Urban Indigenous Community Research Articles

Comparison of Study Quality as Determined by Standard Research and Community Engagement Metrics: A Pilot Study on Breast Cancer Research in Urban, Rural, and Remote Indigenous Communities.

The purpose of this review is to compare research evaluation tools to determine whether the tools typically used for assessing the quality of research adequately address issues of Indigenous health and culture, particularly when the studies are intended to benefit Indigenous peoples in urban, regional, rural, and remote settings. Our previously published systematic review evaluated studies about breast cancer using a modified Indigenous community engagement tool (CET). In this study, we evaluated the same studies using two commonly used tools: the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) for qualitative research; and the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) for quantitative research. The results were then compared to ascertain whether there was alignment between performances in terms of engagement and the CASP/EPHPP metrics. Of the 15 papers, 3 papers scored weakly on both metrics, and are therefore the least likely to offer reliable findings, while 2 papers scored strongly on both metrics, and are therefore the most likely to offer reliable findings. Beyond this summation, it was clear that the results did not align and, therefore, could not be used interchangeably when applied to research findings intended to benefit Indigenous peoples. There does not appear to be a pattern in the relationship between the reliability of the studies and the study settings. In order to address disparities in health outcomes, we must assess research through a typical research quality and cultural engagement and settings lens, ensuring that there is rigour in all aspects of the studies.

Mixed methods participatory social justice community engagement model.

Context: This is a community engagement model based on a Mixed Methods Participatory Social Justice (MMPSJ) research project. The community engagement model evolved as both synthesis and dissemination were co-created with participants. Indigenous community members alongside researchers and Elders explored health literacy in an effort to illuminate root causes of the social determinants of health (SDoH) and to build community capacity. Objective: To better understand the connections between health and literacy from a local perspective (living on Treaty Six). Design: Mixed methods participatory social justice and community based participatory health research. Participants: There were: 12 participants; ten Indigenous intergenerational family members including an Indigenous Elder and two researchers. Expected Results: Local, contemporary, Indigenous perspectives were shared in ways that were meaningful to participants. Research Questions: In what ways can literacy be considered a social determinant of health from an urban Indigenous community? What literacy issues marginalize the community? How would you like this information shared or disseminated? Conclusions: Appropriate engagement with local community can inform the social determinants of health in an appreciative way, can enhance ethical space, and a richer understanding within community-based research. This capacity building approach will impact health care practitioners, educators, policies, and help to strengthen relations across systems. This research was reviewed and approved by the Behavioural REB at the University of Saskatchewan.

Exploring self-determined urban Indigenous adult education in an Indigenous organization

ABSTRACT Urban Indigenous communities in Canada are sites of dynamic knowledge transfer among Indigenous people who build community together both from within similar cultural frameworks and across difference. These “inter-national” urban Indigenous communities face distinct challenges and opportunities for implementing Indigenous knowledge transfer processes. This article examines the mechanisms through which knowledge transfer occurs at the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres, a large urban Indigenous organization in Toronto, Ontario. The researchers used interviews and focus groups to explore strategies for knowledge transfer among Elders, Knowledge Keepers, leaders, and staff. We argue that urban Indigenous communities transfer knowledge through processes that are sensitized to the diverse inter-national nature of these environments while at the same time oriented toward achieving the continuity of a common knowledge base. Thinking about these processes and their underlying goals through an educational lens helps broaden understandings of where Indigenous education occurs to include professional workplaces.

