Kathy Bishop (kathy.bishop@royalroads.ca) is an Associate Professors in the School of Leadership at Royal Roads University. Victoria BC Canada.

Rationale

Navigating the Western academy and undertaking research can be challenging for Indigenous students. They may need to negotiate a number of structural and/or systemic barriers as well as attend to family and community needs while engaged in a post-secondary educational experience over-shadowed by the history of residential schools (Battiste, 2014; Regan, 2010) and Eurocentric research protocols that may differ from Indigenous ways (Atleo, 2004; Kovach, 2009; Kovach et al., 2015; Wilson, 2008). As a way of journeying with Indigenous students through their research projects, non-Indigenous academic supervisors might consider how to co-dream new ways of supervising through engaging in reciprocal mentorship and allyship.

To engage in reciprocal mentorship, non-Indigenous supervisors and Indigenous students can begin by recognizing that each person has practical wisdom that can contribute to the research journey. As well, they will have a commitment to share and support the other in that learning. Desai, et al., (2018, p. 39) have identified key elements for successful mentorship across different cultures to include: mutual interest, trust and respect, a willingness to engage in discussions related to culture, and a commitment to rise above differences. In this way, reciprocal mentorship encompasses mutual responsibilities and benefits by both parties (Bessette, 2015; Ferguson, 2017; Harvey et al., 2009). Non-Indigenous supervisors can mentor Indigenous students in understanding and navigating academic research processes and expectations. Indigenous students can mentor Indigenous supervisors by sharing their vital cultural and community expertise and offering a different worldview. This is not to say supervisors abdicate any of their own responsibility to understand Indigenous ways and/or unfairly burden Indigenous students (Pete, 2016), nor is it about supervisors displacing their own academic expertise. This is about valuing each other’s lived experience and knowledge within the respective roles of student and supervisor and as whole people, and how all this contributes to the research process (Webster & Bishop, 2021).

Additionally, knowing that Indigenous students face many structural and/or systemic barriers, supervisors and students may at times deepen their relationship through allyship (Smith, Puckett & Simon, 2015). Allyship “is about locating self, recognizing and working to change inhumane, unjust and inequitable institutions and systems, advocating and offering support, and co-creating meaningful relationships with Indigenous Peoples and communities” (Mitchell & Bishop, 2020, p. 130). Engaging in reciprocal mentorship and allyship is important because Indigenous students come with a history and worldview that is distinct from the dominant Eurocentric view. Therefore, collaborating may be a way to heal past injustices; challenge systemic racism and discrimination; and co-create new ways of thinking, feeling, doing, and relating together to make the world a more just and equitable place for all peoples (Mitchell & Bishop, 2020).

Some learning outcomes achieved through working within a conceptualization of reciprocal mentorship and allyship are:

• support meaningful relationships;
• develop agency throughout the research journey;
• understand different worldviews and how they may, or may not, interconnect;
• extend whole-person, relational, and embodied learning through engaging head, heart, hand, and spirit;
• enhance capabilities to navigate and/or disrupt systemic barriers;
• advance transformative change; and
• expand community.

Overview

Reciprocal mentorship and allyship is not an instrumental activity. Complex relationships do not have a one-size-fits-all model, nor step-by-step instructions. However, supervisors and students embarking on such a journey might benefit from considering some key principles and practices. As a non-Indigenous academic supervisor, my work with Indigenous students started from a desire to be in service to them: to be present to who they were and what their hopes were around research. I was also open to their own knowledge and wisdom and interested in different ways of knowing, being, doing, and relating. In the beginning I drew upon my own intuition: seeking to actively listen and lean into their experiences and support their journey of walking within the academy. In this process, I learned much from them and about myself.

My supervision evolved to presenting and writing with students after they graduated: to further support them as emerging scholars, advance their research and the critical work they do in community, and expand the work we do together. In particular, I wrote on reciprocal mentorship with Christine Webster and on allyship with Danielle Michelle (Webster & Bishop 2021; Mitchell & Bishop, 2020). In our article, Christine and I proposed a way of reciprocal mentorship that included navigating two worlds, finding a common language, and building upon shared values (Webster & Bishop, 2021). Danielle and I contended that to “foster [Indigenous] critical leadership, Indigenous leaders require ongoing Indigenous-specific leadership development, and non-Indigenous educators can play an important role through allyship” (Mitchell & Bishop, 2020, p. 129). Drawing on our academic journey, we interweaved Danielle’s research findings to highlight three key principles around allyship: the need for self-awareness and self- actualization, taking context into consideration, and engaging in approaches which promote action. At the heart of all my supervisor-student relationships is dialogue. In dialogue, we can articulate our intentions, explore curiosities, troubleshoot challenges, and debrief issues to find ways to move forward.

Reflection

I have come to understand two core insights into reciprocal mentorship and allyship in practice: (1) give students the space to find their own way, buoyed in the knowledge that you are waiting in the wings, and (2) know your role and where your edges are.

