Grant: DRA : Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Doctoral Program (CGRS D)

The social determinants of health and the determinants of Indigenous health, including the historical and ongoing effects of settler-colonialism across Turtle Island, contribute to increased rates of HIV and sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI) facing Indigenous people in Canada. Two-Spirit and queer Indigenous people face systemic barriers to accessing sexual health resources. The Indigenous Two-Spirit program at the non-profit Community-Based Research Centre created and piloted a Medicine Bundle for sexual health across what is colonially known as British Columbia. Their Medicine Bundle is the combination of Indigenous knowledges, teachings, and medicines with Western STBBI testing kits, taking a Two-Eyed Seeing, strengths-based approach to address health inequities. This doctoral research project will expand and adapt this Medicine Bundle for five additional Indigenous communities across what is colonially known as Canada. Each Indigenous community has distinct cultural practices, which shape their unique relationships with the land, Indigenous medicines, and the specific items selected for inclusion in their Medicine Bundles. Using community-based research methodologies, this project will engage Indigenous Two-Spirit community members through sharing circles to identify needs and inform the development of distinct iterations of the Medicine Bundle. Integrated knowledge mobilization practices will engage community members throughout the entire project, and research results will be disseminated to knowledge users in multiple accessible formats.