BACKGROUND: The health of Aboriginal children and families has been negatively influenced by existing social and economic disparities, dramatic lifestyle disruption, social marginalization, inactivity, dietary change, and lower rates of educational attainment (in comparison with non-Aboriginal populations). Interventions to reduce these risks should emphasize a wholistic approach, consistent with indigenous understandings of the interconnectedness of physical, spiritual, mental and emotional wellbeing. Some positive effects have been seen in family based interventions promoting health, however researchers do not yet know how best to leverage the influence of family through these interventions. This study takes a community-based participatory approach and ecological perspective to develop tailored strategies and resources to engage families in supporting wholistic health messages received through AKWE:GO (a community-based outreach program for at-risk urban Aboriginal youth). PURPOSE: To discover what activities families (i.e., parents and children) associate with wholistic health, as well as any barriers, facilitators, and competition faced when attempting to engage in health behaviours. Findings will be used to inform the development of take-home packages for AKWE:GO families promoting wholistic health. METHODS: Fifteen women and 4 men (most are parents of AKWE:GO participants), and 13 girls and 10 boys involved in the AKWE:GO program at the Native Friendship Centres in Kingston and Owen Sound participated in one of 6 sharing circles (4 in Kingston, 2 in Owen Sound). Adults and children attended separate circles, which were facilitated by the AKWE:GO coordinators. Sharing circle questions were centered on wholistic health and based on principles of social marketing. Discussions were recorded and subsequently transcribed. Inductive and deductive content analysis was performed, supported by NVivo 8 software. RESULTS: Findings from deductive analysis indicate that AKWE:GO families consider engagement in physical activity, traditional activities, healthy eating, budgeting, and meaningful conversation with significant others to be conducive to wholistic health. Inductive analysis of parent discussions revealed differences in community readiness between Kingston and Owen Sound. CONCLUSION: Results highlight the importance of considering population needs and community-readiness when developing health promotion strategies and resources for a given population. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2008-06-30 13:51:46.555

This dissertation examines the period of pan-Indigenous activism in Canada and in the United States between 1950 and 1975. The rights era in both countries presented important challenges for both legislators and for minority groups. In a post-war context increasingly concerned with equality and global justice, minority groups were uniquely positioned to exact from the government perhaps greater concessions than ever before. For Indigenous groups, however, the potential of this period delivered only in part due to initiatives like the Great Society and the Just Society which, while claiming to offer justice for Indigenous people, threatened them as perhaps never before, by homogenizing Indigenous people and their demands with those of other minority groups. As such, I argue that the broader political and social context of the rights era served to inform, but not to dictate, the shape and content of the Indigenous rights movement. The relationship of Indigenous activism to other forms of activism during the rights era was both complicated and contentious, with Indigenous activists conceiving of their struggle in markedly different terms than other marginalized groups. Within this context, I examine the formation of both mainstream and alternative organizations, as well as their responses to the challenges of radicalism, of youth culture and of gender. I argue that the failure of mainstream organizations to properly address the grassroots contributed to a crisis of legitimacy within an increasingly crowded organizational milieu. As both the documentary record and oral accounts demonstrate, what many have demarcated as a new period of “pan-Indian” unity, therefore, was also marked by important division and protest that has often been overlooked in laudatory accounts of the activism of the period. These internal critiques also serve to explain why the mid-1970s signaled an important change in organizational tactics in both countries, at least in the way they had been practiced previously. In addition, the proliferation of rights-seeking groups demonstrated an important echo pattern whereby both policy and protest was replicated and reinvented in a Canadian context slightly later than in an American one.

Many elderly people of Aboriginal origin find themselves displaced as they move from rural reserves into unfamiliar urban settings. The majority are forced to relocate to cities for medical purposes and fall between the cracks of an already fragile support system. Responsibility for their needs, particularly in relation to housing, is not clearly assigned to band organizations or governments. They seek shelter wherever they can. Some move in with family members or friends. Others secure units in non-profits, while several reside in single room occupancy hotels or rooming houses. In Winnipeg, and throughout Canada, specific numbers and individual circumstances of this demographic remain relatively unknown. Preliminary research indicates many are living in unhealthy and unsafe environments. This study begins to document the situations and conditions in which elderly people of Aboriginal origin are currently living. This task is achieved through a review of pertinent literature and through empirical work in the form of focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Participants include elderly Aboriginals and officials from Winnipeg and across Canada. The thesis aims to construct a body of evidence which highlights the housing needs of elderly Aboriginals. It also aims to assist the Aboriginal Senior Resource Centre (ASRC) in supporting elderly people of Aboriginal origin in Winnipeg and concludes with recommendations for policy makers, arguing for immediate implementation as well as further study.

