, we ask you not to seek out a connection with us at this time.
Cultural safety
Consult with available resources on cultural safety and revisit your self-reflection; a great starting point is the First Nations Health Authority page on Cultural Safety and Humility. Clarify all relevant cultural aspects of educational programming, projects, and interactions. Negative comments including culturally insensitive, racist, sexist or homophobic comments are not tolerated.
Transparent communication
Clearly communicate your needs (professional, health, personal, logistical, etc) with clear expectations, boundaries, timeframes, desires and intentions for collaboration.
Media communications: publications will include acknowledgement of the working relationship of the parties when appropriate. Potential press releases, products or publications (including use of logos) will be shared with PEPAKEṈ HÁUTW̱ for review.
Shared Ethics
Assure compliance with the ethical protocols of the respective institution(s)/ organization(s). Be clear with us about these ethics and consult PPEPAKEṈ HÁUTW̱ about the alignment of your ethics process with our work. We value connections with a firm foundation in reciprocity and respect. Ensure protection of the customary and intellectual property of all partners.
Accountability and responsibility
Demonstrate responsibility towards the land, to people, and to future generations. Demonstrate accountability for your actions, words and promises.
Practical Commitments
Educational Leader
PEPAKEṈ HÁUTW̱ offers educational programs for students of all ages and backgrounds. If you are requesting a program with PEPAKEṈ HÁUTW̱, we ask that you commit time and energy to our restoration projects, depending on the need and goals.
We always allow time to ground program participants in place, including introductions and instructions. In order to do this in a good way, we request a minimum of 2 hour programs or primary to secondary age groups and a minimum of 4 hour programs for adult groups. Please make yourself aware of our program rates for each program.
College/university instructors and program leaders are invited to consider a consistent connection with PEPAKEṈ HÁUTW̱, which could include a regular schedule of one or more restoration programs per term. Please contact us to discuss partnership opportunities that enrich education and support community based restoration work.
Volunteers
Individual volunteers may join us with less formal time commitments, but need to communicate clearly with us about availability to avoid scheduling conflicts. Please take time to learn about the values of PEPAKEṈ HÁUTW̱ and to grasp some of the expectations of guests before you join us.
Collaborations
Contributing to site work activities is integral to collaborating with PEPAKEṈ HÁUTW̱. We would like all research and learning collaborations to directly and/or indirectly support this work. For students, this could mean joining us on restoration workdays in order to gain a deeper understanding of our work and discuss projects with us while contributing to the healing of the land.
Organization Collaborations & Partnerships
Please take time to consider your intentions for collaboration. PEPAKEṈ HÁUTW̱ receives many invitations to collaborate and we have limited capacity to assess and respond to all requests. We really value working with others when we can clearly see how a potential collaboration brings mutual benefit to our organizations and aligns with our core objectives of healing the land, fostering cultural resurgence, and supporting the next generation of land stewards.