13 minute read
Part 3: Prevention and Interventions: what, where, how, and cultural relevance
Culturally Grounded Programming and Holistic Perspectives
The need for culturally based programs, policies, and interventions are widely understood to be central to any sustainable paths toward prevention and healing for Indigenous young men and boys (George et al, 2019; George et al, 2021; Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres, 2016; TRC, 2015). A holistic perspective that considers the many
different dimensions of health and wellness, also known as social determinants of health, is
central to traditional Indigenous notions of wellbeing. This implies approaching physical, social,
and psychological wellness as being intricately interconnected to each other and linked to
historical events. The following provides a brief overview of culturally relevant examples of programming and initiatives that currently exist (and are ongoing, to the best of our knowledge) to serve Indigenous young men and boys across Canada.
Programs with Boys and Young Men
GuysWork
What GuysWork is a school-based healthy living program for grade 7 - 9 boys that aims to improve mental and sexual health and reduce male-perpetrated violence by supporting participants to deconstruct and resist health-harming gender norms.
How
Background
GuysWork uses a co-facilitation model with teachers and other professionals and trained community members. Sessions most often take place during instructional time while students of other genders are participating in similar programming. Conversations take place in a simple circle of chairs and are grounded in the idea that boys and men can present their masculinity in different ways – some that are healthy or helpful, and others that are unhealthy or unhelpful. Facilitators lead dialogue on topics including; Identity, drugs and alcohol use, consent and sexual violence, healthy relationships, pornography and seeking help. Lessons surface that counter narratives of contemporary and colonial masculinity norms and encourage guys to feel comfortable displaying masculine identities that are more authentic and also inspire them to support the authentic identities of their male peers.
Developed by Morris Green (Bridges Institute, Halifax, Nova Scotia) in 2012 as a response to the reluctance of young men to access Nova Scotia’s network of school-based youth health centres. Since then, it is estimated that over 3000 guys have been part of the GuysWork program and more than 150 facilitators have been trained. With support from the Nova Scotia Advisory Council for the Status of Women and the Standing Together approach, an evaluation framework is being developed with the hopes of scaling GuysWork to other parts of Canada outside of Nova Scotia.
Cultural relevance
Through partnerships with the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute and Nova Scotia’s First Nation’s school board, in-community facilitators are trained and deliver the sessions in culturally relevant ways. Young Indigenous men reported appreciating the circle work with a focus on listening and surfacing the wisdom inside the circle with the help of respectful facilitation, rather than a conventional classroom lecture.
For further information:
Contact: Morris Green at morrisgreenwork@gmail.com
UNAAQ MEN’S ASSOCIATION OF INUKJUAK
What Unaaq Men’s Association of Inukjuak provides youth in Nunavut with traditional leadership and hunting skills.
How
This organization creates opportunities for young people to learn about the land and their history while also creating employment opportunities for elders. They focus “on building skills and knowledge intended to both require and create wellness, organized around activities and projects that would also foster individual and collective economic benefit.”
Background
Cultural relevance
For further information:
This group was formed when women in the community called on men to do something in response to the overwhelming number of suicides in the early 2000’s because of widespread hopelessness in the community.
The program is centered around developing traditional land-based knowledge.
Irlbacher-Fox, S., & Palliser, T. (n.d.). IN CONVERSATION: Raising-up hunters & protectors once again: The Unaaq Mens Association. Retrieved from http://www.northernpublicaffairs.ca/index/vol-1-special-issue-2013/recyinconversationraising-up-hunters-protectors-once-again-the-unaaq-mens-association/ Unaaq Men's Association of Inukjuak. (n.d.). Home [Facebook page]. Retrieved November 5, 2021 from https://www.facebook.com/Unaaq-Mens-Association-of-Inukjuak107534152705568/
What
How WALKING IN HER MOCCASINS
Walking in her Moccasins is a resource created by the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples and White Ribbon, based out of Ontario. It is “an experiential violence prevention resource for Indigenous men and boys. This project is rooted in the rights of Indigenous women and girls to live free from all forms of violence and encourages Indigenous men and boys to play positive and culturally relevant roles to promote gender equality.”