Give students the space to find their own way, buoyed in the knowledge that you are waiting in the wings

When we begin the research journey together, I invite students to tell me their hopes and dreams for their research. I am interested in where their passions lie and what concerns that they may have about doing the research. In this way, they can provide me insight into how best to mentor them through the process. We review the big picture of their research journey and put tentative dates to when they will complete key research components of proposal, ethics, data collection, analysis, report writing, and final submission. For thesis students, we also discuss the oral defense and final wrap up. Through setting the overall framework for our work and then engaging in it, I share my understanding of the academic research process with students and help them navigate the process. I have found when we have a shared understanding of timelines and deliverables we both can rest easy knowing we have markers to alert us if the student is starting to veer off path. As well, when the journey gets tough, I can remind them of their hopes and dreams for research to offer inspiration once again.

Indigenous students have a responsibility to connect with their community and elders. As a supervisor, I can learn about community protocols which include having witnesses and elders present during different research phases. Elders can be of great support to students in helping make sense of data and how to best represent the information. In her thesis (Webster, 2014), Christine consulted with elders and aligned her knowing, being, and doing as a Nuu-chah-nulth woman through reframing academic research terms to knowledge gathered (data collection), sense-making of the knowledge gathered (data analysis), and offering guidance (recommendations). I supported Christine’s choice to do so rather than demanding she adhere to strict academic formatting because we shared a common understanding of the importance of navigating two worlds and finding a common language. We also built on shared values, such as the importance of honouring community. In my own doctoral work (Bishop, 2015), I privileged theatre terminology when doing theatre-based research and spoke to data generation (data collection), interpretation (data analysis), and performance (recommendations). Thus, I find giving students the space to find their way can reveal unique and interesting results as well as shared interests and deeper connections between ourselves and the work.

Know your role and where your edges are

I am always conscious of my privilege (being a middle-class, educated, white woman) and the power I have in the role of supervisor. Privilege and power are inherent in that I have the choice to engage in reciprocal mentorship and allyship or not. As noted in my article with Danielle (Mitchell & Bishop, 2020), allies come from a position of power and need to critically examine their position in relationship to colonialism, privilege, and oppression (Baskin, 2016; Patton & Bondi, 2015). As a result, I seek to unlearn colonialist ways and develop my own learnings through connecting with Indigenous colleagues and reading Indigenous literature (Archibald, 2008; Pidgeon, Archibald, & Hawkey, 2014; King, 2008; Thomas, 2018). I also seek to bring Indigenous wisdom, theory and critical leadership to the attention of my students. I have interviewed Dr. Cindy Blackstock, a member of the Gitksan First Nation, child welfare activist, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, and professor at McGill University on Breath of Life theory and leadership (Bishop, 2021).

I am fortunate to be part of a university that “is committed to implement the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and honour the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples” (Royal Roads University, n.d., para 1). Within Royal Roads University, we have an Indigenous Education and Student Support office and an Elders’ Circle, The Heron People, who advise on local Indigenous protocols and projects. Our writing centre also provides the Four Feathers Writing Guide that “respectfully presents traditional Coast Salish teachings and approaches to learning to support Indigenous students develop as academic writers” (Alphonse, Charles, & Bell, n.d., para 1). In this way, the university, organizationally, seeks to lessen systemic barriers and I, personally, seek to understand my own positionality and power. Then, depending on what might be the needs of the student, I can offer resources, refer them to Indigenous colleagues or scholarship, and/or, advocate on their behalf. Listening to my students’ needs and strategizing with them, I have utilized my position as a supervisor, associate professor, and/or program head to clear obstacles that include removing time barriers and finding compromises within the academy to honour both academic standards and Indigenous protocols. In this way, I strive to live the principles of allyship that Danielle and I identified in our article, namely, self-awareness and self- actualization, taking context into consideration, and engaging in approaches which promote action (Mitchell & Bishop, 2020).

Conclusion

In closing, I have often had dialogues with students about being on the journey together and what might be of best service to them. It is not always easy knowing when my own worldview may be encroaching on my student. Once when I was tripping over how we might carry forward on in a good way, I expressed my concern and discomfort to Christine due to the underlying power dynamics inherent in our roles. She wisely counselled me, “walking this journey [is] a process; I appreciate your willingness to lead, follow and walk by my side” (Webster, 2019, p. 6). I now picture reciprocal mentorship and allyship as leading, following, and walking side by side. In considering the student-supervisor relationship as a process of leading, following, and walking side by side, I hope it is a step toward a more just and equitable place for all. My colleague and friend Will Weigler (2012) shared a quote from Lila Morales, Aboriginal artist and activist, who said, “If you have come to help me you are wasting your time—if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together” (p. 1). In working together, albeit with different roles, and roles that shift, I contend this type of student-supervisor relationship enables us to co-dream new ways of supervising, which can lead to transformative thinking, feeling, doing, and relating together to make the world a better place.