Burden of the Beast

Burden of the Beast

“Looking after our own is what we do”: Urban Ontario Indigenous perspectives on juggling paid work and unpaid care work for adult family members

Approximately 7.8 million Canadians juggle paid work and unpaid adult/elder caregiving responsibilities. This balancing act can cause stress, financial burdens, strained relationships, and mental health issues for these employed caregivers. Employed caregivers who are Indigenous have unique challenges and perspectives when it comes to care and work, as our research demonstrates. Our project is part of a larger research project that informs the Canadian Caregiver Inclusive and Accommodating Workplace Organization's Standard (referred to as “The Standard” in this article) (Beckett, 2019). Ensuring that workplace standards are inclusive of Indigenous experiences is especially important because although Indigenous communities are the fastest-growing population in Canada, their experiences are often excluded or overlooked. Our research focuses specifically on Indigenous experiences of managing paid work and unpaid caregiving and takes place in the context of a local Indigenous Friendship Centre in an urban Ontario region. This research sought urban Indigenous perspectives on balancing employment and unpaid care work, yet much of what was shared by participants highlighted the differences that exist between Indigenous-led organizations/workplaces, and “mainstream” Canadian workplaces. What resulted was a robust discussion about (a) the inherently accommodating, inclusive, and culturally responsive nature of Indigenous led organizations, and the vital role Indigenous organizations play in the wellbeing of urban Indigenous communities, (b) the way Indigenous understandings of care can inform The Standard, and (c) the unique circumstances that Indigenous employed caregivers face. Our research is guided by a methodological process that combines the team's experience with Indigenous methodologies and onto-epistemologies, community-based research, narrative methodologies, and feminist ecological onto-epistemological approaches to knowledge making.

Public policies for tuberculosis control in two marginal urban indigenous communities of Lima

Public policies for tuberculosis control in two marginal urban indigenous communities of Lima

Centering Community-Led Indigenous Gender Sovereignty

Kinship Rising is an Indigenous community partnership project that offers urgently needed action research led by Indigenous youth and communities impacted by colonial histories of gendered and sexualized violence. Working with hundreds of Indigenous youth, practitioners, Elders, and knowledge keepers across diverse rural and urban Indigenous communities in western Canada, our project engages land- and arts-based practices, intergenerational mentoring, and community leadership to recenter Indigenous knowledges of gender and sexual wellbeing and sovereignty.

Diverse Articulations of Urban Indigeneity among Lowland Indigenous Groups in Santa Cruz, Bolivia

This article contrasts politico‐legal understandings of indigeneity to the lived experiences of urban residents in Santa Cruz (Bolivia) who belong to distinct lowland indigenous groups and whose specific demands are often not addressed by government authorities. It also critically examines power relations and patterns of exclusion within urban indigenous communities. The findings offer insights on the multiple, and at times conflicting, experiences of distinct urban indigenous residents. They also highlight the need to consider alternative indigenous struggles which confront unjust government practices that reproduce social exclusion and coloniality, but also problematise patriarchal relations and gerontocracy among urban indigenous groups.

Increased vulnerability to SARS-CoV-2 infection among indigenous people living in the urban area of Manaus

The COVID-19 pandemic threatens indigenous peoples living in suburban areas of large Brazilian cities and has thus far intensified their pre-existing socio-economic inequalities. We evaluated the epidemiological situation of SARS-CoV-2 infection among residents of the biggest urban multiethnic indigenous community of the Amazonas state, Brazil. Blood samples of 280 indigenous people living in the surrounding area of Manaus were tested for the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgA or IgG antibodies. The risk factors and sociodemographic information were assessed through an epidemiological questionnaire. We found a total positivity rate of 64.64% (95% CI 59.01–70.28) for SARS-CoV-2 infection. IgA and IgG were detected in 55.71% (95% CI 49.89–61.54) and 60.71% (95% CI 54.98–66.45) of the individuals, respectively. Over 80% of positive individuals were positive for both IgA and IgG.No significant difference in positivity rates between genders or age groups was observed. Moreover, the age group ≥ 60 years old showed the highest antibody ratios (IgA mean ratio = 3.080 ± 1.623; IgG mean ratio = 4.221 ± 1.832), while the age groups 13–19 and 20–29 showed the lowest IgA (mean ratio = 2.268 ± 0.919) and IgG ratios (mean ratio = 2.207 ± 1.246), respectively. Individuals leaving the home more frequently were at higher risk of infection (Odds ratio (OD) 2.61; 95% CI 1.00–1.49; p = 0.048). Five or more individuals per household increased fivefold the risk of virus transmission (OR 2.56; 95% CI 1.09–6.01; p = 0.019). The disproportionate dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 infection observed among the study population might be driven by typical cultural behavior and socioeconomic inequalities. Despite the pandemic threat, this population is not being targeted by public policies and appears to be chronically invisible to the Brazilian authorities.

