Research Projects

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From Ceremony Up: Indigenous Community Planning as a Resurgent Practice on Contested Lands in British Columbia

Status: Completed

Project Lead: Lyana Patrick

This case study explored what urban Indigenous community planning looks like at the intersection of health and justice in the work of one Indigenous organization, the Native Courtworker and Counselling Association of BC (NCCABC). Information was gathered at three sites of study: NCCABC Health Services in downtown Vancouver, NCCABC Prince George office, and First Nations Courts in New Westminster and North Vancouver. I used immersive participation, interviews, a talking circle, and key document analysis to better understand NCCABC's work. I found that frontline workers with NCCABC create alternative spaces of belonging through relational practices that emphasize personal accountability, integrity, trust, and the importance of culture and ceremony. I argue that these practices create important spaces of being and belonging for diverse urban Indigenous peoples.