This resource includes a bundle of activities that are healing-based and encourage story sharing and exploration of solutions regarding gender-based violence.
Background
Cultural relevance
For further information:
In January 2016, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples and White Ribbon started working together “to implement a multi-year initiative to engage Indigenous men and boys, to enhance their capacity to both respond and prevent violence against Indigenous women and girls.”
This resource was created expressly for Indigenous communities although it can be used to “enhance non-Indigenous women, girls, men and boys’ awareness and understanding of the diversity and beauty of Indigenous cultures and healing practices.”
Unveiling Truths. Walking in Her Moccasins. (2021, May 10). Retrieved from https://unveilingtruths.ca/walking-in-her-moccasins Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (2019, October 21). Walking in Her Moccasins. Retrieved from http://www.abo-peoples.org/en/3614-2/=
SMASH- Strength, Masculinities, and Sexual Health
What SMASH is a program for young men in the Northwest Territories that explores masculinity and sexual health.
How
Through school-based workshops and retreats, young men learn about topics such as healthy relationships, sexuality, consent, and masculinity.
Background
The foundations for SMASH were laid in May 2016. FOXY, a sexual health organization for young women and gender diverse youth in Northern Canada, held a Think Tank with boys and men from all over the Northwest Territories.
Cultural relevance
For further information:
Cultural responsiveness is central to what SMASH does. The program is the result of “collaboration with Northern youth, men, teachers, artists, health professionals, parents, Elders, and community leaders, responding to needs identified in interviews, focus groups, and discussions with over 200 Northerners that took place across the NWT in 2015-16” (Arctic Smash, n.d.)
Arctic Smash. (n.d.). About SMASH. Retrieved from https://arcticsmash.ca/about-smash/
MOOSE HIDE CAMPAIGN
What Moose Hide Campaign is a cross-Canada campaign to end violence against women and children.
How
Background
Every year on Moose Hide Campaign Day, workshops and activities are held for youth, pins made of moose hide are distributed, and groups of young men across the country fast for the day to raise awareness of violence against women and children.
“On an early 2011 August morning, an Indigenous man named Paul Lacerte and his daughter Raven were hunting moose near the infamous Highway of Tears, a section of highway between Prince George and Prince Rupert, BC, where dozens of women have gone missing or been found murdered. They had brought down a moose that would help feed the family for the winter and provide a moose hide for cultural purposes. As the daughter was skinning the moose her father started thinking…they were so near the highway that has brought so much sorrow to the communities along its endless miles, here with his young daughter who deserved a life free of violence…that’s when the idea sprang to life! What if they used the moose hide to inspire men to become involved in the movement to end violence towards women and children? Together with family and friends they cut up the moose hide into small squares and started the Moose Hide Campaign.”
Cultural relevance
For further information:
“Fasting has always been an important ceremonial practice for traditional cultures throughout the world. [...] Fasting is a means of testing, practicing and deepening our personal commitment to our values and intentions. It calls upon us to make a small sacrifice of food and water and challenges us to move from intentions to action, from beliefs to experience.”
Moose Hide Campaign (n.d.). Home. Retrieved from https://moosehidecampaign.ca/
YOUNG HUNTERS PROGRAM
What The Young Hunters Program, based in Arviat, Nunavut, is run by Aqqiumavvik, the Arviat Wellness Society. This program aims to teach sustainable harvesting skills to boys between ages 8 and 18, and help them become capable and confident members of their communities.
How
Background
Cultural relevance
For further information:
“Participants in the program gain skills and knowledge through time spent with experienced elders and instructors by engaging in local hunting activities. Through this, the youth also gain confidence and perspective that will aid them long after they leave the program.”
This program was started in 2012 by a group of Indigenous mental health and wellness experts, community leaders, and elders, to address the fact that youth were having mental health and wellness challenges.
