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Marching Toward Change: Indigenous Youth Perspectives on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) Crisis
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- Author / Creator
- Kowalewski, Jasmine
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In response to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) crisis in Canada, annual Marches are held to raise awareness, increase community healing, and prevent further gendered violence. Blending a Western focus group and Indigenous sharing circle, this thesis research aimed to (1) examine Indigenous youths’ perspectives on the actions that can be taken in response to the MMIWG crisis and (2) investigate the impact of engaging in the MMIWG March on Indigenous youth. Adopting a strength-based framework and guided by Indigenous methodology, this research focuses on how Indigenous youth can adapt and thrive in the face of adversity or trauma, thereby transforming their grief into resiliency, meaning, and purpose. This project aligned with a community-based participatory approach, where community members were equitable partners throughout the research process. Data was recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed. Data analysis resulted in four themes, consisting of (1) the Importance of Acknowledgement and Awareness, (2) Systems of Power and Influence, (3) Historical and Ongoing Injustices, and (4) Resiliency and Healing. These findings demonstrate the potential of the March as a culturally grounded, community-based intervention that can enhance well-being, and outline strategic actions that can be taken in response to the MMIWG crisis. Including Indigenous youth as active agents of change and generating knowledge regarding Indigenous resilience directly challenges the deficit-based narratives that dominate research across disciplines providing Indigenous youth with opportunities to transform their narratives to reflect their strengths and reclaim their sense of identity.
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- Subjects / Keywords
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- Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
- Indigenous youth
- Resiliency
- Culturally grounded intervention
- Healing
- Historical trauma
- Activism
- Social Justice
- Educational Psychology
- Systemic racism
- Gendered violence
- Cultural identity
- Community-based
- Indigenous methodologies
- MMIWG March
- Alternative interventions
- Child psychology
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- Graduation date
- Fall 2024
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Master of Education
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- License
- This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Library with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.