Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

In the NWT, older adults, defined as individuals over the age of 60, are members of the fastest growing age demographic in the NWT. Within the NWT, 65% of older adults are Aboriginal, which is a population in Canada's North that has faced many social changes as a result of colonialism. Research has demonstrated that Aboriginal older adults suffer from much poorer health in comparison to non-Aboriginal older adults. Physical activity (PA) is an important way to improve health; nevertheless, limited research has been conducted to understand what PA means for Aboriginal older adults, or what culturally safe PA might look like for this population. Cultural safety allows for the recognition that existing PA programs and policies could be perpetuating colonialism. While some authors have argued that there is no quantitative evidence that shows that culturally safe PA programs are needed for this population, there is a significant body of qualitative evidence that suggests the necessity of PA that addresses the diverse needs of Aboriginal peoples. In this presentation, I will use a postcolonial theoretical lens to argue for the need for the development of culturally safe PA for Aboriginal older adults in the NWT. A postcolonial lens that is informed by cultural safety encourages community-based research to be conducted in order to recognize the historical, social, cultural, political, and economic changes and structures that shape PA programs and policies for Aboriginal older adults in the NWT. These arguments serve as the foundation for my doctoral research.