Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

The over-arching goals of this research project were to investigate the impact of discriminatory practices in education and health care on the self-perceived health of Indigenous people in Finland and Canada. The researcher utilizes a story format to discuss the similarities and differences experienced from the two groups. Prominent themes that emerged from the data: 1) Colonization and its impact on self-perceived health. 2) Layers of racism: at the policy, service and individual level 3) The value of Indigenous women 4) The strength of Indigenous people. 25 interviews were conducted at Six Nations of the Grand River and 20 Interviews were conducted in Finnish in Inari with use of a translator. All interviews were then translated to English for analysis and comparison. There were many similar findings with experiences in all themes, however, contextual differences in the experiences of Indigenous people in Canada and Finland. However, Indigenous rights and ongoing battle for self-determination exist in both countries. It was concluded that racism and discrimination makes Indigenous people feel 'less than' the majority population. Coping with these feelings can translate into many negative health outcomes such as: feeling the need to hide ones identity, drug and alcohol use, over-eating, promiscuity, not feeling qualified for certain jobs, depression, inability to show emotions, family breakdown. Other ways of coping include: becoming an over-achiever, while viewed by mainstream society as a positive, this was not observed as a positive way of coping amongst Indigenous people. A decolonial approach to research is apparent in Canada and now emerging in Finland for working with Indigenous populations. Valuing Indigenous approaches to research and having more research that is conducted by Indigenous scholars can only provide further insight into the health disparities experienced by Indigenous people.