About the Project
Urban Indigenous Identity, Gender, and Wellness: Sharing Wisdom Across Generations (UIIGW) explored how land-based programming supports wellness among urban Indigenous youth by centring identity, gender, and intergenerational knowledge sharing. ​
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Running from 2022-2025, the project was co-led by Métis Community Services Society of BC, Lillooet Friendship Centre Society, and university-based researchers at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Together, this partnership formed the Urban Indigenous Youth Wellbeing Collective.
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Together, the Collective co-developed five land-based programs for each centre, grounded in community priorities and local contexts. Activities included harvesting and preserving food and medicines, plant walks, Indigenous ceremonies, genealogy research, arts-based activities (such as beading, sash weaving, sewing ribbon skirts and shirts) and learning from Elders and Knowledge Keepers about gender, wellness, and identity.
Project Governance
Youth were engaged as co-creators of programs, with guidance from local Community Advisory Teams and a cross-centre Youth & Young Adult Advisory Council. These governance structures ensured that community voices, cultural teachings, and intergenerational relationships guided every stage of the project.
Project Outcomes & Learnings
Over the course of the project, 105 youth, young adults, Elders, and knowledge keepers participated in UIIGW. Through sharing circles and surveys, youth described meaningful wellness impacts, including:
A stronger sense of belonging
Increased connection to culture
Deeper connection to community and land
Greater understanding of their gender and identity
These learnings continue to inform the Collective’s ongoing work to support urban Indigenous youth wellbeing.
Publications
Carte, D., Hutchinson, P., Legault, G., Olsen, K., Kage, M., & Cundy, H. (2026). Indigenous Community-Based Research and Research Methods: The Role of Community Research Liaisons. Journal of Indigenous Wellbeing: Te Mauri - Pimatisiwin, 1(8), 198-218.
Community Infographics
Insights were gathered from youth and young adults through sharing circles held after land-based programs, along with program feedback surveys. The sharing circles created a space for youth and young adults to reflect on their experiences, share perspectives, and collectively discuss what they learned and experienced during the programs. Program feedback surveys complemented these conversations by capturing individual reflections and suggestions for improvement. Surveys with Elder and Knowledge Keeper facilitators also helped identify what worked well and what supports could strengthen their ability to lead activities in the future. Together, these approaches deepened our understanding of participants’ experiences and informed the ongoing development of land-based programming. These infographics are intended to highlight these insights.
Lillooet Friendship Centre Society
Métis Community Service Society of BC
Additional
Resources
These are downloadable resources developed through the UIIGW project (English):
More Coming Soon
The Urban Indigenous Youth Wellbeing Collective gratefully acknowledges the UIIGW project was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.