Historically, most research on Indigenous peoples has been framed by Western empirical positivism which fundamentally conflicts with Indigenous circular ways of knowing. Current research governing bodies, scholars, and Indigenous communities have generated new theories and guidelines for research structures that support respectful and meaningful practices with Indigenous peoples. Participatory action research (PAR) attempts to address the unequal power structures inherent in research relationships: participants set the agenda for the research and are co-researchers in the project. In this study, I placed PAR theory into action to problematize research practices and to generate new discourses for research within an Indigenous context. The Lil’wat Nation and I collaborated on a PAR project in 2006-2007 that led to the formation of the Lil’wat Girls’ and Women’s Affirmation Group. Through the process of reflection-in-action we identified several opportunities for growth as we examined PAR theory in practice. Using decolonizing research methods and a metaphor of the Lil’wat s7istken (pit house), the model of practice wove between three distinct worlds with divergent protocols and pedagogies: the worlds of the Lil’wat, academia, and the researcher’s racialized lived experiences. This model of practice aimed to disrupt the essentialized dichotomies of Indigenous and non-Indigenous relationships and to problematize research practices for the academic and research communities to consider for their practice. The findings exposed several lessons at sites of praxis pertaining to the intersection of PAR theory and practice: definition of the community; ethics in the community; racialized researcher space; and PAR incongruence. The model was intended not as a “how to” manual, but as an entry point for discussions to advance respectful decolonizing research practices.

Notre étude s’intéresse aux représentations des interactions entre les Autochtones en situation d’itinérance et les services policiers en milieux urbains au Québec. À l’aide d’une méthodologie qualitative ancrée dans le mouvement de décolonisation de la recherche, nous présentons l’expérience urbaine de l’itinérance telle que vécue par les Autochtones ainsi que leurs représentations des interactions avec la police. En centrant nos analyses sur les expériences telles que vécues et rapportées par nos participants et participantes, nous faisons ressortir les représentations qu’ils et elles se font de la police. L’analyse de nos données fait ressortir le rôle de gestion pénale de la pauvreté visible de la police en milieu urbain ainsi que les pratiques et attitudes envers les Autochtones influencées par un cadre de référence racialisé. Celles-ci viennent influencer les représentations sociales de la police par nos participants et participantes, il en ressort deux types de figures : la figure du persécuteur et la figure du protecteur. Nos analyses soulèvent aussi les enjeux de profilage social et racial ainsi que l’expérience genrée des interactions avec la police. De plus, il ressort de cela que les Autochtones en situation d’itinérance se retrouvent à l’intersection de plusieurs facteurs de disqualification sociale. Cette étude se conclue par une série de recommandations visant l’amélioration des interactions des Autochtones avec les services publics ainsi qu’une démystification des enjeux autochtones. / Our study is interested in the interactions between homeless Indigenous people and police services in urban areas in Quebec. Using a qualitative methodology rooted in the research decolonization movement, we present the experience of urban homelessness as well as interactions with the police. By focusing our analyzes on the experiences as lived and reported by our participants, we highlight the representations they make of the police. The analysis of our data highlights the role of penal management of visible poverty by police services in urban areas as well as the practices and attitudes towards Indigenous people influenced by a racialized frame of reference. These influence the social representations of the police by our participants, two types stand out: the persecutor and the protector. Our analysis also raises the issues of social and racial profiling as well as the gendered experience of interactions with the police. In addition, it appears that Indigenous people experiencing homelessness find themselves at the intersection of several factors of social disqualification. This study concludes on a series of recommendations aimed at improving the interactions of Indigenous people with public services as well as a demystification of Indigenous issues.