Urban indigenous youth perspectives on access to physical activity programmes in Canada

ABSTRACT

While research demonstrates that Indigenous youth experience higher levels of obesity-related chronic disease compared to non-Indigenous youth throughout Canada, few studies consult Indigenous youth for their perspectives on how to address barriers to active lifestyles. This paper examines the constraints that urban Indigenous youth encounter in accessing physical activity and sport programmes in three Canadian cities. Researchers used a community-based participatory methodological approach that included volunteering and talking circles to gain the perspectives of 41 Indigenous youth who were recruited from urban health organisations and local high schools. Despite the differing socio-cultural contexts throughout urban centres in Canada, Indigenous youth face similar constraints in accessing physical activity and sport programmes. These findings indicate that any changes to public policies to improve community health outcomes and access issues for urban Indigenous youth need to consider the broader national contexts as well as the multiple constraints that influence their participation experiences.

KEYWORDS:

• Indigenous youth
• urban centres
• barriers to physical activity and sport
• participatory frameworks
• community-based approaches

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the Indigenous youth whose perspectives made this research possible. We would also like to recognise the staff at urban Indigenous service organisations and schools who contributed to this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Sport Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Notes on contributors

Courtney W. Mason

Courtney W. Mason is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair, Tourism Management Department, Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.

Tara-Leigh F. McHugh

Tara-Leigh F. McHugh is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation at the University of Alberta, Canada. Her research is focused on psychosocial aspects of sport and physical activity participation, and she has extensive experience engaging in collaborative research with Indigenous communities.

Leisha Strachan

Leisha Strachan is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management at the University of Manitoba, Canada. Her research interests focus on positive youth development in sport. Specifically, she is interested in examining the experiences and various outcomes of children and youth in recreational and high performance sport programmes.

Kelsey Boule

Kelsey Boule is currently in the Masters of Environmental Science Program at Thompson Rivers University, British Columbia, Canada. She has recently received the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) Master’s Fellowship. Her research focuses on the ethical and environmental issues in sport hunting tourism economies in British Columbia.