Grant: Project Grant

Local concerns have been raised by the community of Kahnawà:ke regarding the increase on its territory of gambling offering and particularly of video lottery terminals (VLTs). Gambling problems are two to sixteen times higher in Indigenous communities than in the non- Indigenous population. In partnership with the Kahnawà:ke Shakotiia'takehnhas Community Services (KSCS), the community of Kahnawà:ke and the Research Chair on Gambling, the project aims to engage in a dialogue with the community, and various partners and organizations to identify potential areas of action 1) to support equitable and transparent ways of governing gambling, 2) to implement and sustain preventive actions and health and social services to promote the well-being of the people of Kahnawà:ke. The project embodies a Two-Eyed Seeing approach based on the co-construction of knowledge through both indigenous and non-indigenous ways of knowing. This community led project is based on a mixed methods design including an online survey with community members (N=1,000) and sharing circles with partners, organizations and community members. It will provide a portrait of gambling practices and gambling-related harm in the community of Kahnawà:ke, as well as information on the management of gambling offering and ways to provide services to the community. Our results will be presented at a sharing circle with community members, partners and organizations to validate the initial interpretation of the data and to offer a collective understanding of the needs for services. Co-constructed knowledge will be further shared with the community through traditional activities and popular communication channels and events specific to Kanien'kehá:ka culture. Such activities aim to identify culturally sensitive strategies that will maximize the community's strengths and capacity to respond to their needs while prioritizing the rights to self-determination, respect, dignity and well-being of the people of Kahnawà:ke.