Academic Allyship in Nursing: Deconstructing a successful community-academic collaboration

Public health and social care systems in Canada are frequently racist and discriminatory towards Indigenous people and exacerbates health inequities that Indigenous people experience. In New Brunswick, there are a range of culturally informed health and social services being offered within First Nations communities and by Indigenous organization that operate outside of reserves. Some of these services and organizations rely on support from non-Indigenous allies to meet the needs of their community members. However, it can be challenging for non-Indigenous people to engage in allyship due to unconscious bias, false assumptions, and lack of cross-cultural understanding. Effective allyship can also be challenging due a lack of understanding of the time, resources, and commitments that are required. Academic allyship from within post-secondary institutions can be particularly challenging because of a history of past harm done to Indigenous communities and entrenched colonial structures and policies. The purpose of this article is to provide an example of academic allyship with an urban Indigenous organization and consider some of the success factors that have supported this ongoing collaboration. The authors reflect on more than four years of successful collaboration and use a recent project to illustrate what worked and why. The success factors were, building a relationship and trust; becoming better informed; offering support freely; stepping off the beaten path (to tenure); staying critically self-aware; and enjoying the work (immensely). The success factors are not intended as a roadmap because every collaboration is unique. However, they may help potential allies enter potential collaboration being better informed. Academic allyship can be highly impactful and highly rewarding, but it also should not be undertaken without reflection on one’s reasons for doing so and capacity to commit. Résumé Les systèmes de santé et de services sociaux publics au Canada font souvent preuve de racisme et de discrimination envers les peuples autochtones, aggravant du même coup les inégalités en matière de santé que subissent ces peuples. Au Nouveau-Brunswick, une gamme de services de soins de santé et de services sociaux adaptés à la culture sont offerts au sein des communautés des Premières Nations et par des organisations autochtones à l’extérieur des réserves. Certains de ces services et organismes comptent sur le soutien d’alliés non autochtones afin de répondre aux besoins des membres de leur communauté. Cependant, il peut s’avérer difficile pour les non autochtones de s’allier en raison de préjugés inconscients, d’hypothèses infondées et d’un manque de compréhension interculturelle. La méconnaissance du temps, des ressources et des engagements nécessaires peut également constituer un obstacle à l’établissement d’une alliance optimale. Les torts causés aux communautés autochtones par le passé et les structures et les politiques coloniales enracinées rendent particulièrement difficile la création d’une alliance universitaire au sein des établissements d’enseignement postsecondaire. Le but de cet article est de fournir un exemple d’alliance universitaire avec une organisation autochtone urbaine et d’examiner certains des facteurs de réussite qui ont favorisé cette collaboration. Les auteurs se basent sur une collaboration florissante de plus de quatre ans et illustrent ce qui a fonctionné et les raisons expliquant cette réussite grâce à un projet récent. Les facteurs de réussite se basaient sur l’habileté à bâtir une relation et un climat de confiance; de s’informer davantage; d’offrir gratuitement du soutien; de sortir des sentiers battus (vers la titularisation); de faire preuve de jugement critique envers soi-même et d’apprécier le travail (immensément). Les facteurs de réussite ne se veulent pas un guide rigide, car chaque collaboration est unique. Cependant, ils peuvent aider des alliés potentiels à entrer dans une éventuelle collaboration en étant mieux informés. L’alliance académique peut être très percutante et enrichissante, mais elle ne doit pas non plus être entreprise sans réfléchir aux raisons et à sa capacité à s’engager

Communities First : Reflections on engaging with Indigenous communities as a foundation for Ph.D. studies

Reflections and learnings from a graduate-level independent study course on Community Based Participatory Research with urban Aboriginal community organizations

"It's a change your life kind of program": A healing focused camping weekend for urban Indigenous families living in Fredericton, New Brunswick

We present a community-driven research project designed to evaluate an innovative land-based healing initiative – a traditional camping weekend – for urban Indigenous families. The initiative was developed and implemented by Under One Sky Friendship Centre in Fredericton, NB, and involved a weekend-long celebration of culture and community. We gathered data from family members, staff, and stakeholders, and completed a thematic analysis and community review before synthesizing results into a narrative summary. Themes included Skitkəmikw (Land), Cəcahkw (Spirit), Skicinowihkw & Nekwtakotəmocik (Community & Family), and Sakələməlsowakən (Wellbeing). These connections are echoed throughout the article by quotes from participants that capture the essence of the experience. Our research helps to fill a knowledge gap in this area and supports the limited body of existing literature in demonstrating that community-led, land-based healing initiatives support Indigenous wellbeing in many ways that mainstream approaches cannot. Future work is needed to scale up landbased healing initiatives that provide community-led approaches to health promotion, and to examine the effects of ongoing participation on long-term health and wellness outcomes