A Scoping Review of Theoretical Lenses and Methodological Approaches in Indigenous Women's Health and Well-Being Research in North America over the Past Two Decades.

Theoretical approaches influence research design, engagement, and outcomes. The relevance of critical theoretical and methodological approaches to Indigenous women's health and well-being research has increased in the last decade. It is difficult to assess the ways in which theoretical lenses can effectively interrupt and challenge systemic erasure, ongoing harms, and deficit-based (ill-health-centered) approaches to Indigenous women's health and well-being, a fact that is not broadly acknowledged. We conducted a scoping review to (a) map the type and frequency of critical theoretical lenses used by researchers focused on Indigenous women's health and well-being in North America over the past two decades and (b) identify which topics tend to use which theoretical lens. We have conducted a scoping review to examine peer-reviewed articles from eight electronic databases. In the articles selected over 2000-2021, we found an increase in the use of community-based participatory research, decolonial lenses, and feminist lenses. Over the last decade, there has been a decrease in quantitative social science approaches. While a range of critical theoretical and methodological approaches are increasingly being applied, the use of cultural resurgence and Indigenous feminism in health research is not widespread.

A methodological protocol for conducting a scoping review of health research on/by/with Indigenous women in North America.

BACKGROUND: Indigenous women in North America experience multiple inequities in terms of health and well-being when compared to non-Indigenous women and Indigenous men. In an effort to understand these health disparities, there has been a surge of research in the field of Indigenous women's health and well-being over the last 20 years. The objective of this study is to conduct a scoping review of the most current research in this field to determine which theoretical frameworks are being used to study which topics in Indigenous women's health and well-being in North America. METHODS: The scoping review protocol used was designed to follow an iterative six-step process as laid out by Arksey and O'Malley. Peer-reviewed, academic articles from the following databases were identified: Academic Search Complete, Native Health Database, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Bibliography of Native North America, Sociological Abstracts, Gender Watch, and Indigenous Peoples of North America. Two team members subsequently conducted two screens of titles and abstracts to include articles which focused exclusively on Indigenous women's health and well-being published between 2011 and 2021. The literature considered focused on Indigenous women's health and well-being and explicitly states their use of critical theoretical frameworks (e.g., Indigenous feminist, intersectionality, Indigenous resurgence, feminist, critical race) or community-based participatory research (CBPR). Data analysis will involve quantitative and qualitative descriptions. DISCUSSION: The results of our scoping review (in progress) will map out the current field of Indigenous women's health research. Our findings will highlight the theoretical frameworks operationalized in research on Indigenous women's health, identify gaps therein, and provide a basis for understanding how these theoretical lenses shape questions, methodologies, analysis, and implications of academic research.

Wapekeka's COVID-19 Response: A Local Response to a Global Pandemic.

Two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many nations and communities continue to grapple with waves of infection and social fallout from pandemic fatigue and frustration. While we are still years away from realizing the full impacts of COVID-19, reflecting on our collective responses has offered some insights into the impact that various public health policies and decisions had on nations' abilities to weather the multifaceted impacts of the pandemic. Widely believed to have the potential to be devastated by COVID-19, many Indigenous communities in Canada were extremely successful in managing outbreaks. This paper outlines one such example, Wapekeka First Nation, and the community's formidable response to the pandemic with a specific focus on food mobilization efforts. Built on over a decade of community-based participatory action research and informed by six interviews with key pandemic leaders in the community, this paper, co-led by two community hunters and band council members, emphasizes the various decisions and initiatives that led to Wapekeka's successful pandemic response. Proactive leadership, along with strong traditional harvesting and processing efforts, helped to take care of the community while they remained strictly isolated from virus exposure.

Indigenous women's worldview in food-related research: Rematriating food, bodies and lands.

Western discourses around food (in)security and nutrition often focus on food access primarily through male-driven efforts. In turn, the gendered dimension is missing. Yet Indigenous food systems cannot be fully understood without Indigenous women's worldview, challenges, and labour. Our critique points to the importance of centring Indigenous women's embodied knowledge systems in our food related research. Novelty: Rematriating food research regenerates the complexities of kinship wellbeing, sustainable economies, and body sovereignty.