Project 446081

Recently, in the summer of 2019, Elders from File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council (FHQTC) approached researchers at First Nations University of Canada to: 1) request a study that would collect stories of traditional birthing and child-rearing practices, and 2) develop resources about traditional birthing and parenting experiences to promote cultural continuity of these practices. As a result, a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) came together to establish Takohpinawasowin, a way to explore how the first-hand accounts of traditional birthing and early child-rearing practices could benefit families and communities of FHQTC. Specifically, this research has two main overarching goals: First, stories of Elders' and Knowledge Keepers' teachings of traditional maternal and obstetrical care will be explored through Indigenous Research Methods (IRM) and Participatory Action Research (PAR), that privilege both traditional teachings and collaborative community research processes such as sharing circles, storytelling, symbol-based reflection, observation and experiential learning. Employing PAR and Collective Consensual Data Analytic Procedure (CCDAP) will provide a better understanding of how collaborative Indigenous research methods can be developed, supported, implemented and celebrated through Indigenous community leadership and capacity building. Secondly, as the intent is to recover traditional knowledge(s) of birthing and parenting, practices, these lessons can be used to further develop resources to teach, inform and disseminate this knowledge to community members and to other social and health agencies who work with First Nations communities. In this way, Takohpinawasowin can assist parents to develop healthy family relationships, sustain cultural cohesiveness and social bonding and can further address the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's recommendations that value Indigenous healing practices.