References

Alphonse, S., Charles, N., & Bell, T. (n.d.) Four feathers writing guide. Royal Roads University. https://libguides.royalroads.ca/fourfeathers

Archibald, J. (2008). Indigenous storywork: Educating the heart, mind, body, and spirit. UBC Press.

Atleo, E. R. (2004). Tsawalk: A Nuu-chah-nulth worldview. UBC Press.

Baskin, C. (2016). Strong helpers’ teachings: The value of Indigenous knowledges in the helping profession. Canadian Scholars’ Press.

Battiste, M. (2014). Ambidextrous epistemologies: Indigenous knowledge within the Indigenous renaissance. In Kamboureli, S., Verduyn, C., & Canadian Electronic Library (Eds.), Critical collaborations: Indigeneity, diaspora, and ecology in Canadian literary studies. (pp. 83-98). Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

Bessette, L. S. (2015). Reciprocal mentoring: Rethinking the traditional model. Women in Higher Education, 24(1), 18-19. https://doi.org/10.1002/whe.20158

Bishop, K. (2021, April 19). Dr. Cindy Blackstock on Breath of Life theory and leadership.[Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoNQqhTGQkw

Bishop, K. (2015) Spinning red yarn(s): Being artist, researcher, educator through playbuilding as qualitative research. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Victoria]. Dissertations & Theses @ University of Victoria.

Desai, S., Rao, S. A., & Jabeen, S. S. (2018). Developing cultural intelligence: Learning together with reciprocal mentoring. Human Resource Management International Digest, 26(3), 38-40. https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-03-2018-0050

Ferguson, S. (2017). Ask not what your mentor can do for you…: The role of reciprocal exchange in maintaining student–teacher mentorships. Sociological Forum, 33(1), 211-233. https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12406

Harvey, M., McIntyre, N., Thompson Heames, J., & Moeller, M. (2009). Mentoring global female managers in the global marketplace: Traditional, reverse, and reciprocal mentoring. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(6), 1344-1361. doi:10.1080/09585190902909863

King, T. (2008). The art of Indigenous knowledge: A million porcupines crying in the dark. In J. Knowles & A. Cole (Eds.), Handbook of the arts in qualitative research: Perspectives, methodologies, examples, and issues (pp. 13–25). Sage.

Kovach, M. (2009). Indigenous methodologies: Characteristics, conversations and contexts. University of Toronto Press.

Kovach, M., Carriere, J., Montgomery, H., Barrett, M.J. & Gillies, C. (2015). Indigenous presence: Experiencing and envisioning Indigenous knowledges within selected sites of education and social work. https://education.usask.ca/documents/profiles/kovach/Indigenous-Presence-2014-Kovach-M-et-al.pdf

Mitchell, D.  & Bishop, K.  (2020). Tales from the field: Call to action engage in critical Indigenous leadership activism and allyship. In J. Bruce & K. McKee (Eds.), Transformative leadership in action: Allyship, advocacy, and activism (pp. 129-138). Emerald Publishing.

Patton, L., & Bondi, S. (2015). Nice white men or social justice allies?: Using critical race theory to examine how white male faculty and administration engage in ally work. Race Ethnicity and Education, 18(4), 488-514.

Pete, S. (n.d.). 100 ways to Indigenize and decolonize academic programs and courses.  https://www.uregina.ca/president/assets/docs/president-docs/indigenization/indigenize-decolonize-university-courses.pdf

Pidgeon, M., Archibald, J., & Hawkey, C. (2014). Relationships matter: Supporting Aboriginal graduate students in British Columbia, Canada. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 44(1), 1–21.

Regan, P. (2010). Unsettling the settler within: Indian residential schools, truth telling, and reconciliation in Canada. UBC Press.

Royal Roads University. (n.d.). Our commitment to Indigenous people. https://www.royalroads.ca/about/indigenous-engagement/our-commitment-indigenous-peoples

Smith, J., Puckett, C., & Simon, W. (2015). Indigenous allyship: An overview. Office of Aboriginal Initiatives, Wilfred Laurier University. Unpublished report. https://beta.fpic.info/media/library/resources/indigenous-allyship-overview/Indigenous_Allyship_Toolkit.pdf

Thomas, R. A. (2018). Protecting the sacred cycle: Indigenous women and leadership.  Charlton Publishing.

Webster, C. (2019). Traversing Culture and Academy. [Master’s thesis, Royal Roads University]. Dissertations & Theses @ Royal Roads University.

Webster, C. & Bishop, K. (2021). Reciprocal mentorship as trans-systemic knowledge: A story of an Indigenous student and a non-Indigenous academic supervisor navigating graduate research in a Canadian University. Engaged Scholar Journal: Community-Engaged Research, Teaching, and Learning, 7(1) 106–121. https://doi.org/10.15402/esj.v7i1.70063

Weigler, W. (2012). Engaging the power of the theatrical event. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Victoria]. Dissertations & Theses @ University of Victoria.

Wilson, S. (2008). Research is ceremony: Indigenous research methods. Fernwood.