Braiding methodology through relationships: a reflexive account of participatory research with Indigenous youth

Participatory action research frameworks are often presented as transferable methodologies that can be applied across contexts with sufficient rigor and fidelity. Drawing on my doctoral research and experience with Pakitahaw Sākahikan Iýiniwak (Sturgeon Lake First Nation), this paper offers a reflexive methodological account that challenges this assumption. I examine how community-based participatory research, transformative action research, and participatory empowerment evaluation were braided through Nation-led teachings, cultural protocols, and relational accountability. Rather than simply applying participatory methods to the community, a braided methodology emerged through relationships, guided by Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and youth in the community. This process required significant unlearning, particularly of some Western assumptions about rigor, outcomes, and researcher authority, and a redefinition of rigor as fidelity to respect, relevance, reciprocity, and responsibility. Youth-defined indicators of wellness foregrounded values such as belonging, trust, and cultural continuity as outcomes, as opposed to the usual measurable outcome metrics. This reflexive piece does not propose a new participatory model. Instead, it shows that participatory action research can be ethically sound, practical, and rigorous, even when it is Nation or community-led.