In communities across southern Alberta, there is a quiet kind of healing that happens when people sit together and truly listen to one another. It happens over tea in living rooms, around boardroom tables, in circles where every voice is given room to breathe, and in classrooms where younger generations learn to carry the stories of their elders. It is that spirit of listening, respect, and shared responsibility that lies at the heart of a new Indigenous-led research project called Ihtsitomaniista’po’tako’p, which translates as “Working Together.” The project brings together community members, Elders, knowledge keepers, educators, students, and researchers to confront something that has caused deep and lasting harm for far too long: misinformation about Indigenous people, their cultures, and their communities. This is not an abstract problem. Misinformation shows up in casual conversations, in social media comment threads, in news coverage, in classrooms, and in the assumptions people carry without even realizing it. It shapes how Indigenous people are treated, how their history is told, and how their future is imagined. Working Together is an attempt to change that, not by lecturing or shaming, but by listening first and then building tools that can help everyone understand more fully and more honestly.
The project is led by the Ninastako Cultural Centre in partnership with Lethbridge Polytechnic’s Centre for Public Safety Applied Research, known as CPSAR. It is rooted in a simple but powerful conviction: the people who live with the effects of misinformation are the people best equipped to explain it, and their knowledge should guide any response. Dr. Kirsten Fantazir, whose Blackfoot name is Anatsi’piiksaakii (Pretty Bird Woman), serves as the president’s applied research chair in public safety at CPSAR. She sees the project as a direct response to the steady, exhausting stream of stereotypes that Indigenous people still encounter every day. “We continue to see misinformation and harmful stereotypes about Indigenous people in media, online spaces and everyday conversations,” she says. “Working Together will engage with Indigenous communities to hear directly from those affected by misinformation and use that knowledge to create culturally relevant tools and resources aimed at strengthening Indigenous cultural understanding.” Her words reflect a deeper frustration shared by many Indigenous people: the same tired falsehoods that were printed in newspapers a century and a half ago are still circulating today, now amplified by algorithms and shared at lightning speed across digital platforms. Dr. Jami Albright-Tolman, whose Blackfoot name is Natosii Apaniimstakyakii (Sun that Breaks through the Storm Lady), is an instructor in the Centre for Justice and Human Services and a researcher with CPSAR. She points out that the language used to describe Indigenous people in traditional media during the 1860s has not disappeared; it has been recycled, reshaped, and repackaged for modern audiences. “This misinformation, which perpetuates racism and divisiveness, is happening so often online and in virtual and digital spaces, with stereotypes that were spread in traditional media in the 1860s still being used today, more than 150 years later,” she explains. “This language and action entrenches inaccurate information as fact in people’s minds. Working Together aims to address that misinformation with practical, digital tools the public can engage with to correct those false notions in a positive and constructive way.” What is especially striking about Albright-Tolman’s observation is how deeply those old stereotypes have become embedded in everyday language, in jokes, in assumptions about who belongs where, and in the stories people tell themselves about their own communities. The project does not pretend that correcting those ideas is easy, but it insists that it is possible when the work is grounded in Indigenous knowledge and driven by community voices.
One of the most meaningful dimensions of Working Together is its insistence on including perspectives from all generations, especially young people who are navigating their own relationships with identity, culture, and education in a world that often tells them false stories about who they are. Lainie Fuhrmann and Megan Gros Ventre Boy, whose Blackfoot name is Iinakii (Buffalo Woman), are both in their fourth year of Lethbridge Polytechnic’s Bachelor of Criminal Justice program. For Gros Ventre Boy, being involved in a project like this is more than an academic opportunity; it is a way of restoring balance. She knows what it feels like to read research about her own people that was written by outsiders who never asked her community what mattered. She knows how important it is for research to be shaped by the voices of the people it claims to describe. “I know how important it is for people to have a voice in research about our language, culture and our communities,” she says. “Research like this allows us to have access to accurate information when working with those Indigenous communities, while also learning how to bring that information and those ways of knowing into academic spaces as a student in the criminal justice program.” Her words speak to a larger shift happening in research and education: Indigenous communities are no longer content to be subjects of study; they are becoming the researchers, the storytellers, and the ones who decide what knowledge matters and how it should be shared. Fuhrmann’s involvement alongside Gros Ventre Boy also highlights the importance of allyship and of learning together across different backgrounds. The project understands that misinformation is not only an Indigenous issue; it is a societal issue, and everyone has a role to play in unlearning harmful ideas and building more truthful ways of seeing one another. By bringing students, Elders, educators, and community members into the same conversation, Working Together creates a space where young people can ask questions, challenge assumptions, and develop the skills they will need as future professionals in criminal justice, public safety, education, and beyond. They are not just learning about misinformation; they are learning how to respond to it with compassion, nuance, and cultural humility.
