Principles of Working Together

The NFRF application does not require letters of support as part of our submission, however we would like to be able to demonstrate the commitment of our partners. As vital participants in our project, please review the principles outlined below and share your commitment to our project through this online form.

ARRAMAT PRINCIPLES OF WORKING TOGETHER

We, a team of Indigenous Peoples, organizations, governments, university researchers and other resource people are working together to apply for funding for research and action in support of the health and well-being of the environment and people. We want to strengthen Indigenous voices and capacities to document their knowledge about the importance of the whole environment (including biodiversity) to the health and well-being of their communities. The outcomes of the research will support Indigenous leaders who want to be heard by local-national-global governments and organizations and address current problems of environmental and human health. Together we can develop a strong voice for protecting the environment in ways that benefit Indigenous peoples.

Ărramăt is a concept in Tamasheq, the Indigenous language spoken by the Tuareg people whose ancestral land encompasses the current territories of Algeria, Burkina-Faso, Libya, Mali, and Niger, that describes a state of well-being shared by the environment, animals, and humans. It is written in Tifinagh, the Tuareg alphabet, as ⴰⵔⵔⴰⵎⴰⵜ. These words teach us that if the lands (water, fish, animals, plants) are not healthy, then the people are not healthy.

Ărramăt Project is committed to transforming the approaches and the way we think about biodiversity and well-being. By elevating Indigenous knowledges, the project seeks to work towards a higher state of health and wellbeing for the benefit of all Peoples and Mother Earth.

Ărramăt Project will engage as a broader team through Indigenous-led principles of good relations, facilitated through Indigenous and non-Indigenous methodologies and frameworks, informed by our partners and leaders, co-applicants, collaborators and supported by the academies of social, natural and health sciences.

Ărramăt Project will unite transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary voices with a shared vision for Indigenous wellbeing in the context of biodiversity conservation.

Ărramăt Project will be guided by principles of inclusivity, respect, kindness, honesty and reciprocity. We will therefore work to ensure an environment that recognizes intersectionality and gender diversity

Ărramăt Project will facilitate self-determination of Indigenous Peoples in the context of research, as well as elevate Indigenous systems, epistemologies, cosmologies, science, knowledge, language, and spirituality with a view to building capacities, ensuring continuity of Indigenous knowledge and its intergenerational transmission, and transforming relationality between and amongst peoples and the natural world.

Ărramăt Project will promote respect for and full application of the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the context of the Project and all partners.

Ărramăt Project will be funded through the Government of Canada’s New Frontiers Research Fund. As such, Indigenous-led sub-projects that are funded through this stream must follow the Tri-Council Guide on Financial Administration to govern the use of grant funds.

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