Statement of the problem: Indigenous youth in Canada are much more likely to be either physically and/or psychologically at risk than other population groups in the same age range. However, help for indigenous youth at risk frequently arrives too late: it often takes too long for family, friends, community, and government to identify the indigenous youth who are at risk. Another problem is that it takes some time for anyone who is voluntarily seeking help to inform their closely connected family and friends about their at-risk situations. Besides these barriers, some conditions are associated with social stigmas especially drug addiction and mental ill-health. The delayed identification of indigenous youth at risk poses great challenges for how to provide them with assistance and treatment. Research questions: This research aims to answer four questions: (i) How are indigenous organizations using Facebook to connect with youth at risk? (ii) How are urban indigenous youth expressing themselves on Facebook when they feel or are at risk? (iii) In what ways can the text mining of indigenous organizations’ Facebook data identify the risks among urban indigenous youth and at-risk individuals? (iv) How can the findings from the research question # 1, # 2, and # 3 be adapted to enable Facebook’s News Feed algorithm to address the needs of at risk urban indigenous youth? Research methodology: This research used mixed methods for data collection. Qualitative data was obtained from field surveys that were conducted in the form of interviews, focus group discussions and observations. For the quantitative data collection, I gathered and analyzed the Facebook usage data of indigenous community organizations to discover their Facebook patterns using text mining techniques available in the SAS Visual Analytics application. Lastly, all theparticipants in focus group discussions were asked to answer a survey questionnaire seeking information related to his or her demographic and personal Facebook usage behaviour. Significant findings: Many urban indigenous youths generate and share content on Facebook when they feel at risk physically or psychologically. Yet they do not see any content in their Facebook News Feed that is relevant or helpful to them for managing that risk, such as pointers to health and public services. This investigation also discovered that there are indicators such as the verbal tone of Facebook posts and images as well as changes in relationship status that could be used to help identify at-risk youth and provide them with helpful information. The research results also reveal that Facebook is a part of the problem insofar as it is a channel for such behaviours as cyberbullying, online harassment and the spread of harmful memes. Contribution: The results from this research, when deployed, may help to improve the lives of indigenous communities by enabling the detection of youth who are at risk physically and/or physiologically and provide the necessary indicators for Facebook to adapt its News Feeds to bias the Facebook walls of the youth at risk with items such as positive posts found in their own cycle of Facebook friends’ accounts and targeted news and advertising that can improve social outcomes for these populations.

This research endeavour with Moose Cree First Nation provides insights into how emerging Indigenous methodologies are fundamentally grounded in an Indigenous epistemology that, for the purpose of this project, was found to be integral to youth and community wellbeing. More specifically, this project highlights an Indigenous perspective of health and wellbeing, milo pimatisiwin, that yields individual, collective and relational strengths with its focus on reconnecting youth to the land. This thesis offers methodological contributions in an effort to discuss research with Indigenous peoples beyond the participatory paradigm; it also develops on coming to know through the “visiting way” and elaborates further on Indigenous methods such as learning by doing concepts and conversational method. Discussing approaches of coloniality and settler-colonialism highlighted territoriality and land dispute issues, but most importantly here, these approaches established how the land is at the very core of the Omushkego people’s epistemology. Two land-based initiatives with Moose Cree First Nation were examined in this study. The initiatives provide insights into Indigenous resurgence as they relate to the land, to spirit, and to life stage teachings. The community experiences suggest how vital it is to center Indigenous knowledge in research and land-based initiatives for youth wellbeing as they contribute to developing, integrating and applying Indigenous methodologies, given this process is inter-related to fostering milo pimatisiwin. The Omushkegowuk people’s conceptions of health and wellbeing challenges colonial ideas and actions, and just as important, it allows for the production of knowledge within the context of Indigenous methods, experiences and wisdom.

This study is aimed at analyzing how contemporary urban Aymara youth hip hoppers and bloggers are creating their identities and are producing discourses in texts and lyrics to contest racist and colonial discourses. The research is situated in Bolivia, which is currently engaged in a cultural and political revolution supported by Indigenous movements. Theoretically the study is framed by a multi-perspective conceptual framework based on subaltern studies, coloniality of power, coloniality of knowledge, interculturality and decolonial theory. Aymara young people illustrate the possibility of preserving Indigenous identities, language, and knowledge while maximizing the benefits of urban society. This challenges the colonial ideology that has essentialized the rural origin of Indigenous identities. Moreover, this research argues that the health of Indigenous languages is interconnected with the health of the self-esteem of Indigenous people. Additionally, this study provides information about the relation of youth to the power of oral tradition, language policies, and the use of technology.

