Despite the challenges facing Indigenous youth and their communities due to historical and contemporary institutionalised racism in Canada, communities are drawing on the richness of their own histories to reassert their cultural heritage. Doing so supports mental health outcomes of young people in particular, as highlighted in a compelling body of research. The question facing many communities, however, is how they can facilitate such child and youth engagement in order to support related positive mental health outcomes. This article reports on findings from a Participatory Action Research (PAR) study conducted in a First Nations community in Unama’ki (Cape Breton), Atlantic Canada. The study, Spaces & Places, was a partnership between the community-based mental health service provider (Eskasoni Mental Health Services, EMHS), eight community youth (14–18 years old), and a team of academics. Situated within a resilience framework, the team explored the ways in which the community facilitated, or restricted, youth civic and cultural engagement. Foregrounded against a strong legacy of cultural reassertion within the community, findings highlight the core resilience-promoting resources that support positive youth development. Additionally, findings demonstrate how these resources provide meaningful support for youth because of the way in which they are intertwined with one another. Furthermore, cultural engagement is underpinned by the Two-eyed Seeing model, supporting youth to integrate their own culture with settler culture in ways that work best for them. Findings support community-based service structures, and underscore the importance of community resilience in the effective support of Indigenous children and youth.
AdelsonN. (2005). The embodiment of inequity: Health disparities in Aboriginal Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 96(Suppl. 2), S45–S61. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03403702
BartlettC.MarshallM.MarshallA.IwamaM. (2015). Integrative science and Two-eyed Seeing: Enriching the discussion framework for healthy communities. In HallstromL. K.GuehlstorfN.ParkesM. (Eds.), Ecosystems, society and health: Pathways through diversity, convergence and integration (pp. 280–326). McGill-Queen’s University Press.
6.
BaskinC. (2016). Strong helpers’ teachings: The value of Indigenous knowledges in the helping professions. Canadian Scholar’s Press.
7.
Battiste, M. (1998). Enabling the autumn seed: Toward a decolonisation approach to aboriginal knowledge, language, and education. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 22(1), 16–27.
8.
BennettM.BlackstockC.De la RondeR. (2005). A literature review and annotated bibliography focusing on aspects of Aboriginal child welfare in Canada (2nd ed.). The First Nations Research Site of the Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare and The First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada.
9.
BeswickT. (2013, October 16). Efforts gain strength across N.S. to ensure future for Mi’kmaq language. The Chronicle Herald.
10.
BlackstockC.PrakashT.LoxleyJ.WienF. (2005). Wen: De: we are coming to the light of day. First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada.
11.
BombayA.MathesonK.AnismanH. (2014). The intergenerational effects of Indian Residential Schools: Implications for the concept of historical trauma. Transcultural Psychiatry, 51(3), 320–338. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461513503380
12.
BrasfieldC. (2009). Polar bears and fireweed. In Canadian Institute for Health Information (Ed.), Mentally healthy communities: Aboriginal perspectives (pp. 21–23). Canadian Institute for Health Information.
13.
BrittainM.BlackstockC. (2015). First Nations child poverty: A literature review and analysis. First Nations Children’s Action Research and Education Service.
14.
CajeteG. (2000). Native science: Natural laws of interdependence. Clear Light.
15.
CarriéreJ.RichardsonC. (2013). Relationship is everything: Holistic approaches to Aboriginal child and youth mental health. First Peoples Child & Family Review, 7(2), 8–26. https://doi.org/10.7202/1068837ar
16.
ChandlerM. J.,LalondeC. E. (1998). Cultural continuity as a hedge against suicide in Canada’s First Nations. Transcultural Psychiatry, 35(2), 191–129. https://doi.org/10.1177/136346159803500202
17.
ChandlerM. J.,LalondeC. E. (2009). Cultural continuity as a moderator of suicide risk among Canada’s First Nations. In KirmayerL. JValaskakisG. G (Eds.), Healing traditions: The mental health of Aboriginal peoples in Canada (pp. 221–248). The University of British Colombia Press.
18.
ChandlerM. J.DunlopW. L. (2015). Cultural wounds demand cultural medicines. In GreenwoodM.de LeeuwS.LindsayN. M.ReadingC. (Eds.), Determinants of Indigenous people’s health in Canada: Beyond the social (pp. 78–89). Canadian Scholar’s Press.
19.
FlemingJ.LedogarR. J. (2008). Resilience, an evolving concept: A review of the literature relevant to Aboriginal research. Pimatisiwin: A Journal of Aboriginal and Indigenous Community Health, 6(2), 7–23.
