Connecting to the Good Life through outdoor adventure leadership experiences designed for Indigenous youth

Abstract

Indigenous voices are largely silent in the outdoor education and adventure therapy literature. The purpose of this research collaboration was to understand how a 10-day outdoor adventure leadership experience (OALE) may promote resilience and well-being for Indigenous youth through their participation in the program. The process was examined through a community-based participatory research project that sought insight from the perspectives of one First Nations community in Canada. The OALE was implemented with six different groups for a total of 43 youth participants (ages 11.9–18.7 years) from Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve in northeastern Ontario. Field data were collected from multiple sources including participant interviews, journals, focus groups, and talking circles. Using a critical ethnographic lens, we analyzed the data inductively to understand how the OALE promoted resilience and well-being. We listened to Indigenous voices, adhered to principles of Indigenous coding for thematic content and respected Indigenous ways of knowing for interpreting results. The process of connecting to the Good Life (Anishinaabe Bimaadziwin) or waking up (nsidwaaswok) to the Good Life emerged as the dominant theme. Connecting to the Good Life may offer a simple yet compelling way to understand the net impact of the OALE.

Keywords:

• outdoor education
• adventure therapy
• community-based participatory research
• expedition ethnography
• indigenous health
• holistic health

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all of the OALE participants and staff leaders from 2009 for their valuable insights and commitment to the program and research. They also want to acknowledge Lawrence Enosse, and his staff at the Waasa Naabin Youth Services Centre, for coordinating and implementing the program each year. Finally, the authors would like to acknowledge the strong support received over the years from a host of people from the Community Research Steering Committee, the Nahndahweh Tchigehgamig Health Centre, the Nadmadwin Mental Health Clinic, seniors and Elders from the Amikook Seniors Centre, the Health Services Committee and the Chief and Council in Wikwemikong.

ORCID

Stephen D. Ritchie http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9777-7363

Nancy L. Young http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1739-3299

Notes

1. There are many different versions of the Medicine Wheel with the four dimensions represented in different quadrants. This is one version used by the Nahndahweh Tchigehgamig Wikwemikong Health Centre in Wikwemikong.

2. Anishinaabe Bimaadziwin appears in the literature with several different variations of spelling.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded through the Indigenous Health Research Development Program of the Canadian Institute of Health Research and the Canada Research Chairs program. The Evaluating Children’s Health Outcomes (ECHO) Research Centre provided support throughout the project.

Notes on contributors

Stephen D. Ritchie

Stephen D. Ritchie is an Assistant Professor at Laurentian University in Canada. He is also a member of the Evaluating Children’s Health Outcomes (ECHO) Research Centre at Laurentian University. Stephen has worked in the outdoor field on and off for more than 25 years as a guide, teacher, facilitator and more recently as professor in outdoor adventure leadership. Since 2006, he has been an investigator on several community-based participatory research projects with First Nations communities in northern Ontario, Canada. Stephen’s primary research interests are devoted to understanding outdoor and wilderness adventure experiences in the context of achieving personal growth and holistic health.

Mary Jo Wabano

Mary Jo Wabano has worked with Aboriginal youth through program development addressing self-esteem and building confidence since 1985. She is currently the Health Services Director for the Wikwemikong community. It has been a practice of Mary Jo to work collaboratively on various projects within the community inclusive of other neighbouring First Nations communities. The years of experience that she has gained contribute to her understanding of the life challenges for Aboriginal youth and have helped her realize and acknowledge the potential youth have in terms of striving to become successful young adults. Mary Jo continues to work diligently at providing guidance to a team of Program Managers who are responsible for implementing various programs and services geared towards holistic well-being. She continues to work towards empowering community members to take responsibility for their own health and well-being.

Rita G. Corbiere

Rita G. Corbiere is a long-standing resident and community Elder on the Wikwemikong First Nations Reserve. She retired after spending 40 years in education as a teacher and principal. Aside from her own personal interests, she takes part in community organizations, and she was involved in several research projects with the local health centre. Since 2008, she has been working collaboratively with the Waasa Naabin Youth Centre on the Outdoor Adventure Leadership Experience (OALE) program. Currently, she is a member of the Wikwemikong Heritage Committee, the Anishnaabemowin Curriculum Development Advisory Group, and she serves on a committee with Child and Family Services in Wikwemikong.

Brenda M. Restoule

Brenda M. Restoule (Waub-Zhe-Kwens) is from Dokis First Nation (Eagle Clan). She is a registered psychologist in Ontario and presently holds dedicated contracts with First Nation communities where she provides direct clinical services, program and community development, and clinical consultation to mental health and addiction programs. She works with provincial and federal government departments on such significant initiatives as the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples in Canada (1996), the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Health Support Program, and the First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework. She recently moved into the position as chair and president of the Native Mental Health Association of Canada where she has been an active member since 1995. Her work is dedicated to improving the wellness of Aboriginal people, and she is particularly interested in reducing suicide rates by encouraging a return to traditional practices of caring for each other.

Keith C. Russell

Keith C. Russell is a Professor in Recreation at Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, USA. He is the former Director of the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Research Cooperative (OBHRC). His research emphasis includes program evaluation, the study of human–nature relationships, the therapeutic value of natural environments, and international protected area management. He teaches courses in statistics, research methods, adventure education and therapy, and human relations. He has been a wilderness educator for more than 20 years in the USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, and New Zealand.

Nancy L. Young

Nancy L. Young is a Professor at Laurentian University in Canada. She also holds a Canada Research Chair in Rural and Northern Children’s Health, funded by the Canadian Institutes in Health Research. Nancy is also the Director of the Evaluating Children’s Health Outcomes (ECHO) Research Centre at Laurentian University. Nancy has been actively engaged in children’s health for more than 20 years, both as a clinician and as a scientist. Her research has underscored the importance of including children’s voices in health through their active participation in research. Her research established the validity of child self-report in the 1990s. Her more recent research has focused on the development of a health outcome measure from the perspective of Aboriginal children and youth. The results of this research will support health services planning and evaluation by First Nations health centres.