Grant: Project Grant

Vancouver is home to the country's third-largest urban Indigenous population, but many people here do not have access to land. This access is vital for self-determination, cultural continuity, and overall health, including spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Urban Indigenous communities face challenges in accessing land, practicing traditions, and receiving culturally appropriate healthcare. They also deal with poverty, racism, and social exclusion. These issues affect their health, the sharing of traditional knowledge, and their ability to make decisions for themselves. Our project will examine how Indigenous people in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside can benefit from both Western medical care and traditional health practices, including land-based wellness practices. In our research, we use Indigenous approaches like talking circles, personal reflection, ceremonies, forest walks, traditional medicine-making workshops, and storytelling. We also use a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods, such as participatory action research, gender-based analysis, and open-ended interviews. The project is co-led by several organizations, including Kílala Lelum Health and Wellness Centre, Lu'ma Medical Centre, Vancouver Aboriginal Health Society, Medicine Collective, the Doula Collective, the UBC Centre for Indigenous Land-based Education, Research and Wellness, UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, First Nations and Aboriginal Primary Care Network, Providence Health Care, and the UBC Centre for Indigenous Land-Based Health and Wellness. Together, we aim to build an urban community that values cross-cultural knowledge, interdisciplinary research, gender-aware practices, and intergenerational connections, while improving healthcare for diverse Indigenous people in the city. The project focuses on cultural restoration, self-determination, health, and wellness and follows local ethics protocols, TCPS, OCAP, and University BREB guidelines.