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Article History

Received: 24 April 2020

Accepted: 3 November 2020

First Online: 13 November 2020

Ethics approval and consent to participate

: This research received ethics approval, including consent mechanisms, from the McMaster Research Ethics Board (Certificate #2017 197) and the University of Saskatchewan Research Ethics Board (Certificate #504). Under the ethics certificate, and in line with cultural values, participants either provided written or verbal consent to participate, with a log kept for all verbal consents. Historical abuse of written signatures has made many Indigenous groups and individuals wary of signing their names unnecessarily. Others believe that their actions (i.e., showing up to an interview or completing a survey) are sufficient to indicate their voluntary participation and therefore see consent as unnecessary and colonial. As such, there were no specific criteria used to determine whether verbal or written consent were obtained; rather it was left up to the individual.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.