The project is now open to community members who are willing to share their experiences and cultural knowledge. There are many ways to participate, and each one is designed to be accessible and respectful. People can join focus groups, where groups of neighbors and colleagues talk through their experiences in guided conversations. They can take part in storytelling sessions, where oral traditions are honored and personal narratives are given a central place. They can sit in sharing circles, where everyone has a chance to speak and to listen without interruption. They can meet one-on-one with researchers in individual interviews, offering a more private space for those who may not feel comfortable in group settings. And for those who prefer to write or want to participate from a distance, there are online surveys that allow people to share their thoughts in their own time. Dr. Fantazir emphasizes that the goal is not to collect data for its own sake, but to hear the lived experiences of people who have been touched by misinformation, whether they are Indigenous people who have faced stereotypes directly or non-Indigenous people who want to understand how those stereotypes shape their own perceptions. “We want to hear about those lived experiences, what people have heard and what they know is out there,” she says. “These experiences will better inform the development of these tools and help us deconstruct those misinformed ideas and stereotypes.” There is something deeply human about this approach. It does not begin with a theory or a textbook. It begins with a conversation. It begins with someone saying, “This is what happened to me,” or “This is what I used to believe,” or “This is the story my grandmother told me.” Those stories become the raw material for a more compassionate and accurate understanding of Indigenous life. They also serve as a reminder that behind every statistic about misinformation or racism is a person whose life has been affected by the careless words and unexamined assumptions of others.
The ultimate product of Working Together will be a set of practical, digital tools designed to challenge misinformation and promote genuine understanding. These are not meant to be abstract educational resources that sit on a shelf; they are intended to be interactive, engaging, and useful in everyday situations. Imagine, for example, a teacher looking for a better way to explain Indigenous history to a classroom full of students, or a human resources professional trying to create a more welcoming workplace, or a journalist looking for context before writing a story about a local Indigenous community. The tools created through this project could help all of them respond to misinformation in a positive and constructive way. The emphasis on positivity is important. The project is not about calling people out or making them feel ashamed for what they have been taught. It is about offering better information, more complete stories, and a clearer understanding of the rich and diverse cultures that have existed on this land since long before colonization. It is about replacing falsehoods with truth, not through confrontation but through education. Gloria Wells, whose Blackfoot name is Akohstikitstaki (Many Offerings), is the executive director of the Ninastako Cultural Centre. She invites people to learn more about the project through Lethbridge Polytechnic’s Learning Innovation podcast, where listeners can hear about the work and also share their own experiences and perspectives. “Every voice helps us build stronger understanding and more effective responses,” she says. Her invitation reflects the project’s underlying belief in collective action: no single person can undo the damage caused by centuries of stereotypes, but when many voices come together, something powerful begins to shift. For more information about Working Together, people can visit www.workingtogether.info and click “Get Involved” to share an experience. That website is more than just a portal for contact information; it is a doorway into a broader movement, one that invites everyone to become part of the story. Whether someone has experienced misinformation firsthand, witnessed it, or simply wants to learn more, there is a place for them in this work.
At its heart, Working Together is about reclaiming the right to tell one’s own story. For too long, Indigenous peoples have been described by outsiders, defined by stereotypes, and judged by misinformation. This project is an assertion of dignity, a declaration that Indigenous communities will be the ones to shape how they are understood. It is also an invitation to all people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to enter into a deeper relationship with the truth. That truth is not always comfortable. It involves acknowledging the harm that has been done, the privileges that have been taken, and the ways that misinformation continues to shape daily life. But it also involves joy, resilience, humor, creativity, and the profound wisdom of Elders and knowledge keepers who have carried their cultures through generations of struggle. The project does not promise quick fixes or simple answers. It promises something more meaningful: a process, a relationship, a commitment to listening and learning. In every focus group, every sharing circle, every interview, and every survey response, a piece of that process becomes stronger. A story that might have been ignored is finally heard. A stereotype that might have gone unchallenged is finally questioned. A connection that might have never been made is finally formed. This is what Working Together looks like in practice. It is people from different backgrounds, different generations, and different experiences finding common ground in the search for understanding. It is the quiet work of healing that happens when someone is willing to say, “I don’t know, but I want to learn,” and someone else is willing to say, “Let me tell you.” The project is still unfolding, and there is room for many more voices. Every story shared, every experience documented, and every digital tool created brings us one step closer to a world where misinformation is no longer accepted as fact, where stereotypes are no longer passed down without question, and where Indigenous people are seen as they have always been: whole, complex, vibrant, and deserving of respect. That world will not be built overnight, but it is being built now, together, one conversation at a time.