With the support of an ICWRN student research grant, phD student Georgina Martin is undertaking a research project entitled Secwepemc Knowledge, in which she researches the loss of identity and its relevance to proactive health with the Secwepemc people. The purpose of this holistic health project is to examine how the community can restore a stronger sense of identity and community. Georgina's summative report can be accessed here.

With the support of an ICWRN student research grant, Damien Lee graduated from the UVic Indigenous Governance program with a Community Governance Project entitled Dibaajimowinan: Four Stories of Resurgence in Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg Territory. This was not a thesis project, but a community-based initiative that supported anti-colonial work in Nishnaabeg territory, in southern Ontario.

The output of the project was a blog website, along with four podcast audio files. The third podcast consists of one person's view of how Nishnaabeg children are engaging in cultural resurgence.The site is self-explanatory, but it is best if you start reading through it from the introductory page: http://dibaajimowin.wordpress.com/

In October 2011, Shelly Johnson successfully defended a phD dissertation titled I Screamed Internally for a Long Time, an Indigenist study focusing on the contested space that is the unique educational site of traumatized Urban Indigenous children in Canadian child protection systems.

This study identifies the historic, political, socio-legal, legislative, financial and jurisdictional wrangling and impediments to their academic and traditional Indigenous educational success. Specifically, it explores the intersectionality of educational and child protection issues identified in the literature and personal experiences of twenty-nine Urban Indigenous children in Canada's child protection system and representatives of two Urban Indigenous child protection agencies.

In April 2010, CSFS produced a project called Our Family Our Children Our Laws in which community-based research was used to determine how services should evolve so they are culturally-based and governed through the laws of the Carrier peoples. The power point presentation outlines the project methodology, goals, and objectives.

Also in April 2010, SCES produced a project called Secwepemc Rites of Passage the objective of which was to provide their children, families and communities with some essential information about Secwepemc rites of passage so that they will have a way to be a part of rites of passage ceremonies. The power point presentation provides information about the project overview, methodology, research topics, project participants, and project researcher.

In 2007, the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) Adoption services management team provided funding to explore how the Cultural Planning Policythat was implemented in 1996, has impacted the adoption of Aboriginal children into non-Aboriginal families.

You Should Know That I Trust You: Cultural Planning, Aboriginal Children and Adoption (Phase 1)

You Should Know That I Trust You: Phase Two

You Should Know That I Trust You: Phase Three


Phase 1 of the research focuses on the adoptive families and the Aboriginal communities experiences, Phase 2 provides a summary of a qualitative online survey conducted with adoption, guardianship and Roots workers in BC. Phase 3 looks at the perspectives of youth on cultural planning, foster care and adoption. We are honoured by the voices of these 8 youth in this phase of the research. Many thanks go to Kim Grzbowski for her interviewing skills with youth and to the Adoptive Families Association for their assistance. We are grateful to all who assisted in all three phases of this cultural planning research, which is now complete.