Project 437426

First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) or Indigenous people continue to experience adverse ongoing effects of colonization. For example, half of Indigenous children live in families experiencing low income, and although only 7% of children in Canada are Indigenous, they comprise 52% of children under age 14 in foster care. There is much health literature on colonization, loss, marginalization, decreased access to services, and ensuing negative effects; more research is required regarding building community, developing social support, and engaging in processes for healing and health. There is a lack of Métis-guided research advancing the development of local understandings of health, and exploring cultural, social, and historical aspects of health in local contexts. This research builds on our earlier study in the largest of 12 Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) - Region 3 communities, where together with community members, leaders, and Elders, we developed a survey exploring health, spirituality, and wellbeing. We will distribute this survey in collaboration with the remaining 11 MNA - Region 3 communities. Our primary goal is to increase research capacity of members, leaders, and Elders through an exploration of health, spirituality, and wellbeing within each community in the MNA - Region 3. Our secondary goals include: (1) promoting collaboration within and between each community in the MNA - Region 3; and (2) contributing to individual, family, and community wellbeing within the MNA - Region 3. Our proposed study will have four key areas of impact: (1) increased research capacity within the MNA - Region 3; (2) increased collaboration in community-led identification of priorities for community-initiated funding and policy development; (3) contributing to increased individual, family, and community wellbeing within the MNA - Region 3; and (4) advancing expansion of similar research across the remaining 5 MNA Regions, Provincial Nations, and the Métis Nation of Canada.