Page 19 - EUREKA Winter 2017

in Indigenous communities.
Brent Wesley share information about their
Shooting hoops in Sioux Lookout.
in northwestern Ontario to build
on their strengths in order to foster
youth resilience and to empower
them to prosper as leaders in their
communities.”
Youth Futures, which is supported by
a $2.5-million Partnership Grant from
the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council, and is led by
Matheson, the director of Carleton’s
Canadian Health Adaptations,
Innovations and Mobilization (CHAIM)
Centre, represents a new collaborative
approach to research and intervention
The entire project — including its
processes and priorities — will be guided
by conversations between Indigenous
and non-Indigenous university and
community-based researchers and
members of the 33 First Nations in the
Sioux Lookout First Nations Health
Authority (SLFNHA) catchment area intending to help without understanding
north of Thunder Bay, with health, the terrain they were entering.
cultural, educational, economic and legal “People who live in these
organizations in the region contributing communities understand the historical
to the dialogue as well. context that others may not know,” says
Youth Futures could help address Matheson. “That matters, even if one
a diverse spectrum of issues such as of our main goals is to identify points
education, economic development, of entry where we can contribute to
community well-being programs, making things better. They need to
parenting skills, or the need for more have a voice and the power to direct
opportunities for extracurricular the projects they’re participating in,
activities and skill development among which is a much more effective way to
youth. But these directions won’t be set address community needs.”
— and the work to co-create solutions One need that many SLFNHA
won’t begin — until communities have communities face is that with only
a chance to identify specific challenges four high schools in the region (two
that they face, and their priorities in Sioux Lookout, one in Sandy Lake
for addressing them. Indigenous and one in Thunder Bay), teenagers
methodology, such as the importance are often away from home for much
of giving voice to oral history, will of the school year, then have a hard
inform this process. And there’s a time finding things to do when they’re
reciprocal dimension: “To achieve back for the summer — and a harder
reconciliation,” a project summary time finding a reason to remain after
explains, “it is also incumbent on non- graduation. “How do we change things
Indigenous Canadians to understand in a community so when they finish
how to contribute to the healing and high school they can be productive
growth of Indigenous peoples.” members of society in their home
communities?” asks Matheson. “To turn
When communities identify what things around, youth have to be able
to flourish within their communities.
they would like to focus on, and
They’re the ones who are going to
make a difference.”
strengths and assets, Matheson and
her colleagues will be able to bring
to the table people who have the Youth Futures is organized around
expertise to work with communities four thematic hubs that will guide the
to design, implement and evaluate research activities: encouraging youth
possible solutions. “We’re a very large empowerment and well-being; building
interdisciplinary group,” she says, resilience and supportive relationships
“and our goal is to provide a set of within communities; facilitating
tools that help create the conditions economic development and good
that allow youth to flourish in their governance; and privileging Indigenous
communities. We want to get a broad ways of knowing and being. Each hub
sense of what services and supports is co-led by an academic researcher
already exist, and what the challenges and a community partner.
are, and then we can work together to As the funding application submitted
coordinate a response.” to SSHRC declares, “Indigenous youth
This approach reflects a sea change are the fastest growing population
from the days when well-meaning in Canada, and their success will be
but often misguided outsiders would integral to the future leadership and
parachute into Indigenous communities, productivity of the nation. Yet, the
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