NANCY MARIE MITHLO

Current musings on the dilemma of contemporary Native American arts scholarship

Anthropology 240:Visual Anthropology
Smith College, Fall 2006
Nancy Marie Mithlo, Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Classroom Exercise #2

The following proposal utilizes visual imagery research methods. Your task is to review this proposal from the standpoint of the funding organization. Rate the proposal (from 1-4 with 1 being the highest rating) on each of the following three variables: A) methodology, B)goals and aims, and C)ethics. Justify your ratings in a paragraph response.

Goal

The proposed pilot study will use an innovative research method, called photovoice, to study how Native Cree youth call on and appropriate their personal and collective understandings of culture to promote resilience and reduce the risk of suicide. The study will be conducted in the town of Thompson, Manitoba north of Winnipeg.

Study Aims

The study design will use a participatory research method called photovoice (Wang & Burris, 1997) to engage Cree young people in collecting and analyzing photographic data about the meaning and significance of aboriginal culture in their everyday lives. In participatory research, local knowledge and perspectives are not only acknowledged, but form the basis for research and planning.

The following research questions will be pursued:
1. What cultural attributes do young people associate with being Cree in the context of their everyday lives?
2. What kinds of personal and collective understandings of themselves and their culture situate Cree young people toward wellbeing and resilience?

Photovoice gives young people cameras and asks them to respond to a photo prompt such as "Take pictures of how Cree (values) (e.g.responsibility to tribe) show up in your life." They look at their pictures and select the most representative ones to discuss in a focus group. In the
focus group, participants are asked to identify similarities and salient imagery as it relates to their lives. They are also asked about the conditions that support these photographed experiences/constructs.