Threading, Stitching, and Storytelling: Using CBPR and Blackfoot Knowledge and Cultural Practices to Improve Domestic Violence Services for Indigenous Women

Jackson, E. L.; Coleman, J.; Gayle Strikes with A Gun; Sweet Grass, D.

Threading, Stitching, and Storytelling: Using CBPR and Blackfoot Knowledge and Cultural Practices to Improve Domestic Violence Services for Indigenous Women

Files

v4i1-05jacksonetal.pdf (1006.39 KB)

Date

2015-10

Authors

Jackson, E. L.

Coleman, J.

Gayle Strikes with A Gun

Sweet Grass, D.

Publisher

Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Abstract

This article discusses a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project at two women’s emergency shelters in rural southwestern Alberta. The CBPR project aimed to improve shelter services on and off reserve in our area by engaging the voices of Indigenous women who had experienced domestic violence. The project’s methods were participatory appraisal and arts-based work re-imagined through Blackfoot cultural practices of storytelling and shawl making. The project created a rare safe space where thirteen Blackfoot women emphasised DV services should provide opportunities to connect with family and community and role model Blackfoot knowledge. Role modelling traditional knowledges aids developing life and parenting skills, opening up pathways for Indigenous women to more positive, secure futures. These women’s recommendations impelled this article to challenge the individualized case management model and discourses of cultural competence dominating Canadian DV services, which isolate and marginalize Indigenous women when they seek help. We highlight resources existing in Blackfoot communities to manage and prevent violence by protecting and facilitating Indigenous women’s connections to their communities and cultures, and offer ways to utilize these more effectively in service settings.

Keywords

Indigenous based social work practice, Blackfoot culture, Indigenous women, domestic violence, community-based participatory research, individualized case management model, Indigenous peoples--Periodicals., Social work with indigenous peoples--Periodicals.

Citation

Jackson, E. L., Coleman J., Gayle Strikes with A Gun, & Sweet Grass, D. (2015). Threading, Stitching, and Storytelling: Using CBPR and Blackfoot Knowledge and Cultural Practices to Improve Domestic Violence Services for Indigenous Women. Journal of Indigenous Social Development, 4(1).

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10125/37625

Extent

27 pages

Collections

JISD Volume 04, Issue 01 [Journal of Indigenous Social Development]

Full item page

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