Decolonial Iskwewak Wellness Society
The Decolonial Iskwewak Wellness Society includes Drs. Cindy Gaudet, Tricia McGuire-Adams, Lana Whiskeyjack, with Jennifer Ward, PhD Candidate, Amanda Almond, M.A., and four Indigenous grandmothers from across Canada.
Our Society brings together Indigenous women scholars to dialogue about how we navigate the challenges of academia to then create decolonial care and wellness amongst ourselves. We discuss the expectations of reconciliation labor, the emotional labor associated with it, and how we create kind, loving spaces from which to generate support; in so doing, we craft our Indigenous feminist praxis, which we call Codes of Wellness. Our Society adds to the ways Indigenous women are creating Indigenous feminist and decolonial practices in the academy by engaging in truth telling and enacting a deep care amongst each other.
Becoming mindful of how the academy will work us to exhaustion and how we need our connections to help us thrive was a critical moment for us as decolonial sister scholars. Our Codes of Wellness, which will always be in flux, are:
Trusted check-ins
Trusted advice about academia
Shifting our mindsets
Integrity in research decisions
Truth telling and unburdening our harms
Disrupting lateral violence
Mentoring one another through hard decisions
Cultivating creative expressions
Enacting Ceremony to flourish our Society
Understanding Health and Wellbeing from an Indigenous Disability Perspective
This project is an extension of an ongoing relationship between Dr. McGuire-Adams and members of the Maskwacis Nation that began in 2018.
The project follows OCAP (Ownership, Control, Access, Possession) principles, meaning that all data collected during the process of this research will belong to the Maskwacis Nation. Laurie Buffalo (Samson Cree Nation Band Councilor) and Charlene Bruno are community co-researchers working in Maskwacis throughout the project.
The team who have been working on this project since 2018 are the most influential academically, nationally, and community wide:
The project aims to consider Cree understandings and perspectives about disability and living with disability. We have held one-on-one interviews and sharing circles with Maskwacis Nation members (on or off reserve) and will continue one-on-one interviews through Zoom.
For more information, please visit https://maskwacisdisabilityproject.weebly.com or connect with Tricia.
The Decolonial Iskwewak Wellness Society includes Drs. Cindy Gaudet, Tricia McGuire-Adams, Lana Whiskeyjack, with Jennifer Ward, PhD Candidate, Amanda Almond, M.A., and four Indigenous grandmothers from across Canada.
Our Society brings together Indigenous women scholars to dialogue about how we navigate the challenges of academia to then create decolonial care and wellness amongst ourselves. We discuss the expectations of reconciliation labor, the emotional labor associated with it, and how we create kind, loving spaces from which to generate support; in so doing, we craft our Indigenous feminist praxis, which we call Codes of Wellness. Our Society adds to the ways Indigenous women are creating Indigenous feminist and decolonial practices in the academy by engaging in truth telling and enacting a deep care amongst each other.
Becoming mindful of how the academy will work us to exhaustion and how we need our connections to help us thrive was a critical moment for us as decolonial sister scholars. Our Codes of Wellness, which will always be in flux, are:
Trusted check-ins
Trusted advice about academia
Shifting our mindsets
Integrity in research decisions
Truth telling and unburdening our harms
Disrupting lateral violence
Mentoring one another through hard decisions
Cultivating creative expressions
Enacting Ceremony to flourish our Society
Understanding Health and Wellbeing from an Indigenous Disability Perspective
This project is an extension of an ongoing relationship between Dr. McGuire-Adams and members of the Maskwacis Nation that began in 2018.
The project follows OCAP (Ownership, Control, Access, Possession) principles, meaning that all data collected during the process of this research will belong to the Maskwacis Nation. Laurie Buffalo (Samson Cree Nation Band Councilor) and Charlene Bruno are community co-researchers working in Maskwacis throughout the project.
The team who have been working on this project since 2018 are the most influential academically, nationally, and community wide:
- Dr. Wilton Lilttlechild, Commissioner for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, founder of the North American Indigenous Games, and current Grand Chief of Treaty #6 (on hiatus) has a depth of knowledge regarding Indigenous peoples concerns and aspirations, in particular regarding sport and physical activity.
- Dr. Bob Steadward is an internationally recognized leader in disability issues and has been instrumental in leading the Paralympic Movement and disability sport policy at national and international levels.
- Dr. Danielle Peers, a former Paralympic athlete and coach, is an internationally recognized and highly sought-after scholar in critical disability studies and holds a Canada Research Chair in Disability and Movement Cultures. Their program of research and policy work has created demonstrable changes for people who live with disabilities.
- Dr. Jennifer Leo is the Director of the Steadward Centre at the University of Alberta and has acquired extensive research experience focused on understanding the meaning of physical activity experiences for people with disabilities, including perceptions of inclusion and preparation of fitness professionals.
- Ms. Linda Robinson brings a wealth of lived experience as a Cree woman who is a former wheelchair basketball athlete, and a polio survivor.
- Dr. Tricia McGuire-Adams, an Anishinaabek researcher and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Ganandawisiwin (Good Health) Sovereignties, is a health and wellbeing scholar who bridges Indigenous intellectual traditions from community- driven research projects to academic scholarship. She aims to amplify Indigenous community voices for the advancement of health and wellness, and she will be the lead for this project.
The project aims to consider Cree understandings and perspectives about disability and living with disability. We have held one-on-one interviews and sharing circles with Maskwacis Nation members (on or off reserve) and will continue one-on-one interviews through Zoom.
For more information, please visit https://maskwacisdisabilityproject.weebly.com or connect with Tricia.