Inspiration for Healing and Reclaiming Cultural Wellness and the Spirit of Indigeneity in a Colonial “Canadian” Context

Colonization has profoundly disrupted Indigenous people; it affects a person’s wellness, culture, traditions, governance, families, health, lands, and all one’s relations. While there is a plethora of research focused on decolonization, limited research features personal decolonization in contemporary life to achieve wellness and Indigeneity.Through Indigenous research methodology, exploratory narrative methods, and thematic analysis, the narratives from seven wellness experts and seven wellness role models uncovered four themes of the process of colonial trauma healing; 1) the Spirit of Indigeneity call to healing, 2) purging colonial poison, 3) reclaiming cultural wellness and the Spirit of Indigeneity, and 4) living cultural wellness guided by the Spirit of Indigeneity. The colonial context creates an inescapable environment that causes colonial trauma, which requires historical and ongoing healing; however, that does not mean Indigenous people cannot thrive or be well in the contemporary colonial world. They certainly can, and this research provides inspirational examples of how that is possible. This study illustrates the resilience of fourteen Indigenous individuals, and documents the reclamation and revitalization of their lives in a contemporary colonial context. In spite of the colonial context and ongoing colonization, Indigenous healing is possible and so is Indigenous thriving.

Author dc:creator

• Biron, Shawna

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Taylor, Marilyn

• College of interdisciplinary studies

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Identifier URI

https://doi.org/10.25316/IR-20455

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:null:10613/28891