Transcultural Knowledge Sharing TKS

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Transcultural Knowledge Sharing(TKS)

• Bringing Together
• Circles of Knowledge
• The MJOS
• Knowledge Brokering
• Approach

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Tansi
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MJOS Approachto Knowledge Sharing

• Learn
• By Who is
• Beside You

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Learn by Who is Beside You

• First Nation ways of learning
• Learn by watching, by listening, by working
  together, by sharing, by example.. Learn by Who
  is Beside You.
• Learning takes place within an active
  relationship, and can be an ongoing process as
  relationships build toward the future, rather
  than just one learning opportunity.
• Learn by sharing stories about how we live our
  values personally and professionally and how we
  see the world, care for others and share in the
  human experience.

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Learn by Who is Beside You

• Beside You
• Speaks about the coming together of two or more
  people that are focused on a common purpose or
  task at hand. The work requires active engagement
  from all, and the diversity of life experience
  that each person brings.
• Based on equality in supportive relationships
  where others are there with you, not in front of
  or behind you, but beside you, sharing in the
  learning experience.

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Learn by Who is Beside You

• an acceptance of our way of lifefor the
  doctors to have more acceptance of how we see
  thingsthe way we eat, certain foods, herbs, wild
  berries, moose meat.. we want to hear the doctors
  ask about our medicine for ourselves and for our
  family..
• NPTC Elder

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Learn by Who is Beside You

• Western medicine does not deal with the whole
  person. When they see a patient, they see the
  wound, the kidney failure.
• - First Nation Elder

• Whereas, we as First Nations people, see the
  whole person, we deal with the physical, the
  emotional, the mental and the spiritual
  well-being of the person.
• - First Nation Elder

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Learn by Who is Beside You

• One of the biggest challenges for realizing the
  goal of harmonizing traditional knowledge and
  western knowledge within the MJOS activities is
  to acknowledge and work with the wide differences
  in the values and worldview of the First Nations
  people, especially between traditional Elders and
  mainstream western culture, including the health
  care system.
• Lorraine Boucher, NPTC Health Director

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Learn by Who is Beside You

• The biggest challenge between mainstream
  health care and First Nations ways of healing is
  respect for the place of the sacred.. God.. the
  spirit world.
• Because the health system is based on western
  empiricism.. what is real is what can be
  measured and experienced through the 5
  senses..that is very different in the First
  Nations world.
• In the world of empiricism there is no space
  for mystery and the sacred. The whole endeavour
  is to dispel mystery, whereas in the First
  Nations world, mystery is something you embrace,
  and you worship, you ask for help from. That is
  where I see the biggest clash.
• Discovery Session Participant

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Project Partners

• North Peace Tribal Council
• Northern Lights Health Region
• Capital Health Region
• First Nations Inuit Health Branch Health Canada

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Project Status

• Project Approval and Funds Flowing Nov. 2004
  Dec. 2004 and Mar. 2005
• Project Start-up Jan. 2005
• Preparation, community discussions and Elder
  engagement, networking, partnership meetings and
  CHSRF events and site visit Jan. to Jul. 2005
• Review of evaluation findings of the MJOS Health
  Integration Initiative (HII) to inform project
  philosophy, approach and planning Jun. Jul.
  2005
• Discovery Session participant identification and
  planning Jun. Jul. 2005

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Project Status (continued)

• Discovery Session Aug. 2005
• Evaluation instrument review Aug. 2005
• Discovery Session transcript preparation and
  review Sept.- October 2005
• Project staff and partners clarification of roles
  and responsibilities Aug. Sept. 2005
• Articulation of Emerging Working Principles and
  Challenges as guideposts for future action
• Planning second workshop for Nov. 2005 and
  planning for Year 2 and 3

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Identified Challenges

• Creating the relational context individuals
  engaged in developing new relationships need to
  feel safe and respected.
• Surfacing Assumptions based on History
  individuals may interpret an opportunity for
  sharing knowledge as unsafe based on personal or
  family historical experience.
• Communication - transcultural communication
  requires awareness, knowledge, commitment and
  skills in cultural competence to move from
  knowing to doing effectively.

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Identified Challenges (continued)

• Using Pictures and Stories we need ways to
  share what we see in our minds and hearts and use
  our stories to create context for learning.
• Language and Lexicon English is a second
  language for some of the participants and we use
  language as we have learned it. In order to
  develop relationships for the purposes of sharing
  knowledge, we need shared language and
  terminology.
• Common Purpose - Developing a common
  understanding of the purpose of sharing
  knowledge.

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Emerging Working Principles

• First Nation Values, Principles the Wisdom of
  the Elders are the foundation and starting point
  of the process. Relationships come first. Sacred
  space for sharing and honoring the spiritual
  aspects of the people and the process is
  essential for respectful sharing.
• MJOS has a series of project streams, the results
  of which inform each other, influence each other
  and work together to create positive change in
  delivery of health care services to First Nation
  people.

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Emerging Working Principles (continued)

• Honor and respect for each participant from the
  four quadrants and what it takes to respond to
  the diversity within the quadrant and span the
  realities across groups, i.e. (Indigenous /
  First Nation Knowledge Keepers Health Care
  Researchers and Academics Interdisciplinary
  Practice Health Care Providers Policy
  Makers/Managers).

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Emerging Working Principles (continued)

• Emergent Process is our method and designing of
  the next step must be based on the experience
  so far and a vision of the purpose of the project
  and the future of the relationships.
• Comfort with Breaking Trail in recognizing that
  we are taking on new challenges and working our
  way through by investing in relationships, using
  our best ideas and focusing our good intentions.

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Emerging Working Principles (continued)

• Give and Take in teaching and learning is a
  complex process that involves back and forth
  within relationships. The reciprocity is based on
  mutual respect and seeking to understand before
  being understood.

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Emerging Working Principles (continued)

• Multiple definitions and understandings of
  knowledge, ways of knowing and evidence need to
  be bridged in order to find appropriate and
  shared solid ground for decisions that improve
  the quality of health for First Nation people.
• Knowledge must be understood within the context
  from which it arises and appropriately translated
  if it is to be applied in a different context.

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Emerging Working Principles (continued)

• Welcoming each other to experience and understand
  our world begins with the First Nation world
  and moves around the circle through a series of
  invitations.

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The Many Jurisdictions, One System (MJOS)
Knowledge Brokering Demonstration Site is
funded by the Canadian Health Services Research
Foundation and Alberta Heritage Foundation for
Medical Research