Indigenous Peoples' Health Research Centre at the University of Regina receives funding from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation

News Release Release Date: April 26, 2013 10:20 a.m.

Aboriginal youth in Saskatchewan are the focus of a new community-based research project combining arts, theatre, and storytelling to develop culturally-appropriate and cost-effective methods for improving Aboriginal youth health. The project is a partnership with File Hills Qu’Appelle (FHQ) Tribal Council Health Services, Battleford Tribal Council Indian Health Services, Inc., and Northern Sport, Culture, and Recreation, and a research team from the Indigenous Peoples’ Health Research Centre (IPHRC).

Their project, Iyiniw-Oskâtisak Pamihisowak: Using Indigenous Knowledge for a Healthier Aboriginal Youth, will receive $750,000 over three years from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF). It is a series of projects that will use everything from theatre improvisation to hip hop to empower youth to and help communities address health disparities among Aboriginal young people in the province, particularly in rural and remote areas.

“What makes this project so unique is how it supports the youth using theatre and music and to examine the choices they make that affect their health every day,” said Jo-Ann Episkenew, director of IPHRC and the project’s team leader. “By creating the conditions to help youth to become health researchers studying their own lives, this project will build capacity among these young people in our province.”

The IPHRC is a joint initiative of the University of Regina, University of Saskatchewan, and the First Nations University of Canada committed to Indigenous health research in the province. The research team is composed of accomplished researchers from these universities, as well as Concordia University and the University of Victoria.

IPHRC is also celebrating the release of its 2010-12 report, Leading the Way in Indigenous Health Research, which highlights the Centre’s accomplishments and commitment to advancing Indigenous health research and improving the health of Indigenous people in the province and beyond.