The relocation experiences of aboriginal athletes pursuing sport in euro-canadian contexts: visual and narrative stories of acculturation

Researchers have documented the importance of sport in the lives of Aboriginal people, emphasizing how it can improve health and wellness and reaffirm core cultural values and connections (Lavallee, 2007; Reading, 2009). However, there is a lack of knowledge about the experiences of Aboriginal people who are engaging in sport, as well as cultural issues that affect their participation. Addressing this dearth of information, the current project was aimed at exploring the relocation experiences of Aboriginal athletes (14 to 26 years old) who had relocated off reserves in Northeastern Ontario to pursue sport opportunities within “mainstream” (Euro-Canadian) communities. The project was developed with Aboriginal community members and was driven forward as a form of cultural sport psychology, aimed at challenging the culturally excluding processes of traditional sport psychology (Ryba, Stambulova, Si, & Schinke, 2013). Mandala drawings (circle drawings) and conversational interviews were employed as part of a decolonizing methodology that centralized local Aboriginal ways of knowing, and that enabled in-depth experiential accounts of relocation to be shared (Smith, 1999). A local Indigenous version of an inductive thematic analysis was used to organize the data around three overarching themes: (1) the benefits of relocation, (2) the challenges of relocation, and (3) strategies for helping relocation. The results provide novel insights into how the sport experiences of relocated Aboriginal athletes are shaped by the dynamics of acculturation (i.e., second-culture learning). Through the participants’ accounts, it is revealed how relocated athletes have to dynamically (re)construct a sense of identity and belonging from shifting positions in and between dual (Aboriginal and Euro-Canadian) cultural contexts. Moving towards action, this knowledge can now be used to facilitate more inclusive sport contexts that embrace (rather than iv marginalize) the cultural identities of Aboriginal participants. Local community change efforts have already been initiated within the Aboriginal community through the engagement of the athletes’ mandalas as visual stories. In an effort to encourage future CSP research that is meaningful within the lives of marginalized sport participants, some final implications are drawn from the research.Doctoral These

The Role of Families in Youth Sport Programming in a Canadian Aboriginal Reserve

Background: There has been a recent push in the sport psychology literature for sport participants to be approached based on their cultural backgrounds. However, there are few examples where a cultural approach is considered, such as a culturally reflexive version of participatory action research (PAR). In the current study, the role of family is considered in relation to the sport engagement of Canadian Aboriginal youth. Methods: Mainstream researchers teamed with co-researchers from the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve for 5 years. Community meetings and talking circles were employed as culturally sensitive data collection techniques to uncover how to encourage youth participation in Wikwemikong’s sport programs. The overarching methodology for the project is PAR. Results: Themes and subthemes were determined by community consensus with terms indigenous (ie, culturally relevant) among the local Aboriginal culture. Family was considered important for youth involvement in Aboriginal community sport programs. Parents were expected to support their children by managing schedules and priorities, providing transportation, financial support, encouragement, and being committed to the child’s activity. Aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, grandparents, and the family as a whole were seen as sharing the responsibility to retain youth in sport through collateral support (ie, when gaps in parental support arose). Conclusions: Suggestions are proposed regarding how families in Aboriginal communities can collaborate to facilitate sport and physical activity among their youth. Further suggestions are proposed for researchers engaging in culturally reflexive research with participants and coresearchers from oppressed cultures

The Adaptation Challenges and Strategies of Adolescent Aboriginal Athletes Competing Off Reserve

Within the motivation literature, it has been indicated that athletes respond more effectively to sport’s contextual challenges through effective adaptation skills. Fiske identified five core motives as facilitators of the adaptation process across cultures: belonging, understanding, controlling, self-enhancement, and trusting. Through a cultural sport psychology approach, the adaptation challenges and strategies of Canadian Aboriginal adolescent athletes from one community (Wikwemikong) are described as they traveled off reserve to compete in mainstream sporting events. Concurrently, Fiske’s core motives are considered in relation to youth sport participants from the aforementioned Aboriginal community. Culture sensitive research methods among the Wikwemikong, including community meetings, talking circles (TCs), indigenous coding, and coauthoring, were employed in this article. Data are reflected in three themes: (a) challenges pursuing sport outside of the Aboriginal community in advance of bicultural encounters, (b) challenging bicultural encounters in Canadian mainstream sport contexts, and (c) specific responses to racism and discrimination

Introduction to cultural sport psychology revisited

The purpose of the present chapter is to introduce the domain of cultural sport psychology (CSP) and delineate the relevance of CSP within an increasingly multi-cultural sport setting. The chapter is organized into six sections. The origins of CSP will be delineated first, followed by the development and emergence of the field as a critical form of inquiry. Third, the integration of praxis will be discussed as an adjunct to a CSP approach. Fourth, a brief overview of research and practice that has been conducted on a cultural basis will be highlighted. The chapter will then conclude with some recommendations for individuals interested in engaging in CSP and some final closing remarks. It is hoped that our chapter will spur critical thinking regarding culture and its influence within sport psychology research and practice

Stories of Identity from High Performance Male Boxers in Their Training and Competition Environments

The current submission was conceived to broaden the discussion around male athletic identities by exploring the stories told by four members of the Canadian National Boxing Team. The athletes’ stories were elicited through an arts-based method followed by a conversational interview. Stories were then analyzed using an interpretive thematic analysis. Three salient themes were found—fluid masculinity, ethnicity brings an edge to boxing, and expressing identity through language. These themes present accounts that highlight how socially, culturally, and historically dominant narratives can allow athletes to feel comfortable in presenting the identities they might reveal or feel constrained from doing so due to factors outside of their control. The need to develop training and competition contexts that allow for the empowerment of athletes’ individually distinct identities is highlighted as a method to ensuring the positive mental health of elite level athletes