The Indigenous Studies in Kinesiology research team presented a virtual symposium entitled “Indigenous Health and Wellness through Empowerment” (Lai, Miles, Kaufman, & Hanna, 2020) in the International Society for Physical Activity and Health Virtual Congress on Oct 29, 2020. This symposium shared evidence-based methodologies, findings, and future implications in cultural safety research and education to enhance Indigenous health and wellness.
Over the past four years, the research team used a community-based and designed, and Indigenous-led approach to identify health and wellness aspirations unique to Indigenous communities in BC. These initiatives include conducting environmental scans and facilitating knowledge sharing circles at the National Indigenous Physical Activity and Wellness Conferences, which were hosted by the research team in collaboration with Indigenous community members. These collaborations led to the co-creation, implementation, and evaluation of a strengths-based healthy lifestyle intervention with Lytton First Nation and an Indigenous curriculum within the School of Kinesiology. This work demonstrates the cultural relevance of moving away from one-size-fits-all paradigms when working with Indigenous communities, and how community-based, co-created, and Indigenous-led approaches in research and education are culturally safe strategies to empower Indigenous health and wellness.