Indigenous youth represent one of the most marginalized demographics in Canada. As such they must contend with many barriers to wellness that stem from oppression, including historical and ongoing colonization and racism. Developing effective health programming requires innovation and flexibility, especially important when programs take place in diverse Indigenous communities where local needs and cultural practices vary. This article reports the findings of an after-school program in 2014 that blended a participatory visual method of research with Indigenous knowledge, methodologies, and practices to provide sociocultural health programming for youth in a First Nation in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. Engaging with youth to co-research wellbeing through the arts was conceptualized as both research and health promotion. Participatory arts methods created a safe space for youth to express their views of health and wellness issues while developing self-knowledge about their individual and cultural identities.
This article explores the role of the body in decolonizing and Indigenous methodologies through the experiences and perspectives of four researchers and research teams living and working in different contexts in Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand. A methodological overview of these approaches is provided and stories are shared of working with theatre with Indigenous youth; of a pedagogy which affirms the centrality of the body in Indigenous teaching and learning; and an autoethnographic reflection on decolonization in relation to Māori birthing practice or traditions. The threads that are common to all these narratives are the commitment to centring the body in the process of decolonization and indigenization, and an affirmation of bodily wisdom and experience as a critical component of Indigenous methodologies.
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