Chichinmanum weamu, traducido como yendo a contracorriente, describe una experiencia por la cual atraviesan muchos jóvenes indígenas universitarios al enfrentar situaciones que afectan su bienestar. Esta investigación analiza si las condiciones en las que estudiaban seis jóvenes awajún en la Universidad Nacional de la Amazonia Peruana garantizaban ese bienestar. Con este propósito, utilizamos una metodología cualitativa y diferentes técnicas etnográficas como entrevistas, grupos focales, observaciones e historias de vida. Argumentamos que estar bien significaba para los estudiantes awajún contar con todos los servicios básicos, bienes y recursos que incluyen relaciones cercanas con sus compañeros y docentes. Al observar dichos aspectos, concluimos que los estudiantes awajún no estaban satisfechos. Sin embargo, el capital social desarrollado a través de la Organización de Estudiantes de los Pueblos Indígenas de la Amazonia Peruana les garantizaba su sobrevivencia en Iquitos. / This article analyzes if life conditions in the National University of the Peruvian Amazon assured six young Awajun their well-being. It ponders several questions; what is the emic meaning of being well?, Could young migrants satisfy their socio-economic and affective needs?, which are the strategies used to perform as students? To answer these questions, a qualitative methodology and different ethnographic techniques such as interviews, focus groups, observations and life stories were used. And different actors such as student colleagues, teachers, university authorities, were observed and interviewed. The expression chichinmanum weamu, translated from Awajún as going against the current, describes a situation that many young natives who try to become graduates go through. Young Awajun thought that being good meant having all the basic services, goods and resources needed to develop as students, which also implied having fluid relationships with peers and teachers. The study reached the conclusion that young Awajun were not entirely satisfied. However, the social capital developed through the Student Organization of the Indigenous Peoples of the Peruvian Amazon did ensure their survival in Iquitos.

Indigenous adoptee scholars across Turtle Island and beyond have done good work in coming to understand their identity through community connection, culture, education and practice. A plethora of research has guided young Indigenous interracial adoptees on their journey, yet there are few stories focused on the experiences of interracial Maya adoptees reconnecting to their culture in KKKanada. Currently there is limited research documenting Maya adoptees experiences of displacement and cultural reclamation in KKKanadian adoption studies. Research must make more space for these stories and the stories of local Indigenous communities supporting them. In this story (thesis), through engagement with current literature and ten research questions, I explored what it meant to live as an interracial adoptee in West Coast Indigenous communities. An Indigenous Youth Storywork methodology was applied to bring meaning to relationships I have with diverse Indigenous Old Ones, mentors and Knowledge Keepers and their influence on my journey as a Maya adoptee returning to my culture. My personal story was developed and analyzed using an Indigenous decolonial framework and Indigenous Arts-based methods. This storying journey sheds light on the intricate intersections of interracial adoption, specifically for Maya Indigenous Youth who currently live in KKKanada. The intention of this Youth Storywork research work is to create space for Indigenous, Interracial, Transracial and Maya adoptees in Child and Youth Care, Social Work and Counselling Psychology education, policy and practice. / Graduate / 2021-11-18

Indigenous youth are overrepresented within homelessness and form approximately 20 percent of the total youth homeless population in Canada that uses emergency shelters. While extensive studies have been conducted and new practices have been put in place in an effort to reduce the number of individuals experiencing homelessness, the number of Indigenous youth journeying into homelessness continues to increase. This suggests that the solutions implemented to date have inadequately addressed the needs of Indigenous youth and the situations integral to their worlds. The purpose of this research was to explore Indigenous youths’ experiences of homelessness that promote positive identity development. It used a community-based Indigenous methodology. Building on research by Indigenous and non-Indigenous academics with the stories of Indigenous homeless youth, this research was centered at the intersection of Indigenous youth homelessness and their engagement in behaviours affected by past and present events that impact their processes of identity development. With its strengths-based lens, it deepens understandings of how Indigenous homeless youth create prosocial outcomes that bolster their self-esteem and encourage positive identity development that will support them in young adulthood and stages beyond. Indigenous youth prosocial outcomes must include holistic health outcomes that encompass spiritual, physical, mental and emotional well-being. Ultimately, this research challenges existing conversations held in society regarding Indigenous youths’ behaviours exhibited in homelessness and contributes to Indigenous resurgence, equitable colonial-Indigenous relationships, and reconciliation consistent with the goals put forth in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s recommendations. / Graduate / 2023-08-30

