Research

We undertake research in the spirit of dedicated optimism
to advance meaningful change with tangible impacts.
AREAS OF RESEARCH

Community-engaged, collaborative, and process-oriented research.

We undertake interdisciplinary and community-engaged research, with a focus on decolonizing processes and removing unnecessary silos that inhibit collaboration and learning.
Indigenous Compensation & Valuation Methods
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With colleagues from the Eskina Collaboration (please hyperlink the "Eskina Collaboration"), as well as Drs. Terre Satterfield, Robin Gregory, and Philip Halteman, we have worked in the development of innovative compensation and valuation methods to support claims for compensation to Indigenous Nations. These methods include the identification and assessment of both tangible and intangible impacts.
Open access
We are pleased to share the recently developed resource: "Advancing Compensation & Valuation Strategies: A Guide for First Nations Governments in British Columbia." This Guide was developed through a collaboration between the British Columbia First Nations Regional Information Governance Centre, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, and the University of British Columbia. It was developed to consolidate practical guidance in support of First Nations governments’ decision-making on valuation approaches and negotiations. We are so excited to share this updated version, incorporating the input from many leading experts working in this space!
Open access (Guide)
Open access  (Guide Summary)
Indigenous Laws and Governance

With colleagues Iris Siwallace, Dr. Clyde Tallio, Jacob Gascoyne, and fellow researchers Caitlin Thompson and Rachelle Beveridge, we carry out research into the principles of Nuxalk Ancestral Governance and how these can support decision-making in present-day contexts. This research has led to the development of Nunutsx’lhuusnmak: Our Nuxalk Ancestral Governance Handbook, which is now being implemented throughout several departments and projects across Nuxalk homelands.

We have experience working in partnership with Indigenous experts and knowledge keepers, Hereditary Chiefs, and Elected Band Councils, to research, document, and revitalize Indigenous legal theory into community practice, policy development, and decision-making. This research supports larger questions around how First Nations are operationalizing their own governance systems – including in particular the resurgence of Hereditary/Ancestral systems of governance - to support internal decision-making and governance, as well as collaborative governance and negotiations with provincial and federal governments across Canada.
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Nuxalk Nation
Coastal First Nations
Nuxalk Ancestral Governance Project
Community-Engaged, Decolonizing, and Reflexive Research Practices
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Our work and research is in support of community-engaged and decolonizing methods. We do research and writing on these topics. Please check out our paper in collaboration with colleagues Kyle Artelle, Megan Adams, Rachelle Beveridge, and Paul Boyce entitled “A Primer for the Practice of Reflexivity in Conservation Science.”
Open access
Open access (Reflexivity Primer)
INTERDISCIPLINARY rESEARCH

Collaborative and interdisciplinary research partnerships

Nicole Kaechele is  PhD Candidate at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability under the co-supervision of Drs. Terre Satterfield and Tricia Logan, with committee members Dr. Jessica Dempsey and Dr. Margaret Low. Her research focuses on compensation for historical and contemporary losses from resource extraction, exploring the ethical and policy implications as compensation emerges as part of the larger reconciliation context between Indigenous nations and the state.

Featured Publications

contact
Kaechele, N., Beveridge, R., Adams, M., Boyce, P., Artelle, K. (2024). A primer for the practice of reflexivity in conservation letters.
Open access
Dempsey, J.; Irvine-Broque, A.; Gaster, T.; Steichen, L.; Bigger, P.; Duque, A.C.; Linett, A.; Ferreira, G.P.; and Kaechele, N. (2024). “Exporting Extinction: How the International Financial System Constrains Biodiverse Futures." The Centre for Climate Justice, Climate and Community Project, and Third World Network.
Open access
R. Gregory, P. Halteman, Kaechele, N., T. Satterfield. (2023). Methods for assessing social and cultural losses.  Science, Vol 381, pp. 478-481.
Open access
Jean Leischner, E., Kaechele, N., Siwallace, I. (2022). Indigenizing Academic Minds to Work with Community: A Joint Reflection on the Everyday Work of Building Good Research Relationships. In the Community-Based PhD, a peer-reviewed edited volume. University of Arizona Press.
Open access
Gregory, R., Halteman, P., Kaechele, N., Kotaska, J., Satterfield, T. (2020). Compensating Indigenous social and cultural losses: a community-based multiple-attribute approach. Ecology and Society.
Open access
Gregory, R., Easterling, D., Kaechele, N., Trousdale, W. (2015). Values-Based Measures of Impacts to Indigenous Health. Risk Analysis.
Open access
Gregory, N., and Gregory, R. (2010). A Values-Based Framework for Community Food Choices. Environmental Values.
RIO is a remote consulting company working across the Pacific Northwest and Turtle Island. We live, work, and play on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of many Indigenous Nations. We are lucky to partner and learn from knowledge holders, Elders, youth, and community experts.

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