Thesis. / Bibliographical references: leaves 280-294.

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Queensland, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Queensland, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Queensland, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

My thesis film for the Master of Fine Arts degree is a 20-minute documentary entitled Urban Blackfellas, a film that explores various lived experiences and issues affecting urban Aboriginals predominantly in and around Sydney. The film engages with a set of characters as they navigate issues of Aboriginal identity within a dominant white Australian cultural landscape. This report traces the evolution of the filmmaking process for Urban Blackfellas, from its creation to completion. / text

The violence, crime and hardships associated with Aboriginal gangs are an ever-growing concern on the Canadian Prairies. Saskatchewan has a large number of young individuals engaged in gang life who are struggling to find their way out. The current literature base on gangs emphasizes risk factors and gang prevention. In comparison, there is a dearth in the literature regarding desistance (leaving and abstaining) from gang life. Utilizing narrative inquiry, a qualitative methodology, a single unique participant was interviewed to examine the issue of how individuals are able to successfully desist from gang life. The key informant was both an Aboriginal spiritual advisor and expert on gangs in the Canadian Prairies. Through thematic narrative analysis, this study provides a narrative depiction of a life that is strongly connected to gangs and presents a number of themes related to desistance from gang life. Thematic narrative analysis of the interview revealed a series of themes including process elements, factors that facilitate desistance and factors that are barriers to desistance.

It is a commonly held notion among many Aboriginal people that one’s worldview, knowledge, values and identity are shaped through the connection one has with the physical and spiritual components of their traditional territory; the land and waters, the beings which occupy these places and one’s ancestors. For the members of Missanabie Cree First Nation, the connection with their traditional territory was disrupted as a result of the failure of the Crown to set aside land in the treaty process in the early 20th Century. Through a review of literature on the Cree of Northern Ontario and Quebec, this thesis answers questions raised by the community concerning their ancestors’ traditional resource management methods, and the kinship roles associated with these methods. Q-method is used to determine the current day values the members hold regarding the land and waters in and around Missanabie. Knowledge of these values, where members agree and disagree, can assist leadership in making decisions about how to proceed in the reestablishment of a viable Aboriginal community within the traditional territory. From the Q-method, three factors which represent the members values emerged; Cultural and Spiritual Values, Economic and Conservation Values, and Community Infrastructure Values. The factors demonstrate that the First Nation holds a mix of traditional and contemporary values with differences appearing in how each factor describes members’ connection to the land and the desires of what members want the land to provide. To move forward in their journey toward reestablishment on their traditional lands, compromises and accommodations within the community need to be reached, and can best be achieved through comprehensive land management planning.

In its annual report, "How Are We Doing?", British Columbia's Ministry of Education assesses Aboriginal students' participation and graduation rates, both of which have been consistently below those of non-Aboriginal students. In addressing the question, "How are we doing?", this thesis examines the visual images and representations of Aboriginal peoples in British Columbia's secondary Social Studies textbooks as well as the Aboriginal programs offered in the Surrey School District. The implications affect both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students as the study hopes to encourage and improve cross-cultural responsiveness between and among them and to promote public discourse in the education for and of Aboriginal peoples. Negative portrayals and representations of Aboriginal peoples were common in textbooks of the past as documented by various studies. In reviewing the Surrey School District's currently recommended Social Studies textbooks, four main concerns continue to exist and persist: Aboriginal peoples continue to be marginalized, essentialized, seen as a problem, and decontextualized. However, one of the ministry's approved courses, BC First Nations Studies 12, attempts to address these inequities. Its recommended textbook is based on Aboriginal knowledge and epistemology, empowering and giving voice to Aboriginal peoples. Through the interviews of eight educators who assist Aboriginal students in the Surrey School District, this study offers some of their insights to improve student "success". Aboriginal students need to accept and embrace their identity, not only to build their self-esteem but also to honour their own cultures. Educators need to redefine "success" beyond academic achievement to include Aboriginal knowledge and epistemology within their teaching and evaluating practices and become more cognizant of and sensitive to the challenges and triumphs of their students, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal. Universities need to re-address the training of future educators to include Aboriginal issues in order for them to gain greater historical understanding and, in turn, empathy and compassion. These practical initiatives reflect the progress and movement in addressing the challenges and hopes of Aboriginal peoples in their journey toward real self-determination and decolonization.

Aboriginal peoples are the fastest growing population in Canada. Over half of the Aboriginal population is under the age of 24, yet the voices of Aboriginal young adults are absent within the literature. Aboriginal young adults, between the ages of 18 and 24, are two to three times more likely to be unemployed than their non-Aboriginal counterparts. Very little is known about the career-related experiences of Aboriginal young adults, even less is known about how their identity as an Aboriginal person affects these experiences. This study employs a narrative inquiry method to explore the work-life narratives of Aboriginal young adults living in Toronto. Results identified three metathemes that employers have in regards to cultural identity for Aboriginal youth. These themes are: cultural respect in the workplace, racism and oppression in the workplace, and inspiring youth. Limitations, implications and future research directions are discussed.

Canadian government archives have primarily shaped scholars’ analysis of the File Hills farm colony on the Peepeekisis Reserve in south eastern Saskatchewan. While these colonial archives are valuable for research, they emphasise particular points in the government’s telling of the colony story. They focus on the construction, management, and intentions of the colony, but neglect the experiences and perspectives of Peepeekisis community members affected by the colony scheme. My thesis makes use of government archives, and is also based on Aboriginal oral histories about the colony and its long-term consequences. My central argument is that a more critical interpretation of archives and oral histories will enrich the historical and geographical record about the colony. I demonstrate how oral histories and archive documents can converge and diverge, but combining the two is particularly important to nuance the colony narrative. A critical viewing of texts and oral histories from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries also reveals that colonialism in the prairie west was highly spatalised and grounded in “betterment” sciences that sought to control and discipline Aboriginal peoples through the manipulation of space, heredity, and environments. Betterment sciences shaped Indian Affairs policy and the farm colony is a remarkable example of how betterment was applied on the ground. Finally, oral histories offer powerful insight into Aboriginal identities that survive in spite of colonial constructs and strategies. Oral histories of Peepeekisis community members are particularly important for highlighting peoples’ everyday geographies and lives only hinted at in colonial archive documents. Part of what makes this thesis original is that it is based on collaborative research. I sought Peepeekisis band permission to conduct this project, and Peepeekisis community members’ oral histories form an important part of this thesis and they have provided guidance on the documenting of their oral histories in this thesis. / Thesis (Ph.D, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2009-10-30 14:31:21.58