Health inequalities of Indigenous children and youth in Canada are well documented. Recently, children and youths’ perspectives are being recognized as valuable. However, there is a paucity of literature that seek children and youth’s perspective regarding their health and well-being. The purpose of this study was to understand how children and youth in Winneway, QC view health and well-being and to identify their main health and well-being concerns. A focused ethnographic study with Indigenous decolonizing framework was used with data primarily collected through interviews of fifteen participants aged 6 to 17. Children and youth in Winneway view their health and well-being as multidimensional and view themselves as decision-makers in their health and well-being choices. Their main health and well-being concerns include poor eating choices, difficulty expressing emotional and mental concerns, how children and youth treat others, and youth participation in unhealthy behaviours. These findings reveal the valuable perspectives that Indigenous children and youth can have regarding their health and well-being. They also suggest that future health and well-being interventions targeting Indigenous children and youth seek out and respect the knowledge and perspectives that children and youth have of their health and well-being.

Successful responses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's (TRC, 2015) Calls to Action require “joint leadership, trust-building, and transparency” between Canadian public institutions and First Nations. In the area of health and wellness, community participation in priority setting and planning constitutes one important step forward. In 2013, the Québec Cree regional health and social services agency launched a unique wellness planning initiative involving community participation in regional level policy-making. This article reports on a qualitative study conducted with key agency staff, an early component of a broader developmental participatory evaluation. Focusing on contextual challenges to and ways forward on community participation in planning, thematic analysis of 17 semi-structured interviews revealed important nuances between Cree and non-Cree perspectives: These perspectives reflected an empowerment versus a utilitarian view of participation, respectively. Cree Elders consulted on these results highlighted the ontological and epistemological distinction of Cree perspectives, and the importance of bringing these forth. These interpretations point to the relevance of extending cultural safety to institution-level processes bearing on relationships with communities and potentially building capacity for participation.

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