Few institutionalized examples exist wherein Indigenous communities have participated in the co-development of ethics initiatives. This article explores one such process—the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). A MOU is a document created between institutional and community research partners to outline project guidelines. Based on Canadian MOUs developed between 1980 and 2016, this research has four objectives; (a) to describe current trends of MOU use and recognition in research; (b) to describe the challenges of collaborative research and how MOUs might mitigate them; (c) to understand if a standard MOU is feasible; and (d) to offer policy suggesting for implementing MOUs. Local MOUs mark a way for engaging in good research practices that actually benefit the involved community.