Next Steps: Research

Migrants and Indigenous folx are both communities that have historically been excluded from protections, let alone discovery. Within these two communities it is crucial to do deep research into two specific populations.

• The first is children and young people who had childhood experiences in holding facilities at the American borders. As discussed, there are currently no protections for Migrants in these facilities and researching the long term effects of sexual violence on these children and youth will be imperative.

• The second are the relatives of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives. The reciprocal trauma experienced by these relatives as well as long term fear and hyperawareness are areas in the brain we tend to research in veterans. This author suggests we use similar outcomes for research with this population.

Both these populations have historical trauma. Below are some author suggestions for considerations to make when actively doing research in these communities.

• Checking and working through personal privilege and "white savior" complexes often present in researching historically oppressed communities.

• Action oriented research, what are the changes you hope your research will inform?

• Long term support. Once research is concluded, what will you and your team continue to contribute to these communities outside of your data?

As stated previously, researchers must be cautious and aware of potential harm they might cause or perpetrate in the communities they are researching. Below are some considerations for researchers to take.

MIGRANTS

• Legal repercussions for discussing harmful practices in facilities ran by the very government they are asking to protect them.

• Are our forms, modalities for research, etc. in the languages or cultural lenses of this population?

MMIW&R

• Historically, indigenous peoples have been used mentally, physically, and spiritually for the "education" of western society, what is the intention versus impact of your data collection?

• How might we work on decolonizing our data collection and the western idea of data? Can narrative sharing be enough in an "evidence based practice" society?

BOTH

• It is not enough to ask these individuals to reopen wounds for our data collection, we must also have a plan for supporting the closing and healing from those wounds researchers leave.