“Extensive work has been done with community Elders to document the knowledge and skills required for youth to become masters in sustainable harvesting and environmental monitoring. These are also inherent to becoming capable, confident and contributing community members as according to inunnguiniq (Inuit principles for becoming capable). Elders have stated that a critical skill for Inuit was close observation of the environment. Ujjiqsuiniq is the process that enables one to monitor and observe with confidence and ultimately to be prepared for different outcomes.”
Aqqiumavvik Arviat Wellness Society. Young Hunters Program. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.aqqiumavvik.com/young-hunters-program Movember. (2019, May 15). Boys of Nunavut [Video]. YouTube. Movember. (2018, November 20). Meet the Boys of Nunavut: the program helping at-risk Indigenous youth in Northern Canada. Retrieved from https://ca.movember.com/story/view/id/11775/the-program-helping-at-risk-indigenousyouth-in-northern-canada
PILIMMAKSARNIQ ENGAGING MEN AND BOYS IN REDUCING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
What
This program is based out of an organization called Pauktuutit and aims to reduce violence against Inuit women and girls with men and boys. It aims to “increase awareness and to strengthen coping skills among Inuit men and boys in an effort to reduce gender-based violence within Inuit communities.”
How
Background
The Pilimmarksarniq toolkit, a set of documents, activities and tips, provides a framework for working toward gender-based violence with men.
Pilimmarksarniq was developed out of a two-year project Engaging Inuit Men and Boys in Ending Violence Against Women and Girls project that began to address the overwhelmingly high rate of violence against Inuit women.
Cultural relevance
For further information:
The toolkit was informed by doing a gender-based analysis of the issue from an Inuit perspective.
Pauktuutit. Pilimmaksarniq. (2021, March 03). Retrieved from https://www.pauktuutit.ca/abuse-prevention/gender-based-violence/pilimmaksarniq/
What The Way Forward is a training program for young men between the ages of 20 and 33 in Eskasoni that promotes men’s health and wellness, and equips them to act as mentors for younger boys in the community.
How
Background
Through discussion groups, The Way Forward aims to promote help seeking behaviors, healthy relationships, and ensure positive role models for younger boys in the community.
The Way Forward is a toolkit and facilitation guide that was created by Saskatchewan Prevention Institute that was adapted by Eskasoni Mental Health Services. It was informed by the research projects Networks 4 Change and Spaces & Places.
Cultural relevance
For further information:
The program is informed by the Seven Sacred Teachings, and is embedded in the medicine wheel. It acknowledges that true health encompasses spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional dimensions.
Liebenburg, L. (2021, July 21). The Way Forward: Understanding Healthy Masculinity [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plhqGb8f6iE
NURTURING WARRIORS
What Nurturing Warriors works with young Indigenous men in caregiving roles as parents and mentors in Northern Saskatchewan.
How
Young Indigenous men and people who are part of their support systems participate in strengths-based, capacity building workshops to identify health and well-being priorities for themselves, their children and youth within their communities.
Background
Current pressing health concerns identified by Indigenous community members in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and Waskahikanihk, Saskatchewan centre around challenges with mental health and addiction. There is a need to understand the challenges that young Indigenous men are facing and to seek solutions that help foster resiliency within communities.
Cultural relevance
Workshop themes are related to health and wellness through hunting and wilderness survival, media and technology, and positive approaches to play and parenting.
For further information: Contact Elizabeth Cooper, at elizabeth.cooper@uregina.ca
KISTESIMAW
What “Kistesimaw is a prevention program in Winnipeg that focus on one on one and small group mentorship to boys under the age of 12 in conflict or at risk of being in conflict with the law.”
How
Kistesimaw offers cultural programming, learning for life programming, free recreation/leisure opportunities through the city of Winnipeg, ongoing support and advocacy to the child and family as needed.
For further information:
Kistesimaw "my eldest brother". Ka Ni Kanichihk. (2021, March 16). Retrieved January 3, 2022, from https://www.kanikanichihk.ca/kistesimaw-my-eldest-brother/
Other Programs with Men
KIZHAAY ANISHINAABE NIIN - I AM A KIND MAN
What Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin – I am a Kind Man is a campaign based out of the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centers that engages Indigenous men in the Toronto area to work towards ending gender-based violence.
