Exploring Indigenous youth perspectives of mobility and social relationships: A Photovoice approach

Abstract

Indigenous youth shared their perspectives of how geographic mobility shapes social relationships. Photovoice revealed that mobility impacts the development of social relationships and is linked to intergenerational displacement from family and social networks.There remains a need for policy that supports culturally safe community spaces that foster resilience and opportunities for self-empowerment.Growing rates of urbanization among young Indigenous populations have been associated with frequent geographic mobility between urban and rural areas, as well as within cities. Little is known of the context of this mobility, or its impacts on social relationships. With nearly half the urban Indigenous population under the age of 25, gaps persist in understanding the mobility experiences of Indigenous youth, who tend to be more mobile than non-Indigenous youth and move more often than their older counterparts. The voice of Indigenous youth remains under-represented, and research with mobile Indigenous youth is limited. To address these gaps, Photovoice was used to better understand how mobility shapes social relationships among a group of Indigenous youth living in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Key findings reveal mobility is common and persistent, often rooted in colonization and intergenerational trauma. As a result, this mobility is often linked to unstable living conditions and displacement from family and social connections. The frequent and uncertain nature of this mobility impacts the ability to develop and sustain positive and supportive social relationships. Findings point to the importance of culturally safe spaces and Indigenous mentorship that fosters resilience and self-empowerment. Examen des perspectives de mobilit e et de relations sociales des jeunes Autochtones : une approche PhotovoiceLe taux croissant d'urbanisation des populations de jeunes Autochtones a et e associ e a la mobilit e g eographique fr equente entre les milieux urbains et les milieux ruraux de même qu'au sein des villes. On connaît bien peu de choses du contexte de cette mobilit e ou de son incidence sur les relations sociales. Alors que pr es de la moiti e de la population autochtone urbaine estâg ee de moins de 25 ans, des lacunes persistent dans la compr ehension des exp eriences de mobilit e des jeunes Autochtones qui ont tendance aêtreThe Canadian Geographer Le Géographe canadienThe Canadian Geographer Le Géographe canadien plus mobiles que les autres jeunes et qui se d eplacent plus souvent que les Autochtones plusâg es. L'opinion des jeunes Autochtones demeure sous-repr esent ee et la recherche aupr es des jeunes Autochtones mobiles est limit ee. Pour combler ces lacunes, nous avons utilis e Photovoice pour mieux comprendre la faS con dont la mobilit e faS conne les relations sociales parmi un groupe de jeunes Autochtones vivant a Winnipeg, au Manitoba. Les principales conclusions r ev elent que la mobilit e est courante et persistante, souvent enracin ee dans les traumas interg en erationnels et de la colonisation. En cons equence, cett...

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