This study asks how the media perpetuates the cycle of racism, colonialism and stereotyping of Indigenous youth in Thunder Bay, and how Indigenous news sources participate in giving voice to Indigenous peoples. The research methodology is a discourse analysis examining both mainstream and Indigenous newspaper articles on the subject of the First Nations youth deaths in Thunder Bay. The methodology is also influenced by critical and decolonizing theories. Findings show that Indigenous newspaper articles are overall more inclusive of Indigenous voice, therefore providing an Indigenous perspective on the issue of First Nations youth dying in Thunder Bay and leaving out racist portrayals. On the other hand, non-Indigenous newspaper articles include less Indigenous voice and use the opinion of individuals in powerful positions. They also tend to portray Indigenous people in a negative light when compared to Indigenous newspapers. Outcomes from this research include implications for social workers such as: developing an understanding of how the media perpetuates racism, colonialism and stereotyping against Indigenous youth, advocating for and empowering Indigenous youth so they can come together and fight for change in First Nations education, and improving education within schools of social work regarding advocacy in the media. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

abstract: This dissertation explores the notion of Pueblo community engagement at multiple levels, from the communities’ role in engaging its members, the individual’s responsibility in engaging with the community, both the community and individual’s engagement relationship with external forces, and the movement towards new engagement as it relates to youth and community. This research recognizes both the existing and the changing nature of engagement in our Pueblo communities. Because the core value of contribution is critical to being a participant in community, both participants and communities need to think of what needs to be done to strengthen Pueblo community engagement , for community and for youth. On the community side, this dissertation examines past community programs impact to the social structures of Pueblo communities and highlights a couple of new strategies to incorporate community voice in programming efforts. In addition, this dissertation explores youth contribution to community. The notions of community recognizing and being receptive to new ideas for youth engagement and of instilling their sense of community in youth is critical to the ‘new engagement’ paradigm. This dissertation proposes that one strategy is to incorporate youth in the governance structures of community through innovative programming with the ultimate goal of instilling in youth the feeling that they belong to their community. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Justice Studies 2015

abstract: These are unprecedented times. Like never before, humans, having separated themselves from the web of life through the skillful use of their opposable thumbs, have invented the means of extinction and have systematized it for the benefit of the few at the expense of all else. Yet humans are also designing fixes and alternatives that will soon overcome the straight line trajectory to ugliness and loss that the current order would lead the rest of humanity through. The works in this dissertation are connected by two themes: (1) those humans who happen to be closely connected to the lands, waters and wildlife, through millennia of adaptation and inventive association, have a great deal to share with the rest, who, through history have become distanced from the lands and waters and wildlife they came from; and (2) as the inheritors of all the insults that the current disrespectful and wasteful system is heaping upon all true sensibilities, young people, who are Indigenous, and who are the critical generation for biocultural survival, have an immense role to play - for their cultures, and for all of the rest. The survivance of autochthonous culture through intergenerational conduct of cultural practice and spirituality is profoundly affected by fundamental physical factors of resilience related to food, water, and energy security, and the intergenerational participation of youth. So this work is not so much an indictment of the system as it is an attempt to reveal at least two ways that the work of these young Indigenous people can be expedited: through the transformation of their education so that more of their time as youths is spent focusing on the wonderful attributes of their cultural associations with the lands, waters, and wildlife; and through the creation of a self-sustaining youth owned and operated enterprise that provides needed services to communities so they can adapt to and mitigate the increasingly variable, unpredictable, and dangerous effects and impacts of global heating and climate disruption. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Justice Studies 2015

El presente trabajo busca contribuir, de un lado, a la discusión  de la imagen homogénea, que en algunos casos se configura sobre quiénes son y somos los estudiantes indígenas, y por otro, al conocimiento de los retos y desafíos que enfrentamos los jóvenes indígenas en programas académicos. Presento las experiencias educativas de jóvenes provenientes de distintos grupos originarios, hombres y mujeres formados en la Licenciatura en Educación Indígena (LEI) en la Universidad Pedagógica Nacional - Unidad Ajusco, en la Ciudad de México. Y retomo algunas entrevistas realizadas a egresados de la generación 2007-2011 —de la cual formé parte— para examinar qué significa ser un estudiante indígena en la universidad, cuáles son las problemáticas que enfrentan en su proceso de formación, cuáles son las expectativas sobre su formación, cómo son vistos en sus comunidades de origen después de haberse convertido en profesionistas, y si el acceso a la universidad generó pérdida de identidad cultural. Metodológicamente, la investigación se realizó a partir de lo que en los últimos años se ha denominado como trabajo colaborativo o investigación dialógica. Formar parte de esta generación ayudó a entablar distintas conversaciones para tratar los temas antes mencionados. / This paper aims to contribute, on the one hand, to the discussion of the homogeneous image that is constructed regarding who we are,  indigenous students; and on the other, to the knowledge of the challenges that we, indigenous youth, face in academic programs. I present the formative experiences of young men and women from different indigenous groups who attended the Indigenous Education Program at the National Pedagogical University - Ajusco Unit in Mexico city. I use interviews with graduates from the 2007-2011 cohort -of which I was part- to discuss what it means to be an indigenous student at the university, what their main problems and expectations are through their training, how they are seen in their communities of origin after becoming professionals, and if their access to the university caused loss of cultural identity. Methodologically, this research was carried out in the frame of collaborative work or dialogical research. Being part of this generation helped me to have the dialogues addressing the issues mentioned above.