Grant: Catalyst Grant: Healthy Youth - Indigenous Youth

Indigenous scholars and young leaders have been clear that Indigenous youth should be meaningfully involved in any research that aims to address their health and wellness. The McCreary Centre Society (McCreary), a well-respected not-for-profit organization in British Columbia (BC),has long recognized the pivotal role of youth in determining their own health goals and priorities. McCreary is home to the Young Indigenous Research Team (YIRT): a team of Indigenous youth who have expressed a passion for research that gives back to their communities. This research aims to support McCreary's effective model for Indigenous youth-engaged research to further strengthen and bridge Indigenous youth capacity for data analysis, interpretation, and knowledge mobilization. This research will stem from McCreary's ongoing work with the BC Adolescent Health Survey-an anonymous and voluntary survey that has been effectively administered to students in secondary schools across BC. Administration of the 2023 BC Adolescent Health Survey is complete, offering a comprehensive and representative sample of First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and urban Indigenous youth, ages 12 - 19. Using a by-and-for Indigenous youth research approach, our team will support the YIRT to make meaning of Indigenous youth health data in the development of Raven's Children VI, and to mobilize their research findings in urban Indigenous communities across BC. Indigenous knowledge mobilization efforts will be geared toward increasing awareness of Indigenous youth health information and knowledge; contextualizing principles of Indigenous data sovereignty for urban Indigenous youth and their communities; and working collaboratively with cross-sectoral partners-including communities, governments, and youth-serving organizations-to co-create an action-plan for strengthening Indigenous youth health and well-being.