Patricia Pickard

The progressive integration of Canadian indigenous culture within a sport psychology bicultural research team

Abstract Within the sport psychology community there is a growing interest regarding how to engage in culturally sensitive (and also relevant) research. A research collaboration among Laurentian University and Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve is reflected through indigenous strategies relevant in the intended community, including negotiation and consensus building, talking circles, culturally relevant analyses, active co‐authoring, and overarching considerations that support de‐colonization. Within this report we have shared our progressive integration of Wikwemikongs cultural practices in successive multicultural projects. We have also proposed how, from our regional experiences in Near Northern Ontario (Canada), collaborators from other marginalized and mainstream communities might begin engaging in reflective bicultural sport psychology research while developing long‐standing positive relations

Praxis and community‐level sport programming strategies in a Canadian aboriginal reserve

Abstract From national statistics, it has been indicated that Canadian Aboriginal youth are overrepresented in lower health demographics than the rest of the national population, suffering from higher rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart problems. When Schinke, Michel, and colleagues (2006) engaged in preliminary research with elite Aboriginal athletes, the participants expressed a cultural struggle related to retaining Aboriginal youth in sport programming. The athletes proposed modifying programming strategies to account for attrition. Herein, mainstream academics partnered with Aboriginal community members to address this concern. Talking circles and a decision‐making consensus were employed. Emergent themes included integrating elders, promoting Aboriginal role models, and developing a broader volunteer base. This manuscript is authored to elucidate, from the words of the Wikwemikong, how culturally relevant sport programming will be reconsidered in their Reserve

‘Naadmaadmi’: reflections of Aboriginal community members engaged in sport psychology co‐researching activities with mainstream academics

When attempting to work with people from Indigenous cultures, mainstream researchers often encounter cultural differences, mistrust and a general resistance to community research. These challenges have emerged within the sport psychology domain as a consequence of mono‐cultural, Eurocentric research paradigms, which have marginalised Indigenous populations and disconnected community members from their traditional teachings and values. The current project was developed out of a partnership among mainstream academics and Aboriginal community members in northern Ontario, Canada, who have been engaged in sport psychology co‐researching activities for six years. The purpose of the current study was to elicit Aboriginal community members’ reflections of engaging in research with mainstream academics, based on past experiences as well as more recent efforts among the current bicultural team. The overarching intent was to encourage mainstream researchers interested in working within the Aboriginal community to adopt culturally reflexive practices that are meaningful from the local standpoint and to resist traditional mono‐cultural approaches. Conversational interviews were employed with nine Aboriginal community members who were also engaged as co‐researchers throughout the project. The community co‐researchers delineated negative and positive research experiences and outlined the specific strategies that contributed to each. A community composite vignette was developed as a narrative supplement to the data and reflects a unique and culturally relevant process within the study.

From Practice to Praxis Community-Based Strategies for Aboriginal Youth Sport

Through research grounded in praxis, sport psychologists can seek to understand and then help meet the motivational needs of sport participants from marginalized cultures. The present report unveils the recommendations of 23 elite Canadian Aboriginal athletes and subsequent community meetings with an Aboriginal community regarding how to enhance sport programming and increase enrollment of youth within a First Nations reserve. Data were analyzed inductively with the coding of themes developed by community consensus, reflecting barriers to sport participation and recommendations regarding how programming can be refined through training strategies with youth participants, parents, and sport and recreation staff. Recommendations include educating youth about the value of persistence and success, encouraging coaches to foster positive beliefs, and integrating Aboriginal role models.

Canadian Aboriginal elite Athletes: The experiences of being coached in mainstream cultures

Abstract Cultural sport psychology (CSP) is an emerging critical discourse located on the intersection of sport psychology and cultural studies. From conceptual and empirical CSP contributions, there is reason to believe that culturally reflective approaches to sport offer athletes and coaches of different cultural origins an opportunity of engagement into respectful negotiations. The present submission, which was a part of a larger study, explored the sport experiences of elite Canadian Aboriginal athletes coached by non‐Aborigines. The respondents were twenty‐three elite Aboriginal athletes. The data was gathered through semi‐structured interviews and developed, refined, and coded with the assistance of a community‐appointed research team. The data was segmented into meaning units, coded collaboratively with an Aboriginal community team, and verified with each respondent individually, and through a password protected website. Co‐authored results with community‐appointed researchers divided into three sub‐sections relating to coaching practice: (1) strategies regarded as ineffective, (2) strategies regarded as effective, and (3) recommendations for aspiring coaches.

The Adaptation Challenges and Strategies of Adolescent Aboriginal Athletes Competing Off Reserve

Within the motivation literature, it has been indicated that athletes respond more effectively to sport’s contextual challenges through effective adaptation skills. Fiske identified five core motives as facilitators of the adaptation process across cultures: belonging, understanding, controlling, self-enhancement, and trusting. Through a cultural sport psychology approach, the adaptation challenges and strategies of Canadian Aboriginal adolescent athletes from one community (Wikwemikong) are described as they traveled off reserve to compete in mainstream sporting events. Concurrently, Fiske’s core motives are considered in relation to youth sport participants from the aforementioned Aboriginal community. Culture sensitive research methods among the Wikwemikong, including community meetings, talking circles (TCs), indigenous coding, and coauthoring, were employed in this article. Data are reflected in three themes: (a) challenges pursuing sport outside of the Aboriginal community in advance of bicultural encounters, (b) challenging bicultural encounters in Canadian mainstream sport contexts, and (c) specific responses to racism and discrimination.