As a result of advances in treatment over the past 30 years, the number of older people living with HIV is growing. This is of particular concern for Indigenous populations in Canada given continuing over representation in HIV diagnoses. While there has been an increase in research on aging with HIV within the general population, little is known about the experiences of older positive Indigenous peoples. Research was conducted in partnership with the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN) at CAAN's Wise Practices V conference. Participants were conference delegates, representing a sample of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people living with HIV and/or service providers from across Canada. Participants ranged in age from 32 to 63 and had been positive for 5 to 29 years. Data was collected through four sharing circles (two with women, one with men and one with service providers) and four interviews (n=34). An open analytic approach was used to explore the content of the transcripts and codes were collaboratively developed by the research team through an inductive and iterative process. From our analysis we were able to develop an Indigenous model of successful aging (SA). This proposed Indigenous model of SA represents a holistic and subjective model that is far more achievable than traditional models of SA. Within this model five dimensions of health and wellness emerged as facilitators of SA: physical, emotional, spiritual, mental and social health. Additionally, resilience, age and culture were found to be protective factors to SA. The goal of this project was to identify facilitators and individual strategies which enable SA within this population, in order to develop culturally mediated responses. Ideally, this knowledge can be used to help structure community and primary health services to promote SA with HIV in ways which are congruent with Indigenous culturally-defined notions of health. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

The research project upon which this dissertation is based focused on enhancing understandings of the nature of current First Nations/non-Aboriginal relations in environmental management. The project was undertaken as a collaborative initiative by the author, a non-Aboriginal doctoral researcher, in partnership with Walpole Island First Nation. The research served as an opportunity for co-producing knowledge on this subject across cultures and worldviews, and as an effort to build towards our shared aspiration of learning how distinct, yet inextricably linked, First Nations/non-Aboriginal understandings, approaches and worldviews can come together within a context of mutual respect and mutual benefit. The purpose of the research was to investigate the existence and types of issues leading to First Nations/non-Aboriginal tensions in environmental management, to analyze and unpack underlying causes of challenges identified via the research, and to construct avenues for relationship improvement. The research project was grounded in a specific investigation into relations in species at risk conservation and recovery in southern Ontario, Canada. The resulting dissertation is structured around three primary focal areas: 1) investigating and exposing colonial influences at play in Canada’s Species at Risk Act, and offering a new model for co-governance in this arena and beyond; 2) investigating relations surrounding efforts towards traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) transfer in species at risk work, with a focus on exploring issues identified in relation to intellectual imperialism; and 3) introducing and characterizing an original, reconceptualized approach to First Nations/non-Aboriginal relationships in academic research; this approach focused on ways in which investigatory practice can become a means of working towards broader reconciliation goals. Research findings from this dissertation indicate that colonial factors, often unevenly visible to actors involved in environmental management and research, continue to strongly affect the potential for positive, productive First Nations/non-Aboriginal relations in these spheres - including within the species at risk conservation and recovery arena examined here. Project results provide insight into the nature of the factors influencing relationships, as well as potential avenues for addressing the vitality of colonialism in contemporary relations and overcoming the influences on First Nations and on First Nations/non-Aboriginal relationships.

The research project upon which this dissertation is based focused on enhancing understandings of the nature of current First Nations/non-Aboriginal relations in environmental management. The project was undertaken as a collaborative initiative by the author, a non-Aboriginal doctoral researcher, in partnership with Walpole Island First Nation. The research served as an opportunity for co-producing knowledge on this subject across cultures and worldviews, and as an effort to build towards our shared aspiration of learning how distinct, yet inextricably linked, First Nations/non-Aboriginal understandings, approaches and worldviews can come together within a context of mutual respect and mutual benefit. The purpose of the research was to investigate the existence and types of issues leading to First Nations/non-Aboriginal tensions in environmental management, to analyze and unpack underlying causes of challenges identified via the research, and to construct avenues for relationship improvement. The research project was grounded in a specific investigation into relations in species at risk conservation and recovery in southern Ontario, Canada. The resulting dissertation is structured around three primary focal areas: 1) investigating and exposing colonial influences at play in Canada’s Species at Risk Act, and offering a new model for co-governance in this arena and beyond; 2) investigating relations surrounding efforts towards traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) transfer in species at risk work, with a focus on exploring issues identified in relation to intellectual imperialism; and 3) introducing and characterizing an original, reconceptualized approach to First Nations/non-Aboriginal relationships in academic research; this approach focused on ways in which investigatory practice can become a means of working towards broader reconciliation goals. Research findings from this dissertation indicate that colonial factors, often unevenly visible to actors involved in environmental management and research, continue to strongly affect the potential for positive, productive First Nations/non-Aboriginal relations in these spheres - including within the species at risk conservation and recovery arena examined here. Project results provide insight into the nature of the factors influencing relationships, as well as potential avenues for addressing the vitality of colonialism in contemporary relations and overcoming the influences on First Nations and on First Nations/non-Aboriginal relationships.