Concrete Lessons: Policies and Practices Affecting the Impact of COVID-19 for Urban Indigenous Communities in the United States and Canada.

Throughout the Americas, most Indigenous people move through urban areas and make their homes in cities. Yet, the specific issues and concerns facing Indigenous people in cities, and the positive protective factors their vibrant urban communities generate are often overlooked and poorly understood. This has been particularly so under COVID-19 pandemic conditions. In the spring of 2020, the United Nations High Commissioner Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples called for information on the impacts of COVID-19 for Indigenous peoples. We took that opportunity to provide a response focused on urban Indigenous communities in the United States and Canada. Here, we expand on that response and Indigenous and human rights lens to review policies and practices impacting the experience of COVID-19 for urban Indigenous communities. Our analysis integrates a discussion of historical and ongoing settler colonialism, and the strengths of Indigenous community-building, as these shape the urban Indigenous experience with COVID-19. Mindful of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we highlight the perspectives of Indigenous organizations which are the lifeline of urban Indigenous communities, focusing on challenges that miscounting poses to data collection and information sharing, and the exacerbation of intersectional discrimination and human rights infringements specific to the urban context. We include Indigenous critiques of the implications of structural oppressions exposed by COVID-19, and the resulting recommendations which have emerged from Indigenous urban adaptations to lockdown isolation, the provision of safety, and delivery of services grounded in Indigenous initiatives and traditional practices.

Culture and geography: how do primary students map their local environment?

Large-scale spatial representations are rarely a perfect replication of the corresponding environment. Factors such as age, experience and environmental association play a significant role in each person’s cognitive map. Yet, traditional spatial tasks remove these contextual elements in determining a person’s spatial orientation skill, which has contributed to the apparent widening gap in spatial skills for children in non-urban areas. In this study we examined children’s sketch maps of their route between home and school from four geographically diverse sites (urban, regional, rural, and remote Indigenous communities). Our findings suggest children from rural and remote communities possess highly detailed and sophisticated mental representations of their local environment, outside of traditional developmental frameworks. This work provides insights into these representations through student work samples. We suggest future work consider the contextual nature of spatial skills when comparing students.

From controlling to connecting: M'Wikwedong as a place of urban Indigenous health promotion in Canada.

In recent years, health promotion has come under critique for being framed according to the contexts and priorities of Western communities, with the notion of 'control' underpinning much of its theoretical and practical development. Ceding space to Indigenous voices and knowledge is one way forward to overcoming this limitation and decolonizing the field. This paper reports on insights gained from a participatory digital storytelling project focused on Indigenous health promotion that took place at M'Wikwedong Indigenous Friendship Centre in the city of Owen Sound, Canada. The research team was formed by M'Wikwedong's Executive Director, five Indigenous youth and two university researchers. We co-created data through an 8-month digital storytelling process that involved 13 weekly research meetings, the creation of 4 digital stories and video screenings. We analysed data from seven group interview transcriptions, field notes and video transcripts through qualitative coding and theme building. The four themes we identified speak to the ways M'Wikwedong reinforced connections to youth, their sense of self, place in the city and Indigenous cultures. From our findings, we theorize that egalitarianism of knowledge, restoring balance in relationships and Indigenous leadership are core components of an 'ethos of connection' that underlies Indigenous health promotion. The 'ethos of connection' challenges Western notions of 'control' and brings attention to the unique expertise and practices of urban Indigenous communities and organizations as a primary basis for health promotion.