This dissertation examines the period of pan-Indigenous activism in Canada and in the United States between 1950 and 1975. The rights era in both countries presented important challenges for both legislators and for minority groups. In a post-war context increasingly concerned with equality and global justice, minority groups were uniquely positioned to exact from the government perhaps greater concessions than ever before. For Indigenous groups, however, the potential of this period delivered only in part due to initiatives like the Great Society and the Just Society which, while claiming to offer justice for Indigenous people, threatened them as perhaps never before, by homogenizing Indigenous people and their demands with those of other minority groups. As such, I argue that the broader political and social context of the rights era served to inform, but not to dictate, the shape and content of the Indigenous rights movement. The relationship of Indigenous activism to other forms of activism during the rights era was both complicated and contentious, with Indigenous activists conceiving of their struggle in markedly different terms than other marginalized groups. Within this context, I examine the formation of both mainstream and alternative organizations, as well as their responses to the challenges of radicalism, of youth culture and of gender. I argue that the failure of mainstream organizations to properly address the grassroots contributed to a crisis of legitimacy within an increasingly crowded organizational milieu. As both the documentary record and oral accounts demonstrate, what many have demarcated as a new period of “pan-Indian” unity, therefore, was also marked by important division and protest that has often been overlooked in laudatory accounts of the activism of the period. These internal critiques also serve to explain why the mid-1970s signaled an important change in organizational tactics in both countries, at least in the way they had been practiced previously. In addition, the proliferation of rights-seeking groups demonstrated an important echo pattern whereby both policy and protest was replicated and reinvented in a Canadian context slightly later than in an American one.

Domestic violence is a pervasive social problem among Canada’s Aboriginal population, occurring at a rate three times higher than the national average. Historical factors including colonization, residential schools, and loss of cultural identity have been identified as some of the root causes. Therefore,the need exists for a culturally appropriate shelter for women and children to escape abusive situations. This interior design practicum project responds to this need by proposing the design of an Aboriginal women’s crisis shelter, Ikwe-Widdjiitiwin. The focus of the design is to provide a culturally sensitive environment where residents feel safe and supported, thus promoting healing through reattachment to Aboriginal culture. The design is informed by an exploration of traditional Aboriginal architecture and gendered space; and by photo-elicitation interviews with staff members of Ikwe-Widdjiitiwin, an Aboriginal women’s shelter in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Many elderly people of Aboriginal origin find themselves displaced as they move from rural reserves into unfamiliar urban settings. The majority are forced to relocate to cities for medical purposes and fall between the cracks of an already fragile support system. Responsibility for their needs, particularly in relation to housing, is not clearly assigned to band organizations or governments. They seek shelter wherever they can. Some move in with family members or friends. Others secure units in non-profits, while several reside in single room occupancy hotels or rooming houses. In Winnipeg, and throughout Canada, specific numbers and individual circumstances of this demographic remain relatively unknown. Preliminary research indicates many are living in unhealthy and unsafe environments. This study begins to document the situations and conditions in which elderly people of Aboriginal origin are currently living. This task is achieved through a review of pertinent literature and through empirical work in the form of focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Participants include elderly Aboriginals and officials from Winnipeg and across Canada. The thesis aims to construct a body of evidence which highlights the housing needs of elderly Aboriginals. It also aims to assist the Aboriginal Senior Resource Centre (ASRC) in supporting elderly people of Aboriginal origin in Winnipeg and concludes with recommendations for policy makers, arguing for immediate implementation as well as further study.

Thesis (M.Sc.) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of Anatomy, 1963. / Typewritten.

Thesis (M.Sc.) --University of Adelaide, Dept. of Anatomy, 1967.

Thesis (B.A.)--University of Sydney, 1950. / Title from title screen (viewed 5th March, 2009) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts to the University of Sydney. Degree awarded 1961. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microform.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Sydney, 1962. / Also available in print form.