This dissertation set out to examine the meaning of music for First Nations childrenwith autism in BC, Canada. The research questions addressed were: How can thediagnosis of ASD be seen through a First Nations lens? How do the First Nationschildren with ASD use music? In which ways is music used in different domains?In which ways is music used to facilitate inclusion? How is traditional music used?The dissertation is based on four original articles that span over the issues of under-detection of autism among First Nations children in BC, ethnographic fieldwork,and the paradigmatic shift to Indigenist research methodologies, the role of music insocial inclusion and a First Nations lens on autism, the use of Indigenous music withFirst Nations children with autism, put in context with First Nations children’s rights.Material was collected during six week periods in two consecutive years, generatingdata from conversations, follow-up conversations, observations, video-filmed observations,and notes. Post-colonial BC, Canada is the context of the research, and issuesof social inclusion and children’s rights are addressed. During the research process,a journey that began with an ethnographic approach led to an Indigenist paradigm.It was found that colonial residue and effects of historical trauma can influenceFirst Nations children being under-detected for autism. The First Nations childrendiagnosed with autism in this study use music in similar ways to typically developingchildren and non-Indigenous individuals with autism. These uses include for communicationand relaxation, for security and happiness, to soothe oneself and whenstudying. However, music interventions in school settings are not culturally sensitive.Music as a tool for inclusion is overlooked and Indigenous music not utilizedoutside of optional Aboriginal classes. The most important lesson of the study wasthe significance of reciprocal experience, emphasized by the Indigenist paradigm. Itcan be suggested that carefully designed, culturally sensitive music interventions,in collaboration with traditional knowledge holders and Elders, would be beneficialfor the development of First Nations children with autism. Consequently, culturallysensitive music interventions could have potential to ensure that the children’s rightsare respected. For these interventions to be culturally adequate, specific IndigenousKnowledge must be the foundation.

This research considers a person’s ontological fabric woven from experiences of and in (trans)formative childhood and adolescent places through three conceptual frameworks: complexity theory, endogeny, and i/Indigenous ways of knowing. By re-visiting the (trans)formative places of four exemplary citizens with them, creating an interactive website and iBook, and exploring ten online public participants’ posts, I gained an understanding of how childhood and adolescent outdoor places act as catalysts of community, ecological, and civic environmental engagement. To achieve this, I asked the question: Does learning that occurs in childhood and adolescent outdoor places inform civic, emotional, physical, and/or spiritual engagement or connectedness over the course of people’s lives? If so, how? Tsartlip (Coast Salish First Nations) Elder, May Sam, Hua Foundation co-founder Claudia Li, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, Wade Davis, and former Lieutenant Governor of BC, Iona Campagnolo, all exemplary individuals, shared personal relationships with their childhood and adolescent places. They engaged though participatory action research by taking me to these places, contributing to the interview process, and supporting the analysis of the results. As a way to engage decolonizing methodologies and encourage authentic voice within this research, I took great care in using interview and discourse techniques that were respectful, engaging, and empowering. Each of these visits were filmed and appropriate sections were shared through online social media as a way to invite participation from the larger North American public (www.transformativeplaces.com). Ten more participants’ experiences were analyzed based on their submissions to this website. Data were explored through a hybrid of phenomenological and participatory analysis and participants were invited to help discern meaning through post-filming interviews and dialogue. The concept (trans)formative places was defined as sites that engage humans in biophysical, emotional, spiritual, and civic engagement. Major notions included the development of a memetic group of concepts that help describe the processes, characteristics, and relationships that occur from, in, and with (trans)formative places. I found that my participants’ relationship to places were formed through family and community bonds, where learning occurs through shared stories, collective healing, and respect-building. Places transformed my participants through identity development, memory and anxiety, resiliency behaviour, nostalgia, and loss. Finally, my participants related to places through connective processes like knowing a place and being home, engendering bliss and appreciation, development of pride and hope and emotionality. The final section of this dissertation is articulated as a manifesto for creating, sustaining, and engaging in (trans)formative places. To download the interactive iBook of this dissertation search for it in iTunes. / Graduate / 0350 / 0525 / 0534 / 0740 / 0768 / 0620 / 0727 / nstanger@nicholasstanger.ca

This research considers a person’s ontological fabric woven from experiences of and in (trans)formative childhood and adolescent places through three conceptual frameworks: complexity theory, endogeny, and i/Indigenous ways of knowing. By re-visiting the (trans)formative places of four exemplary citizens with them, creating an interactive website and iBook, and exploring ten online public participants’ posts, I gained an understanding of how childhood and adolescent outdoor places act as catalysts of community, ecological, and civic environmental engagement. To achieve this, I asked the question: Does learning that occurs in childhood and adolescent outdoor places inform civic, emotional, physical, and/or spiritual engagement or connectedness over the course of people’s lives? If so, how? Tsartlip (Coast Salish First Nations) Elder, May Sam, Hua Foundation co-founder Claudia Li, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, Wade Davis, and former Lieutenant Governor of BC, Iona Campagnolo, all exemplary individuals, shared personal relationships with their childhood and adolescent places. They engaged though participatory action research by taking me to these places, contributing to the interview process, and supporting the analysis of the results. As a way to engage decolonizing methodologies and encourage authentic voice within this research, I took great care in using interview and discourse techniques that were respectful, engaging, and empowering. Each of these visits were filmed and appropriate sections were shared through online social media as a way to invite participation from the larger North American public (www.transformativeplaces.com). Ten more participants’ experiences were analyzed based on their submissions to this website. Data were explored through a hybrid of phenomenological and participatory analysis and participants were invited to help discern meaning through post-filming interviews and dialogue. The concept (trans)formative places was defined as sites that engage humans in biophysical, emotional, spiritual, and civic engagement. Major notions included the development of a memetic group of concepts that help describe the processes, characteristics, and relationships that occur from, in, and with (trans)formative places. I found that my participants’ relationship to places were formed through family and community bonds, where learning occurs through shared stories, collective healing, and respect-building. Places transformed my participants through identity development, memory and anxiety, resiliency behaviour, nostalgia, and loss. Finally, my participants related to places through connective processes like knowing a place and being home, engendering bliss and appreciation, development of pride and hope and emotionality. The final section of this dissertation is articulated as a manifesto for creating, sustaining, and engaging in (trans)formative places. To download the interactive iBook of this dissertation search for it in iTunes. / Graduate / 0350 / 0525 / 0534 / 0740 / 0768 / 0620 / 0727 / nstanger@nicholasstanger.ca