GalabuziG. (2004). Social exclusion. In RaphaelD. (Ed.), Social determinants of health: Canadian perspectives (pp. 235–251). Canadian Scholars’ Press.
22.
GoughP.TrocmeN.BrownI.KnokeD.BlackstockC (2005). Pathways to the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in care(Information Sheet #23E). Centre for Excellence for Child Welfare, University of Toronto.
HatcherA.BartlettC.MarshallA.MarshallM. (2009). Two-eyed Seeing in the classroom environment: Concepts, approaches, and challenges. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 9(3), 141–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/14926150903118342
25.
HoodR. (2014). Complexity and integrated working in children’s services. British Journal of Social Work, 44(1), 27–43. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcs091
26.
Ikeda, J. & Liebenberg, L. (2011). The pathways to resilience project: Eskasoni, Nova Scotia Report. Halifax, NS: Resilience Research Centre, Dalhousie University.
27.
Kirkness, V. J., & Barnhardt, R. (1991). First nations and higher education: The four R's - respect, relevance, reciprocity, responsibility. Journal of American Indian Education, 30(3), 1–15. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24397980
28.
KirmayerL. J.DandeneauS.MarshallE.PhilipsM. K.WilliamsonK. J. (2011). Rethinking resilience from Indigenous perspectives. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 56(2), 84–91. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674371105600203
29.
KirmayerL. J.TaitC. L.SimpsonC. (2009). The mental health of Aboriginal peoples in Canada: Transformations of identity and community. In KirmayerL. J.ValaskakisG. G. (Eds.), Healing traditions: The mental health of Aboriginal peoples in Canada (pp. 3–35). UBC Press.
30.
KralM. J.IdloutL.MinoreJ. B.DyckR. J.KirmayerL. J. (2003). Unikkaartuit: Meanings of wellbeing, unhappiness, health and community change among Inuit in Nunavut, Canada. American Journal of Community Psychology, 48(3–4), 426–438. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-011-9431-4
31.
LavoieJ. G.ForgetE.O’NeilJ. D. (2007). Why equity in financing First Nations on-reserve health services matters: Findings from the 2005 national evaluation of the health transfer policy. Healthcare Policy, 2(4), 79–96.
32.
Lear, J. (2006). Radical hope: Ethics in the face of cultural devastation. Harvard University Press.
33.
LewingtonJ. (2019). “We need to get teachers from our communities”: In 20 years, the Mi’kmaw high school graduation rate has increased threefold. A partnership between Mi’kmaq communities and St. Francis university helped. Maclean’s, 19(12), 1–8. https://www.macleans.ca/education/mikmaq-st-francis-xavier-university/
34.
LiebenbergL. (2020). Reconsidering interactive resilience processes in mental health: Implications for child and youth services. Journal of Community Psychology, 48(5), 1365–1380. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22331
35.
LiebenbergL.Hutt-MacLeodD. (2017). Aboriginal community development approaches in response to neoliberal policy: The example of Eskasoni Mental Health Services. In DolanP.FrostN. (Eds.), The handbook of global child welfare (pp. 47–58). Routledge.
36.
LiebenbergL.IkedaJ.WoodM. (2015). “It’s just part of my culture”: Understanding language and land in the resilience processes of Aboriginal youth. In TheronL.LiebenbergL.UngarM. (Eds.), Youth resilience and culture - commonalities and complexities (pp. 105–116). Springer.
37.
LiebenbergL.JamalA.IkedaJ. (2020). Extending youth voices in a participatory thematic analysis approach. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920934614
38.
LiebenbergL.SchermanV. (2021). Resilience and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Promoting child and youth resilience and related mental health outcomes. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 31(5), 455–463. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2021.1978180
39.
LiebenbergL.SylliboyA.Davis-WardD.VincentA. (2017). Meaningful engagement of Indigenous youth in PAR: The role of community partnerships. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917704095
40.
Liebenberg, L., Wood, M., & Wall, D. (2018). Participatory action research with indigenous youth and their communities. In R. Iphofen & M. Tolich (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research ethics (pp. 339–353). Sage.
41.
LiebenbergL.WoodM.WallD.Hutt-MacLeodD. (2019). Spaces & places: Understanding sense of belonging and cultural engagement among Indigenous youth. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 18, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406919840547
Loppie ReadingC.WienF. (2009). Health inequities and social determinants of Aboriginal people’s health. National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health.
44.
