COMMUNITY UPDATES
Welcome to our Community Updates page - a landing place to find the latest news, opportunities, and initiatives within the Urban Indigenous Wellbeing Collective and more. Explore funding and career opportunities, stay informed about our upcoming 2024 projects, and delve deeper into our community initiatives.
Indigenous Wellbeing Gathering Conference 2024
The 2024 Indigenous Wellbeing Gathering Conference is set to return from October 3rd to 5th, 2024, promising three days of collaboration, connection, and action. This event serves as a vital platform for Elders, youth, researchers, and community partners to come together and address Indigenous health and wellbeing from a multidisciplinary perspective. Building upon the success of our inaugural conference, the 2024 Gathering aims to deepen our collective commitment to advancing Indigenous wellbeing. Stay tuned for exciting updates, including our Call for Proposals and keynote speaker announcements.
Indigenous Youth Wellness Project
The Indigenous Youth Wellness (IYW) project is a three-year community-based research project between Lillooet Friendship Centre Society, Métis Community Services Society of BC, and UBC Okanagan. Community members said cultural Traditions and learning from the land have always been an important part of Indigenous Peoples lives; however, past and present colonialism has made it difficult to share this knowledge. Urban Indigenous youth and young adults said they want to learn about relationship with the land, Indigenous identity, language, and ceremony to support wholistic wellbeing.
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The purpose of the IYW project is to learn from youth and young adults 14-34 years, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers how wellness is connected to land-based activities, ceremony, Indigenous identity, and gender. Through this project, Friendship and Métis Centres develop and deliver community programs to support youth and young adult’s connection to land, sense of identity, and overall wellbeing. Programs are organized by Community Research Liaisons and activities are facilitated by local Elders and Knowledge Keepers known to and chosen by the Centres. Community Advisory Teams made up of local Elders, Knowledge Keepers, youth and young adults and Centre staff guide the local research activities.
Activities offered within the first two years of the project have included plant walks, learning about relationship to land, harvesting Traditional foods and medicines, cultural workshops on making tea, salves, gill nets, and ceremonial items, and learning about language and Indigenous identity. Youth and young adult experiences and insights are gathered through Sharing Circles and surveys following the activities. Youth and young adults have shared these activities and programs strengthen intergeneration relationship with Elders through traditional knowledge teachings, and have increased youth and young adults’ sense of community belonging and relationship with the land.
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For more information about the project, contact
Gabrielle Legault gabrielle.legault@ubc.ca or
Peter Hutchinson peter.hutchinson@ubc.ca
Funding and Careers
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