Grant: Fellowship - Priority Announcement: Aboriginal Research Methodologies

Despite findings that both sexual minority and Aboriginal Canadians experience significant health disparities, very little research has examined the intersection of sexual minority and Aboriginal identity - that is, two-spirited people. We will hold 6 Aboriginal talking circles of 4 hours each: 1 in Thunder Bay, Timmins, and Sudbury and 3 in Toronto, with a total of 72 participants. These talking circles will: 1) Identify issues impacting the health of two-spirit people in Ontario; 2) Facilitate future research by establishing networks of trust; 3) Provide two-spirited people with cultural resources found to promote health via a sweat lodge ceremony performed by Vern Harper, Resident Elder at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and through an online audio or video podcast by Mr. Harper; 4) Produce a set of 4 fact sheets on subjects emerging from the talking circles.Participants will be recruited using convenience sampling through Aboriginal and LGBT network and selected based on key demographics (e.g., age, sex). Talking circles will be facilitated by Dr. Margaret Robinson, led by a semi-structured guide. Discussions will be held in non-colonial space, digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Dr. Robinson will analyze and code transcripts, group codes into concept categories, and generate theory related to factors impacting the health of two-spirited people. Participants will be invited to comment on the transcripts and summary of findings.