1. 'If You Fall Down, You Get Back Up': Creating a Space for Testimony and Witnessing by Urban Indigenous Women and Girls
- Author
-
Cooper, Elizabeth and Driedger, S Michelle
- Subjects
advocacy ,Race and Ethnicity ,Community-Based Research ,Maternal and Child Health ,Family, Life Course, and Society ,Metis ,gender ,cultural memory ,Community Health ,cultural responsiveness ,Aboriginal ,First Nations - Abstract
Historical trauma and the negative effects of colonialism continue to be played out within Canadian culture. These processes have a deleterious effect on physical and psychological health outcomes among Indigenous Peoples. Through the creation of a safe space as part of a decolonizing, participatory activity program spanning 7 weeks, First Nations and Metis women and girls (aged 8-12) were able to begin to unpack what it means to be happy, healthy, and safe, and what is needed to actualize these goals. A community engaged, asset-based workshop approach provided a forum for participants to discuss the impact of traumatic experiences on the ability of adults to model a positive image of strength, independence, and confidence for their daughters, while creating a space to discuss change.
- Published
- 2019