Despite vast research on North American Indigenous people and their struggles with sovereignty and autonomy, little attention has been paid to internal conflict within a First Nation. Inter community conflicts affect Mi’kmaq peoplehood and they relate to themselves and each other. This research was conducted in Mi’kma’ki, the traditional Mi’kmaq territory and explored issues surrounding language, financial wellbeing, geography, and Pow-wow. Interviews with 17 self-identified Indigenous people in Nova Scotia, Canada reveal that colonially induced conflicts only run so deep. Pow-wows seem to lesson conflict and become space of political protest, social inclusion and cultural reclamation. Hope lies with the younger generations who are now extending their relationships beyond the borders of the reserve.

This thesis investigates the current relationships between Mi’kmaq and Settler fishers given the post-Marshall decision context. It considers how years of fishing in the same waters has affected contemporary relationships between Mi’kmaq and Settler fishers. The thesis will do so by coupling rich data gained from two months of fieldwork in a rural fishing community in the Maritimes with literature that speaks to Aboriginal-Settler relations. This literature includes research done in the wake of the Marshall decision which proposes that close contact at the community level could help to move relations between Mi’kmaq and Settler fishers forward. My analysis will rely on Herbert Blumer’s (1955, 1958) group position theory as it relates to a sense of racial prejudice.

This research was conducted in partnership with a Nova Scotain Mi’kmaq (First Nation) community that was interested in learning more about how exposure to violence (EV) might be related to youth alcohol use. There are many consequences of childhood exposure to violence (EV), but two of the more notable consequences of EV are posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms and excessive or problematic alcohol misuse. Given the strong relationship in the literature between each of the PTS symptom clusters and alcohol problems, it was hypothesized that these symptom clusters would mediate the relationship between EV and alcohol misuse. Study 1 demonstrated that PTS hyperarousal symptoms, but none of the other PTS symptoms, fully mediated the relationship between EV and alcohol misuse, even after controlling for depressive symptoms, age and gender. The literature on EV also demonstrates that despite its numerous potential negative consequences, some youth continue to thrive. This thriving in the face of hardship is called resilience. Study 2 employed a direct measure of resilience (Child and Youth Resilience Measure; Ungar et al, 2008) to examine which if any aspects of resilience can successfully buffer youth from experiencing negative mental health consequences after EV. Study 2 demonstrated that all three aspects of resilience (i.e., individual, family, and community) moderated the relationship between EV and PTS reexperiencing symptoms. More specifically, at higher levels of resilience, the positive relationship between EV and PTS reexperiencing symptoms was dampened. Study 3 documented the collaborative-research process from beginning (i.e., research question formation) to end (i.e., implementation of action-based recommendations). It highlighted how the research questions outlined in Studies 1 and 2 were relevant to both the specific community in question, as well as some Aboriginal communities more broadly. It also highlighted how the first author participated in a research process that is described by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) as Integrated Knowledge Translation (KT). And finally, it identified via qualitative and quantitative methods how the research process as a whole has helped equip the community with more tools to tackle the problems that its members have identified as important for study and change.

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This thesis employs postcolonial theory, a case study methodology, semi-structured interviews, and archival research to understand Mi’kmaq and Maliseet peoples’ sporting experiences in the Maritimes region of Canada. Two publishable papers comprise this thesis. The first paper analyzes the obstacles the participants faced and the positive experiences they had in sport. The second paper examines the ways in which the concept of “difference” was reproduced and challenged through the participants’ involvement in mainstream and all-Native sporting environments. Together, these papers bring much needed scholarly attention to Mi’kmaq and Maliseet peoples’ involvement in sport in the Maritimes, while they also make a contribution to the existing body of literature concerning Aboriginal peoples’ sport participation in Canada.

This thesis employs postcolonial theory, a case study methodology, semi-structured interviews, and archival research to understand Mi’kmaq and Maliseet peoples’ sporting experiences in the Maritimes region of Canada. Two publishable papers comprise this thesis. The first paper analyzes the obstacles the participants faced and the positive experiences they had in sport. The second paper examines the ways in which the concept of “difference” was reproduced and challenged through the participants’ involvement in mainstream and all-Native sporting environments. Together, these papers bring much needed scholarly attention to Mi’kmaq and Maliseet peoples’ involvement in sport in the Maritimes, while they also make a contribution to the existing body of literature concerning Aboriginal peoples’ sport participation in Canada.

