Grant: Indigenous Gender and Wellness Development Grants

Two-Spirit as an umbrella term and organizing principle that reflects diverse gender roles that have been parts of many Indigenous cultures for centuries. This project includes Indigenous and settler researchers and community leaders who are working to develop and expand Two-Spirit-based research networks across Turtle Island (Canada). Our team, the "Two Spirit Dry Lab (2SDL)" (based on the unceded territories of Musequam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Wautuh nations) uses national survey data collected from Two-Spirit and Indigenous gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men from across Turtle Island. Our research goal is to understand how Two-Spirit facilitates access to health information and well-being for Indigenous people. This work will will build new relationships between the 2SDL and Two-Spirit collaborators in Winnipeg. The 2SDL team will travel to Winnipeg and spend time meeting with and better understanding local leaders' questions, needs, and knowledge gaps. Then we will identify ways in which the Indigenous survey data may help in response. By working together, we will identify new ways of using survey data to understand how best to meet the needs of Two-Spirit people living in Winnipeg. We will also develop new methods for working together through an approach termed "Two-Spirit, Two Eyed Seeing" or "Two(Spirit) Eyed Seeing", which starts with the strengths of Two-Spirit-informed research and other Indigenous methodologies and borrows complementary strengths of western research.