Grant: Project Grant

Wellness is a wholistic conceptualization implying more than just the absence of illness, but also the presence of wellness and potential. Indigenous views of wellness extend beyond the individual to include their inter-relationships with others: families, communities, nations, the world around them. There is much Indigenous wellness wisdom that has yet to be awakened or re-awakened. Such knowledge is not easily manifested, given the dominant colonized structures and conceptualizations. The project will take place in a community-based setting that enables the academy and community to engage effectively within an Ethical Space. Grandmother's Bay (GMB) is a northern First Nation reserve of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. This project presents a robust demonstration case with both challenges and opportunities to incorporate Indigenous culture and tradition into Western educational and knowledge systems. This study aims to examine Indigenous wellness wisdom, and how developing or expanding this concept and applying it to GMB's wellness needs could benefit the community and serve as an example for other Indigenous communities. Through meaningful engagement and consultation with GMB, a research action plan with the goal of developing a wellness survey instrument, conducting the survey, and building an Indigenous wellness index will be co-developed. Further, a collaborative knowledge development and community planning process will be initiated to revitalize language in the community, promote inter-generational transmission of knowledge, and incorporate Indigenous culture and traditions into the curriculum design and its educational performance assessments. Given the importance of intergenerational wellness, this collaborative Indigenous knowledge development takes a life-course approach to wellness and education, from early childhood and student life through maturity and old age, across generations, thinking ahead to generations to come.