How
Cultural relevance
Through a 12-week curriculum, Indigenous men work to heal their own traumas and deepen their understanding of how it is linked to their family’s and community’s past.
The activities in the curriculum are based on the culturally-based 7 Grandfather teachings and help situate individual men’s experiences and wellbeing within wider community experiences of trauma, and greater community goals of wellbeing.
For further information:
I Am a Kind Man. (2020, August 25). About Kizhaay. Retrieved from https://iamakindman.ca/#about
DUDES CLUB
What DUDES Clubs make health and wellness more culturally safe and accessible and help men to gain a sense of purpose in their lives. They are in 42 locations across British Columbia and are open to all men however they operate in communities where there are large Indigenous populations.
How
Through participant led activities, DUDES Clubs promotes relationship and community building among men.
Background
The first DUDES Club began as a club for men’s wellness in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside neighborhood in 2010.
Cultural relevance
The DUDES Club model of health and wellness is based on Indigenous worldviews. Storytelling and sharing are considered an important part of healing, and the notion of “Seven generations” guides the idea that healing is a journey and not a “quick fix.”
For further information:
Dudes Club. (n.d.). About. Retrieved from https://dudesclub.ca/about/
MINO-PIMATIZIIWIN PROGRAM
What This program, based out of the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre of Winnipeg, provides services to Indigenous men who want to make positive changes within their families and communities. They support men to heal and reduce violent and unhealthy behaviors.
How
Background
Mino-Pimatiziiqin program offers “a range of services such as: One-to-one counseling, Home/office visits, Elder support/counseling, Sharing/Teaching Circles Cultural education & crafts, Sweats, Referral Services, Advocacy and Support, Better Fathering workshop, Personal Development workshops, Guest Speakers.”
The first DUDES Club began as a club for men’s wellness in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside neighborhood in 2010.
Cultural relevance
For further information:
“The philosophy and therefore the vision of AHWC is founded on the concepts within the medicine wheel, which emphasizes provision of resources that enable individuals to attain a balance in their lifestyle necessary of ‘health.’”
Mino-Pimatiziiwin Program. (n.d.). Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre of Winnipeg. Retrieved from http://ahwc.ca/mens-healthy-living/
THE NELSON PROJECT
What The Nelson Project is a program for at risk men in the Yukon that aims to offer long term support and rehabilitation.
How
Background
Cultural relevance
The Nelson project creates long-lasting support systems by creating opportunities for men to build relationships with each other. The program also seeks to build itself around what participants identify as needs.
The founder of this project, Nelson Lepine, wanted to create the long-lasting support system that he did not have when he was recovering from substance abuse.
The program functions through land-based retreats and acknowledges the colonial violence and trauma that continues to impact Indigenous men’s lives.
For further information:
Lach-Aidelbaum, M. (2021, July 13). Project aims to bring long-term support to at-risk men in Yukon's communities. CBC News. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nelson-project-support-at-risk-men-yukoncommunities-1.6101128
NATIVE MEN’S RESIDENCE – NA-ME-RES
What Na-Me-Res (Native Men’s Residence) is an emergency shelter for Indigenous men in downtown Toronto.
How
Background
Cultural relevance
For further information:
Na-Me-Res' emergency shelter and transitional housing programs are complemented by cultural activities such as sweat lodges, hand-drumming, traditional activities, and elder support, as well as services that address the underlying causes of homelessness.
“In 1985, Na-Me-Res began offering emergency shelter to Toronto-based Aboriginal men who were without a place to live. The 26-bed shelter grew quickly to accommodate the growing needs of the community and as a greater understanding of the underlying reasons for Aboriginal homelessness emerged, Na-Me-Res implemented support programs to address those causes.”
The services and activities offered at Na-Me-Res are culturally-grounded and aim to address the specific needs of Indigenous men experiencing homelessness.
Native Men's Residence. (n.d.). About na-me-res. Retrieved December 10, 2021, from https://www.nameres.org/about/.
