Open Collections

Lavalley, Jennifer

University of British Columbia

Grounded in my experience as a Two-Spirit/queer Nêhiyaw-Saulteaux Métis researcher in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES) neighbourhood, situated on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, this dissertation presents three interconnected papers that centre the experiences of Indigenous Peoples who use illicit drugs (IPWUID) amid a drug poisoning crisis disproportionately impacting them. Using the three-article model, this interdisciplinary study uniquely engages with Indigenous studies, public health, and community-based participatory research. It began with sixteen (16) Indigenous-led interviews with IPWUID and expanded to include six (6) community workshops, co-constructed and co-facilitated by IPWUID in the DTES. These workshops were guided by the central question: How do IPWUID reimagine what it means to walk the Red Road? – a term used to describe a personal commitment to embodying and living an Indigenous way of life. Chapter Two examines the experiences of IPWUID in the DTES, focusing on the drug poisoning crisis and the responsiveness of harm reduction programs through the lens of settler colonialism. Recognizing the limitations of conventional qualitative research in representing Indigenous knowledge, Chapter Three draws on Cree law, Sihtoskâtowin (mutual support), to present a methodology that re-centres my Nêhiyaw, Saulteaux, and Métis worldview through relational practices that honour the experiential knowledge driving resistance and resurgence among IPWUID. While acknowledging the challenges IPWUID face, Chapter Four shifts beyond risk-based narratives and rejects depictions of Indigenous Peoples solely as ‘victims’ in ‘need of saving.’ Instead, it aligns with frameworks that move beyond "damage-centred" narratives (Tuck, 2009), emphasizing their resistance to colonial power and the revival of ancestral practices through everyday acts of healing, kinship, and resurgence. Within kinship networks rooted in reciprocal responsibilities, IPWUID challenge traditional understandings of the Red Road by centring their own approaches to care, wellness, and healing. Their stories reflect Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination, illustrating how they resist colonial power while reviving Indigenous models for decolonial life. By rejecting romanticized, colonial notions of abstinence, IPWUID are reimagining the Red Road as one that embraces all our relations.

Text

2025-03-03

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/90451

Interdisciplinary Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/