No description available.

This creative thesis is written in nehiyawewin (Cree) and English. It explores the skill of storytelling in Cree culture and examines how that can be done through poetry. The collection of poems is a story about the experiences and beliefs of an Indigenous woman, mother, student, teacher, daughter. This thesis is broken into three thematic sections: "acahk" (spirit), "niya" (me), and "askiy' (land). Each section contains a series of poems that delves into the teachings shared by elders, parents, and grandparents. Three themes are braided into each poem - relationality, nehiyaw worldview, and personal experience.

No description available.

Depression, self-harming acts and suicide are mental health issues that seriously plague specific Indigenous communities in Canada. First Nations youth have an alarmingly higher suicide rate than the majority of the Canadian population. Usually occurring in and around small reserve village environments, these suicides rupture entire communities that are forced to deal with the sadness, frustration and loss that surrounds the death of a young person. In response to this issue, this interior design practicum inquiry addresses the tragedy of youth suicide in Manitoba’s northern, remote, and reserve communities. To help reduce the epidemic prevalence of suicide, a treatment and prevention center formulated out of ideas gathered from research into Cree world view, hybrid and Indigenist approaches to culture, cultural continuity, mental health healing methods and environmental design has been designed to provide care for First Nations adolescents living in the North.

This creative thesis is written in nêhiyawêwin (Cree) and English. It explores the skill of storytelling in Cree culture and examines how that can be done through poetry. The collection of poems is a story about the experiences and beliefs of an Indigenous woman, mother, student, teacher, daughter. This thesis is broken into three thematic sections: “acâhk” (spirit), “niya” (me), and “askiy” (land). Each section contains a series of poems that delves into the teachings shared by elders, parents, and grandparents. Three themes are braided into each poem – relationality, nêhiyaw worldview, and personal experience.

This thesis examines original evidence of Cree legal traditions by carefully reconstructing the Cumberland House and Pelican Narrows Saskatchewan evidence from 1774 to present day. Cree peoples in the area had a long history prior to contact with Europeans. At time of contact Indigenous people were in a position of power. They knew how to flourish in the prairies and taught the newcomers how to survive. This thesis explores questions including when does the loss of traditional law begin in the culture by examining the original Hudson’s Bay Company Post Journals that reveal evidence of pre-contact Cree laws and culture. There is also evidence in the HBC records of Cree legal traditions that survived and continued to be practiced.

Depression, self-harming acts and suicide are mental health issues that seriously plague specific Indigenous communities in Canada. First Nations youth have an alarmingly higher suicide rate than the majority of the Canadian population. Usually occurring in and around small reserve village environments, these suicides rupture entire communities that are forced to deal with the sadness, frustration and loss that surrounds the death of a young person. In response to this issue, this interior design practicum inquiry addresses the tragedy of youth suicide in Manitoba’s northern, remote, and reserve communities. To help reduce the epidemic prevalence of suicide, a treatment and prevention center formulated out of ideas gathered from research into Cree world view, hybrid and Indigenist approaches to culture, cultural continuity, mental health healing methods and environmental design has been designed to provide care for First Nations adolescents living in the North.

The nuances within the youth of the Norway House Cree Nation along with the escalation in drugs, gangs and violence have led to climbing incarceration rates within the youth population. This has resulted in social devastation in the community over the last few decades. Statistics alone do not provide individual or community perspectives, or the nuanced understanding that insider qualitative research provides. In-depth interviewing provides personal accounts from the youth, community members, and respected Elders, and helps to provide insights on the complexity of community life that are absent from statistical accounts. By the time this thesis is defended, another noose will tighten, another fatal gunshot will be fired, and another youth will overdose on drugs or another suicide attempt might succeed. For many who manage to escape death, they will continue to face a life of abuse, poverty, and an uncertain future that may lead to a lifetime of incarceration, and premature death. This is the reality for too many youth of the Norway House Cree Nation. The community looks directly to their leaders not only to guide the economic development of the community, but at a very personal level. Our youth are very astute and observant; community leaders must demonstrate positive and healthy behaviour within the leadership in order for positive youth outcomes. Ekosani!

Univ. of British Columbia, Diss. 2003--Vancouver, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references and index.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2004. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 306-316). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.