Aboriginal peoples are over-represented in many adverse demographics. Most striking is their presence in the justice system. Aboriginal offenders experience the highest levels of incarceration, and later recidivism. Sentencing circles are an indigenized alternate approach to sentencing that aim to improve their justice experience. Most studies conducted on the efficacy of circle sentencing have focused on its capacity to reduce crime. The findings of such research conclude that circle sentencing is ineffective at achieving such outcomes. I propose that these are the wrong outcomes to analyze and in turn seek to research new evaluative criteria for assessing circle sentencing’s effectiveness, by focusing on its restorative capacity instead of its reductive ability alone. The legitimacy of these measures is examined by interviewing individuals from different levels of restoration and comparing findings to existing scholarship. Semi-structured interviews are used to investigate the efficacy of Mi’kmaq circle sentencing in Millbrook, Nova Scotia.

Mi’kmaq women in Nova Scotia are reported to have lower rates of Papanicolaou (Pap) smear screening and have higher rates of cervical cancer compared to non-Aboriginal women. Much of the cervical cancer literature reflects mainstream values and tends to essentialize Aboriginal women as one at-risk homogenous group lacking knowledge about cervical cancer prevention. The primary purpose of this qualitative participatory study was to explore Mi’kmaq women’s and primary healthcare providers’ experiences with Pap smear screening and to consider the broader historical, economic, and socio-political contexts that shape those healthcare experiences. Mi’kmaq women’s experiences accessing Pap screening services, their encounters with healthcare providers and the health care system, and women’s past experiences with Pap smear screening were also explored. This inquiry was grounded in postcolonial feminist perspectives and Indigenous principles in a two-eyed seeing approach. Community facilitators were identified to assist with recruitment and the research process. Women participated in talking circles to learn about and shape the study. Sixteen Mi’kmaq women and five healthcare providers participated in two semi-structured interviews. Five themes were identified from the women: a) Finding Our Way, b) Our Understanding and Perceptions about Pap Smear Screening, c) The Impact of History on Our Health and Healthcare Experiences, d) Healthcare Providers’ Encounters: “Making a Difference in Our Path to Paps,” and e) “The Healthcare System is Complicating Our Going for Paps.” Two themes were identified from healthcare providers: a) Understanding the Realities of Aboriginal Women’s Lives and b) Fostering Aboriginal Women’s Access to Pap Smear Screening. This research contributes to an understanding of the continued impact of wider historical, political, and socioeconomic conditions that have resulted from colonialism, residential schools, and assimilation on Pap smear screening. It reinforces the importance of not essentializing women’s views or experiences and recognizing that some are accessing Pap smear screening regularly in spite of challenging circumstances. Mi’kmaq women have been underrepresented in the previous Pap smear screening literature. It is critical that healthcare providers understand how they can improve access to Pap smear screening and the screening process itself.

This thesis employs postcolonial theory, a case study methodology, semi-structured interviews, and archival research to understand Mi’kmaq and Maliseet peoples’ sporting experiences in the Maritimes region of Canada. Two publishable papers comprise this thesis. The first paper analyzes the obstacles the participants faced and the positive experiences they had in sport. The second paper examines the ways in which the concept of “difference” was reproduced and challenged through the participants’ involvement in mainstream and all-Native sporting environments. Together, these papers bring much needed scholarly attention to Mi’kmaq and Maliseet peoples’ involvement in sport in the Maritimes, while they also make a contribution to the existing body of literature concerning Aboriginal peoples’ sport participation in Canada.

This thesis employs postcolonial theory, a case study methodology, semi-structured interviews, and archival research to understand Mi’kmaq and Maliseet peoples’ sporting experiences in the Maritimes region of Canada. Two publishable papers comprise this thesis. The first paper analyzes the obstacles the participants faced and the positive experiences they had in sport. The second paper examines the ways in which the concept of “difference” was reproduced and challenged through the participants’ involvement in mainstream and all-Native sporting environments. Together, these papers bring much needed scholarly attention to Mi’kmaq and Maliseet peoples’ involvement in sport in the Maritimes, while they also make a contribution to the existing body of literature concerning Aboriginal peoples’ sport participation in Canada.