“The work of a leader is to carry the bones of the people”: exploring female-led articulation of Indigenous knowledge in an urban setting

Although the activism and historic contributions of Indigenous female leaders to urban Indigenous community development across Turtle Island are recognized, there remains a dearth in the literature regarding the specific mechanisms that enabled Indigenous women to successfully articulate cultural knowledge and inform their management styles by traditional ways. The article explores some of the contributions of female leadership to the governance and program design of a large, culture-based urban Indigenous non-governmental organization in Canada—the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC). We examine how the OFIFC’s Executive Director Sylvia Maracle (Skonaganleh:ra) has applied leadership principles grounded in Indigenous knowledge of her paternal grandmother and a Mohawk matriarch—Mary Ellen Maracle—to address specific challenges in urban Indigenous governance. We argue that the female-led articulation of Indigenous knowledge in organizational operations contributed to creating a community of service that respects distinct expressions of cultural and gender identity.

Indigenous health organizations, Indigenous community resurgence, and the reclamation of place in urban areas

Research around the world has been nearly unanimous about the positive impacts of Indigenous‐led health organizations on Indigenous peoples' qualitative experiences in health care, in the face of often negative experiences in non‐Indigenous‐led health care settings. Urban environments, including health care environments, are areas of increasing attention with regard to Indigenous peoples' health in Canada. In this study, which took place in the northern city of Prince George, British Columbia, 65 Indigenous community members and health services workers participated in interviews and focus groups, describing their experiences with urban Indigenous‐led health organizations—defined in this study as non‐governmental organizations that prioritize the values and practices of local Indigenous communities. Employing perspectives on place and relationships drawn from Indigenous critical theory and Indigenous community resurgence to analyze the findings of this qualitative study leads to a focus on how relationships impact and can even constitute places, enabling new understandings of the roles of Indigenous‐led health organizations in urban Indigenous community resurgence.

Closing the gap between rhetoric and practice in strengths‐based approaches to Indigenous public health: a qualitative study

ObjectiveTo understand strengths‐based practice as articulated by urban Indigenous community workers and to consider its application for public health approaches to Australian Indigenous health advancement. MethodsSemi‐structured interviews with community workers from an urban Indigenous community. Interviews were video and audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, using an Indigenist research framework. ResultsFor our participants (11 Indigenous and one non‐Indigenous), a strengths‐based approach was fundamental to their practice. This approach reconfigured the usual relationship of client and service provider to fellow community member. They understood the strength of Indigeneity that empowers individuals and communities. They were not blinkered to the challenges in the community but resisted defining themselves, their community or their community practice by these deficits. ConclusionsOur participants had a sophisticated experiential understanding that a strengths‐based practice is not simply a ‘culturally acceptable’ way for non‐Indigenous peoples to work for Indigenous peoples, but rather it is the only way of working with Indigenous people. Implications for public healthStrengths‐based practice requires a reconfiguring of relationships of power, of attending to structure over stereotypes, and privileging Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing. This reconfiguration is an ethical prerequisite for an approach that is genuinely strengths‐based.

Becoming Self-in-Relation: Coming of Age as a Pathway towards Wellness for Urban Indigenous Youth in Care

Two workshops were held with urban Indigenous youth who live in foster care on Lekwungen Territory on southern Vancouver Island. The workshops were informed by guidance from community knowledge holders and Elders and explored the meaning of Indigenous coming of age and adolescence with 15 youth through oral, visual, and text-based activities. Following a thematic analysis of the workshop transcripts, five themes emerged: self-continuity; self-awareness; empowerment; being part of something bigger; and support networks. These themes provide evidence that engaging with coming of age teachings and activities are protective to youth wellness and help youth to build strong foundations from which they can learn about their Indigenous ancestry and history in their own time. (Re)connecting to coming of age teachings is part of a broader discourse of (re)writing narratives that celebrate the strength, leadership, and independence of the urban Indigenous youth community. Although the voices shared reflect young community members living in and around southern Vancouver Island, the essence of our key messages are relevant to the broader Indigenous community and those practicing allyship through education, health care, social work, and other areas of influence.

