‘I want to come here to prove them wrong’: using a post-colonial feminist participatory action research (PFPAR) approach to studying sport, gender and development programmes for urban Indigenous young women

Abstract

How do young urban Aboriginal women in Vancouver, British Columbia, understand their experiences of participating in a sport, gender and development (SGD) programme that aims to enhance their lives? In this paper, we consider this question through a post-colonial feminist participatory action research (PFPAR) study designed to examine the contradictions and challenges surrounding SGD programmes that target urban Aboriginal young women. To do this, we draw on empirical work that involved interviews and photovoice activities conducted with 11 Aboriginal young women who participated in the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society's (VAFCS') recreation programme. Our findings demonstrate how stereotyping, encountering racism and gender inequalities in day-to-day life – and in the programme – created challenging circumstances for these young women. Despite these obstacles, the young women used the programme as an opportunity to resist and challenge perceptions about their bodies, sporting abilities, lifestyles and Aboriginal stereotypes.