Grant: Project Grant

All Nations Hope Network (ANHN) will develop, implement, and assess the impact of land and gender-based cultural interventions among urban Indigenous men in Regina. ANHN responds to community needs while creating health-related evidence that serves Indigenous peoples, honours Indigenous knowledges, and integrates Indigenous concepts of health and healing. Indigenous men's lives intersect with poverty, homelessness, ill-health, addiction, trauma, child welfare, dislocation from lands, and violence due to settler colonialism. ANHN is applying past research learnings to develop evidence informed, culturally responsive interventions that address both the origin and impact of imposed inequities. This project will develop, implement, and evaluate an Indigenous men's program of cultural intervention practices (CIPs) informed by Indigenous knowledges of the Treaty territories near Regina. Guided by principles of community-based research and Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing, qualitative methods (e.g., story-telling, sharing circles) are used to assess program impact for 36-months. Weaving men's seasonal responsibilities into a program of teachings and practices, the project evaluation activities are integrated with the research approach to ensure iterative program development. Research questions are framed by Indigenous concepts of health as both a social and individual experience and explore men's experiences with cultural intervention practices (CIPs) and how these experiences impact participants' identities and wellbeing. The project contributes evidence about culturally responsive programming for and by urban Indigenous men and will inform the design, implementation, and improvement of future programs in diverse settings. Iterative data collection/analysis informs program development and assesses the impact ongoing and long-term. This study innovates beyond one-off, short-term intervention research and adds to discourses about cultural responsiveness for Indigenous men.