Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

In Canada, First Nations are combating 'severe' health outcomes in almost every social determinant of health through decolonizing solutions using Indigenous healing knowledge. Health impacts are most concerning for First Nations youth facing the remnants of colonialism, intergenerational trauma from residential schools, cultural genocide, and poverty. Many national organizations have called for Indigenous youth participation as leaders in decision making. However, there has been minimal action towards Indigenous youth leadership initiatives in Canada. The field of health risk communication shows emerging evidence of successful initiatives with Indigenous youth. Indigenous youth involvement in health messaging has contributed to improved message outcomes; enhanced youth's strengths, resiliency, and health; and increased strong protective factors with positive rippling community effects. To improve youth's health, health communications, and community health outcomes, a promising intervention appears to be participatory risk communication. Indigenous youth will create and present health risk messages, while learning co-researcher roles and traditional Indigenous skills. This decolonizing methodology requires further validation through a targeted population intervention across various First Nations, Inuit, and Metis communities. For my thesis research, I will be conducting one of the three case-study interventions with the Yellowknives Dene First Nations (YKDFN) in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. To build on community strengths and Indigenous knowledge, my research will be community-based and participatory through an Indigenous lens. During multiple participatory stages of health message development, based on Indigenous traditional knowledge and culture, YKDFN youth will exercise leadership, develop on-the-land skills promoting health, strategize to reduce health risk behaviors, and co-research outcomes of the intervention.