Research rooted in land and relationships

“The land and community are my academia. The challenge for me now is finding a way to respect both worlds: community and the academic institution.”

As a Red River Métis woman, mother, social worker and doctoral candidate, Jennifer Meixner has learned many of her most important lessons outside the classroom. From a dry riverbed in Panama to berry patches in Nunavut, the land has shaped the questions she asks, the knowledge she values and the way she approaches research.

Meixner credits her family with nurturing her curiosity and challenging expectations in ways that would eventually guide her academic journey.

"I would say my parents, and in some ways my grandparents, were cycle breakers in their own right. They made sure I was surrounded by family and had opportunities to participate in activities that piqued my curiosity."

Having recently completed her PhD candidacy, Meixner draws on Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s teachings of the shore space, where land and water meet, as a place of learning, tension and possibility. This understanding reflects her own journey of recognizing the diversity of experiences, perspectives and ways of knowing, which now form the foundation of her doctoral research.

The perspectives that shape Meixner's approach to research are now receiving national support. She has been awarded a Canada Graduate Research Scholarship-Doctoral from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), which recognizes emerging researchers and supports research with the potential to create meaningful impact. For Meixner, this award is both an honour and a responsibility.

Learning from land and water

Before beginning her PhD program, Meixner travelled to Panama with Marleny Bonnycastle, professor, PhD in Social Work program chair, and her doctoral advisor. During the trip, they visited communities affected by hydroelectric development, listening as Elders and community members shared stories about their experiences, activism and relationships with land and water.

One moment stayed with her: standing in a riverbed where water once flowed and listening to elders share stories.

“I can remember the faces and wrinkles of the elders who shared stories of activism, the laughter and power of the women, and how my body and spirit felt standing in a dried-up riverway. I was moved,” Meixner says.
 

“Our time in Panama provided an opportunity to learn together. I saw Jennifer's passion for community, her critical curiosity, and her potential to become a scholar grounded in relationships and lived experiences,” says Bonnycastle.

Working alongside community members, practitioners and researchers in Panama marked a turning point for Meixner.

"This was the first time I saw community members and professionals as part of a research team, and I thought, ‘I could see myself here. I can do this,'" says Meixner.

Experiences like this have shaped how Meixner thinks about where knowledge comes from and how it can be shared through stories, relationships, community and place.

Last year, Meixner and Bonnycastle travelled to Nunavut with the UM Arctic Community Connectivity for Equity, Sustainability, and Service (ACCESS) research team for data collection.

The lessons she learned through fieldwork continue to shape how she brings land- and place-based learning into academic spaces. She points to berry picking as one example of a decolonial research methodology.

"Berry picking in Nunavut taught me that even the simplest act of gathering can be extractive if we enter a place assuming we have the right to take. The same is true of research. Decolonial research begins with relationships, respect and reciprocity”. 

Research beyond questions

Drawing on nearly two decades of social work practice, Meixner's research centres life givers, women, Indigenous knowledges and harm reduction.

Her doctoral research explores fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) through a decolonial feminist lens, challenging stigma and examining more equitable, relationship-based approaches to support.

“I am always fascinated by how FASD is commonly left out of harm reduction conversations, and I believe it’s because of stigma and fear,” says Meixner.

For Meixner, research is about more than asking questions. It is about considering where knowledge comes from, making space for community voices and contributing to meaningful change.

"I hope to bring forward decolonial and feminist perspectives to reimagine ways of knowing, uplift life givers and support people with FASD across the lifespan."

"Our relationship reminds me that doctoral education is not simply about developing research skills, but about nurturing the conditions for people to recognize their knowledge, strengthen their voices and flourish as scholars," says Bonnycastle.

Recognition and responsibility

Receiving a Canada Graduate Research Scholarship—Doctoral from SSHRC, has given Meixner and her advisor, Bonnycastle, an opportunity to reflect on the journey that led to this award.

“This scholarship represents a beautiful blossoming of her perseverance, intellectual growth, passion, and love for family and community. I am deeply proud of the scholar she is becoming and the person she continues to be,” says Bonnycastle.

Earlier this year, Meixner presented Centering Submerged Perspectives: Anti-Colonial Inquiry in Social Work Research, an award-winning workshop at the Canadian Social Work Doctoral Students Network conference in Ottawa. Through storytelling, she encouraged fellow doctoral students to explore relational, story-based and reflective approaches to knowledge-making.
 

As she looks ahead, Meixner's focus remains rooted in relationships, community and learning.

For her, research is about contributing to meaningful change by listening to community voices, honouring where knowledge comes from, and learning from relationships with people, land and water.

"I still don't know 'what I want to be when I grow up,' but I know how I want it to feel, and it feels a lot like this: asking questions, being in relationship with knowledge, and doing it in ways that are accountable to community."