Research Projects

Bridge Research

Local Reconciliation and Bridge Research Methods

This case study of local reconciliation has research aims commensurate with Canada’s commitments to acknowledge past harms and address present injustices related to the legacy of the National Indian Residential School Project (TRC, 2015). Bridge Research Methods (Ferguson & Habkirk, 2024) include techniques grounded in Indigenous relationality (Wilson, 2008), responsibility, respect, relevance, and reciprocity (Kirkness & Barnhardt, 2001) with community partners who share knowledge-making interests with Indigenous peoples.

As a field, Community Psychology aims to effect social change and collective wellness and offers change strategies useful in Canadian reconciliation. First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) peoples are the principle history keepers of all that happens on the land Canada currently occupies. Settler Canadians are in varying stages of reconciling the role of the Indian Residential Schools in clearing the geopolitical state they currently call home. Bridge Methods work to productively work the tensions inherent in research that seeks to generate substantive and active reconciliation among Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians impacted by settler-statecraft. Residential school archival research, school survivor testimonies, qualitative interviews, surveys, and student research training and mentorship are methods of active reconciliation used in this research project. Links to publications using Bridge Research Methods as Community Psychology practice are found here.

Ancestral Wisdom

Cutting Edge Treatments Meets Ancestral Wisdom: Studying the Sacred Circle Ketamine Indigenous Wellness Program

This research is a preliminary assessment of the efficacy and acceptability of an innovative treatment approach developed for, by and with a First Nations owned, non-profit wellness society  in BC to treat substance use disorders (SUD) and the intergenerational effects of Historical Trauma (HT). Rooted in Indigenous cultural health practices, the program aims to fortify connections with oneself, others, the land, and spirit. The program works with a medical team, psychologists, elders, ceremonialists, and helpers to incorporate ketamine administration within their community based healing methods and healing model. Using a mixed-methods research design in collaboration with knowledge users, the findings will inform policy and practice networks about cutting edge and culturally-guided solutions for SUD and HT. The research attempts to articulate the cultural, social, and political implications of taking up new treatment models, interventions, and approaches in the context of First Nation self-determination in health.

Decolonizing in Education

Indigenous Psychologies and Curriculum Development

This is an investigation into the efforts to decolonize the Canadian higher-education system, include more diverse perspectives within academia, and provide more effective and culturally responsive education for, by, and with Indigenous people living in Canada. This work explores the offerings of undergraduate Indigenous psychology coursework in 24 Canadian post-secondary institutions (CPSI). As part of the work to expatiate a distinct field for Indigenous Psychology practices, the goal of this project is to generate an undergraduate course curriculum in psychology inclusive of Indigenous knowledge, methods, and scholarly contributions to mental health and wellness. This is also a response to calls to action 63 and 64 (TRC, 2015) to meet the goals of “integrating Indigenous knowledge in classrooms”, and “build student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy and mutual respect”.

Gift For Our Nation

Sandy Bay Anishinaabemowin Language Sovereignty: A Gift for our Nation

The goal of this project is to enhance Anishinaabemowin (Ojibway language) survivance and data sovereignty over our own language so that our people can continue to thrive in our culture, worldviews, and lifeways. Seeking to deepen our understanding of effective language transmission within our own nation, this project will document and make stories and conversations available as a tool for education and research in our database. The content on this database will be shaped by members of the Sandy Bay Ojibway Elders Council and may include casual conversations, stories, and histories. Designed to educate, some content may include English translations to aid in understanding. Having these stories and conversations decoded by fluent Anishinaabemowin speakers will ensure that the “content and meaning from one language to another…maintain the spirit of the oral tradition” (Archibald, 2008, p. 30). This practice allows the speakers to convey their interpretation and reflection without interference from outside sources. Audio and video documentation of language in context captures “gestures, tone, rhythm, and personality” (Archibald, 2008, p.17), as language does not only exist for a literate world, but for an oral one.

The pihtikwê Podcast

Visits with First Nations Psychologists

Led by Dr. Alanaise Ferguson, Dr. Holly Graham, and Dr. Brenda Restoule. This project aims to centre the voices of Indigenous experts and leaders working in the mental wellness field to promote collective learning and mobilize knowledge to support Indigenous well-being. The central theme in this work is healing from trauma and reducing addictions. Indigenous psychologists and leaders in the mental wellness field will share their stories, knowledge, and lived experiences.