Public Health Resonance Project

Tag: Indigenous Health

  • Indigenous Health Research in Quebec: Changing the Landscape Through Relationship Building

    Tahatikonhsontóntie’ Québec Network Environment for Indigenous Health Research

    Sherri Bisset, Leila Qashu, Sonia Périllat-Amédée, Treena Delormier

    As a response to the need for more supportive research environments for Indigenous health research, CIHR created the Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research (NEIHR). The Tahatikonhsontóntie’ Québec Network Environment for Indigenous Health Research (QcNEIHR) is driven by, and grounded in, Indigenous communities in Quebec. This manuscript aims to provide a reflexive account of the QcNEIHR. Using implementation analysis as a methodology, the QcNEIHR evaluator used documents, participant observations and interviews to compare the proposed QcNEIHR grant plan to what the QcNEIHR actualized. The co-authors, members of the Operations Circle, provided additional information and interpretations as the manuscript was being written. The QcNEIHR governance circles were invited to approve the presentation of results. Through this analysis we found that QcNEIHR activities aligned with three of four objectives in the initial research proposal. The Operations Circle of the QcNEIHR successfully navigated through several competing interests, such as, 1) finding a balance between consulting and taking concrete actions, 2) being inclusive while prioritizing a few targeted activities, 3) administering institutional research funds within an Indigenous community-based organization, 4) maintaining an efficient bilingual governance structure with diverse conceptualizations of health and research, 5) managing an organic Operations Circle for innovation and creativity, while assuring an accountability and timely deliverables. During the first four years of operation, the strategy of the QcNEIHR OC was based upon building relationships and mobilizing a diverse lively network. This strategy sets the foundation for community-shared ownership and leadership for the next iteration of the QcNEIHR, where community-driven Indigenous health research in Quebec will continue to strengthen and grow, with the support of provincial and national research institutions.

    International Journal of Indigenous Health, 20(1)

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  • “Wherever I Go, I Have It Inside of Me,” Indigenous Cultural Dance Narratives As Substance Abuse and HIV Prevention in Urban Danza Mexica Community

    Angela R. Fernandez and Ramona E. Beltrán

    Introduction: “Mexican American Indian” (MAI) is a large and diverse population for which little empirical research on alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and HIV is available, yet for which there is a disproportionate risk. Indigenous health narratives and participation in place- and settings-based cultural practices can be protective in chronic and co-occurring disease prevention and health promotion for Indigenous people. This study explores the role of participation in cultural dance in generating narratives of prevention and health promotion among a sample of MAIs from an Urban Danza Mexica Community (UDMC), framed within a decolonizing narratives of health (DNOH) model.

    Methods: This secondary data analysis (n = 9) is drawn from a qualitative AOD and HIV health needs assessment of UDMC living in the Pacific Northwest and the Rocky Mountain West (n = 21). This study uses a community-based participatory research approach and employs narrative, Indigenized methods to analyze in-depth interviews from adult cisgender females (n = 5) and males (n = 4). The DNOH model is developed as a relational, analytic framework that contextualizes Indigenous stories in relationship to three distinct yet interconnected levels—the personal, the communal, and Indigeneity in the larger world. These levels of narrative analysis function as culturally grounded, relational pathways through which to articulate health education and promotion approaches.

    Results: Narratives delve into the complex and nuanced relationships within participants’ internal worlds (personal), between themselves and their Danza community (communal), and between themselves and their complex, intersectional Indigenous identities within society (Indigeneity). Stories of ancestral teachings about health and prevention shared within the Danza circle create spaces wherein participants navigate complex conversations that resist oppressive colonial narratives, reconnect with and strengthen their Indigenous identities, and strive toward ancestral visions of health and well-being.

    Discussion: This study contributes to Indigenized theoretical and methodological expansion and the development of place/settings-based, narrative, cultural health interventions aimed at preventing chronic and co-occurring disease and promoting wellness among populations similar to the UDMC. Identifying cultural practices as Native Hubs (relational, socially constructed places) that foster decolonizing narratives helps increase understanding of their role in public health education and promotion through recognition of Indigenous knowledge systems and frameworks.

    Frontiers in Public Health, 9

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