ON NEIHR Monthly Webinar February – Dr. Chelsea Gabel & Dr. Bobby Henry

From the Homeland: Métis Identity and Digital Storytelling

The effects of intergenerational trauma and continued settler colonialism have resulted in the loss of identity, culture, and language for many Métis people in Canada. Misconceptions about who is Métis and what it means to be Métis continues to negatively impact the understanding of health, wellbeing, and overall experiences of Métis people and communities in Canada. With a focus on distinctions-based research in Canada, it is of great importance for students, researchers, universities, policy-makers, and funders to understand the Métis lifeworlds. Despite the historical and contemporary exclusion from Canadian society, Métis identities, cultures, and understandings of relationality continue to persist through their presence and sharing of stories. To better understand Métis experiences, research must be co-designed or co-developed with Métis people as well as recognized Métis national political bodies, if research and policy to improve the health and wellbeing of Métis people is to be effective.

This presentation focuses on the digital storytelling process developed with the Storycentre where COVID-19 measures limited face-to-face research with Métis youth, adults, and elders, whose familial connections are to the Métis homeland, that includes Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Within the research project ‘We know who we are: Intergenerational understandings of Métis identity and well-being using digital storytelling’ six digital storytelling workshops were held in the fall of 2021 to bring three generations of Métis people together to promote belonging, well-being, and cultural continuity. Through these workshops, participants fostered relationships through the development of their digital stories that helped to express their personal experiences of being Métis, while gaining new opportunities for continued learning which strengthened their connections to their Métis culture. Their reflections and experiences highlight how Métis identity is connected to a stronger sense of self, health and wellbeing.