U of S Joins Two Community-University Research Alliances Projects
Posted January 23, 2004
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Friday, January 23, 2004 2004-01-12-AR
U of S Joins Two Community-University Research Alliances Projects
The University of Saskatchewan will participate in two $1-million
Prairie-based research projects -- one to examine the role of the
Métis in Canadian society and history, and the other a
ground-breaking study of the experiences of women and children caught up in
domestic violence.
The projects, funded through the Community-University Research Alliances
(CURA) program of the federal Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council (SSHRC), will foster valuable partnerships between the university
and community organizations, with the aim of producing practical research
that could lead to social change.
U of S geography professor Lawrence Martz is a co-applicant in Otipimsuak,
an innovative project aimed at improving economic prospects of the
Métis of northwest Saskatchewan. The chief investigator is the
University of Alberta's Frank Tough. Martz's team will receive $250,000 from
SSHRC.
Partners in Otipimsuak (meaning "people who own themselves," the
self-definition of the Métis), are the U of S, the Northwest
Saskatchewan Métis Council (NWSMC) and the Métis Nation of
Saskatchewan. Métis lawyer Clem Chartier of Saskatoon is co-director
with Tough and co-applicant with Martz.
Martz will direct and co-ordinate the geographic mapping elements of the
project, which will compare historic and contemporary Métis land-use
practices and highlight Métis harvesting rights. Among the 20
collaborators, including academics, northern Métis leaders,
archivists and consultants, are three U of S researchers: Keith Carlson
(history) and Roger Maaka and Brenda Macdougall, both in Native studies.
"This project builds on the long-standing relationship between the
university and the Métis Nation," said Steven Franklin, U of S
Vice-President Research. "The U of S is pleased to contribute $100,000 over
five years to the initiative, which will encourage Aboriginal participation
in teaching and research."
Otipimsuak will be based at the U of A, which receives 34 per cent of SSHRC
and other financial resources for the project. NWSMC receives 51 per cent of
the total funding, and the U of S 15 per cent.
Stephanie Martin of the U of S women's and gender studies unit and RESOLVE
(a U of S research centre focusing on solutions to violence and abuse) is a
collaborator in a University of Manitoba-based project, "The Healing
Journey: a longitudinal study of women who have been abused by intimate
partners."
This project, the first long-term study of its kind in North America, is led
by Jane Ursel of the U of M. It involves researchers, women and children in
Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Participating community agencies include
the Provincial Association of Transition Houses Saskatchewan and Tamara's
House in Saskatoon.
The study, comparing the experiences of abused women over a period of time,
could lead to improved therapeutic interventions, strategies for breaking
inter-generational cycles of abuse, and data on the merits of civil and
criminal justice involvements.
"This ground-breaking study will provide valuable information for
researchers in many disciplines, including psychology, social work, law,
nursing and education," Franklin said.
In all, the U of S has received funding from three CURA grants since the
program was launched in 1999.
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For more information, contact:
Sheila Robertson
Research Communications Officer
Office of the Vice-President Research
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1425
sheila.robertson@usask.ca
http://www.usask.ca/research
Lawrence Martz
College of Arts and Science
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-4275
martz@sask.usask.ca
Stephanie Martin
Academic Research Co-ordinator
RESOLVE Saskatchewan
(306) 966-2255
resolve@arts.usask.ca
Doré Dunne
Media Relations Officer
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
(613) 992-7302
dore.dunne@sshrc.ca