MakokisL.BodorR. (2014). Indigenous concepts, terms, and frameworks that are important for human service workers. Journal for Services to Children and Families, 7, 54–74.
45.
MartinD. (2012). Two-eyed Seeing: A framework for understanding indigenous and non-indigenous approaches to indigenous health research. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 44(2), 20–42.
46.
MastenA. S. (2014). Ordinary magic: Resilience in development. The Guilford Press.
47.
MastenA. S. (2018). Resilience theory and research on children and families: Past, present, and promise. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 10(1), 12–31. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12255
48.
MastenA. S.TellegenA. (2012). Resilience in developmental psychopathology: Contributions of the project competence longitudinal study. Development and Psychopathology, 24(2), 345–361. https://doi.org/10.1017/S095457941200003X;
49.
McGuireP. D. (2010). Exploring resilience and indigenous ways of knowing. Pimatisiwin: A Journal of Aboriginal and Indigenous Community Health, 8(2), 117–131.
50.
MignoneJ. (2003). Measuring social capital: A guide for First Nations communities. Canadian Institute for Health Information.
51.
MignoneJ.O’NeilJ. (2005). Social capital and youth suicide risk factors in First Nations communities. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 96(1), S51–S54. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03405317
52.
Motti-StefanidiF. (2015). Identity development in the context of the risk and resilience framework. In McLeanK. CSyedM. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of identity development (pp. 472–489). Oxford University Press.
53.
MyslikJ. (2014, March 25). Mi’kmaq is making a comeback in a Nova Scotia community. CBC News: Politics. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mi-kmaq-is-making-a-comeback-in-a-nova-scotia-community-1.2557138
54.
Panter BrickC. (2015). Culture and resilience: Next steps for theory and practice. In TheronL. C.Liebenberg,L.UngarM. (Eds.), Youth resilience and culture (pp. 233–244). Springer.
55.
RamosH.YoungJ. (2018). Critical events and the funding of Indigenous organizations. Journal of Canadian Studies, 52(2), 570–590. https://doi.org/10.3138/jcs.2017-0026.r2
56.
RichardK. (2004). A commentary against Aboriginal to non-Aboriginal adoption. First Peoples Child and Family Review, 1(1), 101–109. https://doi.org/10.7202/1069588ar
57.
SteinhauerD.LamoucheJ. (2015). Miyo-pimâtisiwin “A good path”: Indigenous knowledges, languages and traditions in education and health. In GreenwoodM.de LeeuwS.LindsayN. M.ReadingC. (Eds.), Determinants of Indigenous people’s health in Canada: Beyond the social (pp. 152–162). Canadian Scholar’s Press.
58.
StoutM. D.KiplingG. (2003). Aboriginal people, resilience and the residential school legacy. Aboriginal Healing Foundation.
59.
SupkoffL. M.PuigJ.SroufeL. A. (2012). Situating resilience in developmental context. In UngarM. (Ed.), The social ecology of resilience (pp. 127–142). Springer.
60.
TolW. A.SongS.JordansM. J. D. (2013). Annual research review: Resilience and mental health in children and adolescents living in areas of armed conflict—A systematic review of findings in low- and middle-income countries. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 54(4), 445–460. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12053
WaldramJ. B. (2009). Culture and aboriginality in the study of mental health. In, KirmayerL. J.ValaskakisG. G. (Eds.), Healing traditions: the mental health of aboriginal peoples in Canada (pp. 56–79). UBC Press.
WallD.LiebenbergL.IkedaJ.PennyD., & Youth of Spaces & Places, Port Hope Simpson. (2021). Understanding community, culture and recreation as resilience resources for Indigenous youth. In MoranL.ReillyK.BradyB. (Eds.), Narrating childhoods across contexts: Knowledge, environment, and relationships (pp. 163–187). Palgrave.
WexlerL. M. (2014). Looking across three generations of Alaska Natives to explore how culture fosters indigenous resilience. Transcultural Psychiatry, 51(1), 73–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461513497417
67.
WexlerL. M.GoneJ. P. (2012). Culturally responsive suicide prevention in Indigenous communities: Unexamined assumptions and new possibilities. American Journal of Public Health, 102(5), 800–806. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2011.300432
68.
WoodM.LiebenbergL.IkedaJ.VincentA., & Youth participants of Spaces & Places. (2020). The role of educational spaces in supporting Inuit youth resilience. Child Care in Practice, 26(4), 390–415. https://doi.org/10.1080/13575279.2020.1765143
