Seeking Wildlife Case Studies using IIC

Who am I?
I am a Métis Indigenous woman from Northern Saskatchewan, currently living and working on Treaty 6 territory and my ancestral homelands. I formally began my journey into the world of intuitive
interspecies communication (IIC) and animal communication in the summer of 2020, when I began working for Dr M.J. Barrett as a research assistant. I am now a graduate student, working on my master’s thesis, titled “Bringing Animal Voices to the Table: Interspecies Communication Methods in Land Management”.

What is this research about?
This project seeks to answer the question, how are animal communicators (ACs) engaging with wildlife? To accomplish this, I am looking for animal communicators with stories of intuitive communications with wildlife. Once final cases are selected, we will work together to write them up. When complete, I will conduct in-depth community engagement sessions with our partners Saskatchewan Aboriginal Lands Technicians (SALT). These sessions
will be attended by my advisory council members (SALT employees, land managers, and Elders). These sessions will discuss the case studies, and how this type of AC-wild animal consultation method might be relevant for Indigenous land managers in Saskatchewan, and possibly beyond.

Is your project eligible?
If you have a case study that fulfills all the mandatory criteria listed below, I would love to hear from you.
– You are a professional animal communicator, with a high level of skill and competence in your practice (determined by good reputation, consistent practice, recommendations from other ACs, and the researchers’ intuitive assessment).
– You adhere to ethical guidelines, and report authentic experiences.
– You have communicated with a wild animal using IIC as a primary tool to address a problem or topic relevant to land managers (e.g., environmental degradation, pollution, habitat/biodiversity
concerns or needs, disease, lifestyle choices, etc.)
– The case has a definitive start and end (it is “bounded”).
– Cases which take place in sanctuaries are eligible

What would be expected of you as a participant?
Your case will be co-written by the both of us. We will meet to discuss your preferences regarding the first draft of the case study document (for example, whether you prefer to write it or whether we co-
construct it via an in-depth zoom interview). Accurately documenting your case study may require several back-and-forth emails and/or follow-up meetings. The total time commitment you will invest in
this project is estimated between 7 and 15 hours. I expect that you will provide an honest recollection of your project and will be able to meet or provide email responses in a timely manner to discuss revisions.

Your name will be changed to a pseudonym in all case study documentation to protect the privacy of any third-party participants (individuals other than you who were involved in the project). While you are permitted to share your involvement in this research with others at any time, and we recognize that others may be able to identify you based on their familiarity with your work, you may not provide any identifiable information about third-party participants. If necessary, some details may also need to be changed or omitted to protect third-party participants.

Other notable items about this research, and your involvement:
As a thank you for your participation, you will be offered a $300 CAD honorarium paid upon completion of all the phases of data collection and confirmation that your study can be included in my master’s
thesis. If you withdraw your participation from this study anytime after completing the first full draft of the case study document, you will be paid a partial honorarium of $150 CAD. If you withdraw before
completing a first draft of the case study, no honorarium will be offered.

If you would like further information about myself or my research, please visit my website, linked here:
https://researchers.usask.ca/mj-barrett/sydney-kuppenbender.php . You can also access my supervisor’s website through that link to learn more about the overall scope and focus of our team’s research.
If you believe you have a project that would be relevant for my research, and you are interested in being involved, please email me at [email protected] with the following information:

About You:
– Number of years working as a professional AC
– Specialization, if you have one (e.g. dogs, wildlife, all animals)
– Ethical code adherence? (Y/N) Please describe briefly.
– Country of residence

About the Project:
Provide a brief summary of your project or communication with a wild animal. Examples of details to include:
– Animal species involved, and whether it was one animal or a group of animals
– Country and habitat of animal species (including whether they are free roaming)
– How you got involved with the project
– How might this project be relevant to land managers, conservationists, or others working in environmental fields?
– The outcome of the project (if known).

Thank you so much for your time, and I look forward to meeting and discussing next steps!

Sydney Kuppenbender