Ethical Space of Engagement
Within Inuit Nunangat vistas are horizonal outline of rock formations or shorelines. As they take particular shapes when viewed from a specific locations, they can be used to orient and (re-)direct one’s course when travelling (Aporta, ....). Within my research such vistas gesture towards the various ethical principles and guidelines that have guided me along the process of fieldwork
In this particular case, you are presented with the guiding principles of the ‘Ethical Space of Engagement’ (ESE), as proposed by Sturgeon Lake First Nation elder Willie Ermine (Ermine 2007). The ESE, is a “third space” approach, through which differentiated nations or collectives might negotiate ethical encounters with each other in an ‘ethical’ space that belongs to neither. This third space emerges both through principled practices (like for example negotiating terms of engagement), and as a condition for- in the case of my research- (non-)Indigenous- and Euro-Canadian knowledge systems to re-position themselves as more equitable partners-in-encounter (Ermine, 2007; Ermine 2015; Indigenous Circle of Experts 2018).
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Figure 1: The Ethical Space Diagram, as published by the IISAAK OLAM foundation (2019)
When taking the ESE as a guiding frame, ethics are no longer a pre-emptive box to tick nor a static end-goal. Ethical research is rather performed as a dynamic state of becoming which requires ongoing negotiation and decolonization. This applies in particular, when the ESE is meant to assist in facilitating the co-production of knowledge.
When looking out over this Vista, you wonder what it means in the thick moment/um of reconciliation to engage with the testimonies of Gjoa Haven community members, in accordance with the guiding principles of the Ethical Space of Engagement. In particular you wonder about what kind of practices it takes to enter such an “ethical” space, outside of your own frames of reference. You decide to return to your original path and continue moving across this knowledge-land-scape landscape, while paying extra attention to the things around you