Generating and sustaining positive spaces: reflections on an Indigenous youth urban arts program

Abstract

Life in the city for any youth can be challenging without a proper support network. For Indigenous youth in particular, the unique burden of intergenerational trauma due to the residual effects of colonialism (e.g. residential schools and historical outlawing of traditional practices) can contribute to both unhealthy behaviors and a continuation of “culturally unsafe” spaces. As a response to these challenges, this article examines the positive effects that a grassroots film creation and production program in a major urban centre in Saskatchewan, Canada, had on participating Indigenous youth. Community-based researchers from the Indigenous Peoples’ Health Research Centre observed how a culturally safe space created the conditions to enable youth to become creative through the arts in an environment supported by an intergenerational network of Nêhiyaw (Plains Cree) kinship relationships called wâhkôtowin. The article also argues that the effectiveness of culturally safe spaces can benefit from recognizing the operation of ethnogenetic processes in contemporary environments.

Applications of Two-Eyed Seeing in Primary Research Focused on Indigenous Health: A Scoping Review

“…For the 22 research projects, a common practice was to tailor research processes to local contexts, perspectives, and norms. Several factors contributed to these efforts: the research team either had pre-established or developed new relationships with the community partner(s) prior to initiating the study and throughout the study 10 ; researchers often engaged in reflexivity, and grad students were supported/guided by a culturally competent, safe, and supportive supervisor(s) 11 ; researchers often participated in activities within the community 12 ; elders/respected community members were sought for guidance 13 ; (local) cultural protocols/methods (e.g., offering tobacco, smudging, traditional feasts, opening/closing prayers, Haudenosaunee consensus building, carrying out interviews in Anishinaabemowin, visions) were purposefully (not) incorporated into the research process, guided by Indigenous team members/knowledge holders/keepers 14 ; research teams and community partners predominately indicated that they incorporated a strengths-based approach into the project 15 ; when research teams used Western paradigms/methodologies for the research projects, they were philosophically congruent with Indigenous ways of knowing 16 ; Rand (2016), Robbins et al (2017), Ryan (2016), Vukic et al (2016), Webkamigad (2017), Wright (2019), Yap and Yu (2016), and Zehbe et al (2012) 18…”

Performing Pimâtisiwin: The Expression of Indigenous Wellness Identities through Community‐based Theater

“…2018; Robbins et al. 2017). Other research has suggested that drama and theater‐based interventions can involve psychotherapeutic processes that enable individuals to gain insight and promote the resolution of social‐integration issues, such as problems relating to others, difficulties with communication, problems with understanding the meaning of their behavior, and difficulties with self‐confidence (Emunah 1990; Smeijsters and Cleven 2006; Walsh 1990).…”

“…2018; Robbins et al. 2017). Indeed, several authors write that dramatic play and role play exercises are especially useful for young people who are actively experimenting with the question “Who am I?” by allowing them to try out different roles and perspectives (Hughes and Wilson 2004; Ritenburg et al.…”

“…2018; Robbins et al. 2017). Performing pimâtisiwin thereby involves a critical exploration of the constitutive elements of the colonial gaze and its frames while fostering the means to rethink and challenge how power operates amid the historical construction of identity performance.…”

Taonsayontenhroseri:ye’ne: the power of art in Indigenous research with youth

“…Employing arts-based methodologies with Indigenous youth reflects processes of Indigenization and decolonization while also providing access to emotional and spiritual engagement, personal expression, and self-driven learning (Big-Canoe & Richmond, 2014; Wahbe et al, 2007). The efficacy of arts-based research initiatives is increasingly well documented (Archibald & Dewar, 2011; Fanian, Young, Mantla, Daniels, & Chatwood, 2015; Flicker et al, 2014; Robbins, Linds, Ironstand, & Goodpipe, 2017). Indigenous youth, in particular, blend the traditional and the contemporary to express Indigeneity in new and innovative ways.…”