Preferences for different representations of colonial history in a Canadian urban indigenous community

When a social group’s history includes significant victimization by an outgroup, how might that group choose to represent its collective history, and for what reasons? Employing a social identity approach, we show how preferences for different representations of colonial history were guided by group interest in a sample of urban Indigenous participants. Three themes were identified after thematic analysis of interview and focus group transcripts from thirty-five participants who identified as Indigenous. First, participants expressed concern that painful, victimization-focused representations of colonial history would harm vulnerable ingroup members, and urged caution when representing colonial history in this way. Second, while colonial history was clearly painful and unpleasant for all participants, many nevertheless felt it was important that representations of colonial history tell the whole truth about how badly Indigenous people have been mistreated by outgroups. Participants suggested these brutal representations of colonial history could also serve the interests of their group by bolstering ingroup pride when representations also emphasized the resilience of Indigenous peoples. Finally, participants described how brutal representations of colonial history could help transform intergroup relations with non-Indigenous outgroups in positive ways by explaining present challenges in Indigenous communities as the result of intergenerational trauma. We discuss findings in terms of their relevance for ingroup agency and their implications for public representations of colonial history.

Debating “Culture Loss” in Urban Indigeneity in the Metropolitan District of Quito, Ecuador

This article examines the modern, popularized discourse of “culture loss” in the urban indigenous community of Lumbisí, Ecuador. The political ideology of mestizaje that emerged in the mid-1970s-80s became the reigning nationalism of Ecuador well into the first decade of the 21st century. This ideology catalyzed conflicting discourses of “whitening” and narratives of “culture loss” from within white-mestizo populations towards indigenous ones. Over the course of 30 years, the foothold obtained by these discourses shaped urban indigeneity, for some like the Kitu-Kara, justifying their “culture loss” followed by the subsequent regeneration of indigenous identities and cultures. In this article, I examine the case of Lumbisí, where residents maintain a strong urban, indigenous identity, rooted in their land, ancestry and traditions, yet perceive cultural shifts and innovations from within their own community as steady “cultural loss.” I argue that the Lumbisí narrative of culture loss becomes a harsh self-critique that aligns with an unattainable notion of culture stasis rather than a natural process of shift and innovation.

‘Desculturización,’ urbanization, and nutrition transition among urban Kichwas Indigenous communities residing in the Andes highlands of Ecuador

BackgroundThe nutrition transition continues to affect populations throughout the world. The added impact of market integration and urbanization exacerbates the impact of the nutrition transition upon Indigenous populations worldwide. ObjectivesThis study aims to explore the nutritional concerns of the urban Kichwas community residing in the Andes highlands of Ecuador. Study designThis is a qualitative study. MethodsEight focus groups were conducted with Kichwas men and women in November 2015 in the Imbabura province of the Andes in Ecuador. Data analysisApplied thematic analysis was used to analyze findings regarding nutrition. ResultsThe participants shared concerns regarding increased intake of fast food, poor meal timing, and a shift in the child's food preferences that rejects traditional foods. They attributed these concerns to urbanization resulting from an increase in dual-income households and a loss of cultural identity. ConclusionsSynergistic cultural factors are related to nutritional concerns voiced by the urban Kichwas community. Public health implicationsSyndemic theory is a useful interpretive lens regarding nutritional trends within the Kichwas communities as they relate to the increased risk of chronic disease.

“So we tell them”: articulating strong Black masculinities in an urban Indigenous community

There is a growing literature on Indigenous masculinities written by scholars in North America, Hawai‘i and New Zealand which draws on a variety of approaches. While there are signs of scholarly interest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander masculinities in Australia, this has yet to translate into a distinct body of work. This article is a potential opening onto such a future corpus, foregrounding and privileging how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men understand themselves. Interviews with 13 men, ranging in age from young teenagers through to Elders—among whom were Traditional Owners, school pupils, university students, community workers, health professionals and retirees—yielded a conception of Indigenous masculinities not concerned with recovering a lost masculinity. Rather, what was presented to us is a distinct conception of Indigenous masculinities rooted in place; a relationality motivated by an intergenerational sense of responsibility; a nuanced idea of “acting hard.”