Jean-Paul Restoule

Promises of peace and development: Mining and violence in Guatemala

For Indigenous peoples of Guatemala, mining is experienced within a lingering legacy of colonialism and genocide. Here, we discuss macro-level findings of a larger study, examining the lived context of a mining-affected community in Guatemala and barriers that this poses to peace. Using an anticolonial narrative methodology, guided by participatory action research principles, we interviewed 54 participants. Their accounts pointed to intersecting and ongoing forces of poverty, dispossession, gendered oppression, genocide, and global inequity were exacerbated and triggered by local mining operations. This context posed profound threats to community well-being and signals a call to action for nurses and other global actors.

Strengths Amidst Vulnerabilities: The Paradox of Resistance in a Mining-Affected Community in Guatemala

The influence of large-scale mining on the psychosocial wellbeing and mental health of diverse Indigenous communities has attracted increased attention. In previous reports, we have discussed the influence of a gold mining operation on the health of a community in the Western highlands of Guatemala. Here, we discuss the community strengths, and acts of resistance of this community, that is, community processes that promoted mental health amidst this context. Using an anti-colonial narrative methodology that incorporated participatory action research principles, we developed a research design in collaboration with community leaders and participants. Data collection involved focus groups, individual interviews and photo-sharing with 54 men and women between the ages of 18 and 67. Data analysis was guided by iterative and ongoing conversations with participants and McCormacks narrative lenses. Study findings revealed key mechanisms and sources of resistance, including a shared cultural identity, a spiritual knowing and being, ‘defending our rights, defending our territory,’ and, speaking truth to power. These overlapping strengths were identified by participants as key protective factors in facing challenges and adversity. Yet ultimately, these same strengths were often the most eroded or endangered due the influence of large-scale mining operations in the region. These community strengths and acts of resistance reveal important priorities for promoting mental health and wellbeing for populations impacted by large-scale mining operations. Mental health practitioners must attend to both the strengths and parallel vulnerabilities that may be occasioned by large-scale projects of this nature.

'Women are supposed to be the leaders': intersections of gender, race and colonisation in HIV prevention with Indigenous young people.

Focusing on gender, race and colonialism, this paper foregrounds the voices of Indigenous young people, their histories of oppression, their legacies of resistance and the continuing strengths rooted in Indigenous peoples, their cultures and their communities. Exploring the relationship between gender and colonialism, the paper speaks to the lived realities of young people from Indigenous communities across Canada. Over 85 young people participated in six different Indigenous community workshops to create artistic pieces that explored the connections between HIV, individual risk and structural inequalities. In the course of the research, Indigenous young people, and young Indigenous women in particular, talked about how gender intersects with race and colonisation to create experiences that are, at times, especially difficult for them. In this paper, young people discuss the ways in which colonialism has demeaned womens roles and degraded womens sexuality, and how continuing cultural erasure and assimilationist policies impact on their lives and on their bodies.

Urban First Nations Men Narratives of Positive Identity and Implications for Culturally Safe Care

Purpose: Dominant discourse contains negative stereotypical images of First Nations males that are steeped in colonialism. These racialized images can influence First Nations men’s sense of self as well as the care that nurses deliver. The objective was to (a) explore practices that support positive First Nations identity and (b) provide suggestions for practicing culturally safe care. Design: The theory of Two-Eyed Seeing guided this study. Data were collected via two semistructured interviews and Anishnaabe Symbol–Based Reflection from three First Nations men living in Toronto, Canada. Findings: Having mentors, knowing family histories, and connecting with healthy Aboriginal communities fostered positive First Nations identities for participants. Implications: There is potential to advance nursing practice by enacting creative means that may support client’s positive First Nations identity and well-being. Nursing education that focuses on strength-based and decolonizing frameworks, as well as reflexive practices that promote culturally safe care, is needed.

“Stay Strong, Stay Sexy, Stay Native”: Storying Indigenous youth HIV prevention activism:

Background Taking Action II is a community-based participatory action research project that adopted a strengths-based approach to thinking about Indigenous youth HIV prevention activism. Eighteen diverse Indigenous youth leaders produced digital stories about Indigenizing HIV prevention during the summer of 2012 at a week-long retreat. Youth were interviewed twice: right after they created their stories and again after community screenings. In the summer of 2013, youth reunited to collaboratively analyze the themes and meanings of their stories. Seven overlapping themes emerged that demonstrated how youth see HIV in the context of their lives and community. The stories make connections between HIV and structural violence, culture and relationships. In particular, in the context of HIV prevention, they focus on (1) the role of family and elders, (2) traditional sacred notions of sexuality, (3) the importance of education, (4) reclaiming history, (5) focusing on strength, (6) Indigenous cosmology and (7) overcoming addictions. In contrast to conventional public health messaging, youth produced stories rarely focused on individual harm reduction strategies. Instead, ideas of Indigeneity and decolonization were foregrounded as key strategies for health promotion work.