Grant: Catalyst Grant: Indigenous Approaches to Wellness Research

In many communities, gaps exist between the health needs that community members have and the kinds of health programs that are provided. Deliberative dialogue with arts-based facilitation is an approach to community engagement that can support the bridging of these gaps and allow culturally relevant, relational practice to support community health research and program development. Led by the Community Health and Wellness Committee of the Hamlet of Arviat, this 12-month project will include three phases of deliberative dialogue about "wellness journeys" in Aviat. The project will involve eight facilitator trainees in a train-the-trainer format. Each phase will consist of: 2-days of preparation and training; 1-day of active deliberative discussions and arts-based activities with up to 24 community members in each round; 1-day of reflection on the process and learning; and 1-day of qualitative interviews with trainees and participants. The project will build local capacity in deliberative dialogue and arts-based discussion facilitation; pilot and evaluate the use of these techniques in an Inuit context; collect and reflect on data around "the wellness journeys" of residents of Arviat and catalyze future research and program development.