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Paper short abstract:

Ethnographic research with drinkers in a First Nations community is permeated with ambivalence, especially if conducted by a non-Indigenous researcher. Including drunken states as a locus of research adds another element of uncertainty. The complex stories that emerge make the challenge worthwhile.

Paper long abstract:

Thomas King, Indigenous author, wrote: “The truth about stories is that’s all we are.” His writing eloquently shows how everything we say and do reflects the stories we believe. Given the theme of this conference, I would like to share stories with you: particularly stories that I was unable to include in my doctoral dissertation despite its phenomenological approach. The ethnographic fieldwork on which the dissertation was based took place in Chisasibi, an Eeyou (First Nations) community in Northern Quebec, Canada. I conducted participant-observation and discussion-based interviews with people stigmatized as “drunks”. On the surface, my fieldwork looked like that of any other ethnographer. But a decision to include stories shared during drunken states necessitated a different set of ethical, methodological, and theoretical considerations. Adopting an ethic of harm reduction, a flexible methodology, and respect for fundamental Eeyou values of humility and non-interference were crucial elements in the success of this research. Throughout my time in the community and during the writing process, stories emerged that wove together multiple narratives: life experiences of Eeyou drinkers, my experience as a settler from an alcoholic family, colonial narratives that dominate academia and everything else in Canada, and narratives of Indigenous resilience and resistance. These complex stories highlight the ambivalence that permeates settler-Indigenous interactions. But they also expose the deep level of responsibility non-Indigenous researchers have toward the people who share their stories with them.