Leadership, power and racism: lifeguards’ influences on Aboriginal people’s experiences at a Northern Canadian aquatic facility

Abstract

Using a Foucauldian and postcolonial lens, this case study examines the ways in which leadership styles used by lifeguards and supported by the structure, rules and regulations at a northern Canadian swimming pool influenced Aboriginal people's experience of the facility. Participant observation, semi-structured interviews and a focus group were used to identify the ways in which Eurocentric lifeguard training, exercises of power, institutional racism and an absence of cultural competency can intersect to influence Aboriginal people's use of a local pool and their considerations of lifeguarding as a potential employment opportunity. On the basis of these findings, the study suggests that the development and implementation of anti-discriminatory policies and procedures for swimming pools and the inclusion of cultural competency teachings in lifeguard training are necessary measures to enhance Aboriginal people's experiences at northern swimming pools, to foster opportunities to become lifeguards and to augment Euro-Canadian lifeguards' capacity to maintain a safe and welcoming aquatic environment in a cross-cultural context.

Enhancing the Relevance and Effectiveness of Water Safety Education for Ethnic and Racial Minorities

“…The findings from this case study suggested that the leadership practices employed by predominantly Euro-Canadian lifeguards from southern Canada had a negative effect on Aboriginal patrons' experiences in the aquatic environment. Rousell and Giles (2011) examined power relations at the pool and determined that lifeguards' approaches to leadership created and proliferated institutionalized racism, which, in turn, created an unwelcoming environment that discouraged Aboriginal patrons from fully participating in pool programs, such as swimming lessons, and from enjoying their experiences at the local pool.…”

“…In Canada's North, Rousell and Giles (2011) examined the ways in which the lifeguards' leadership styles, the structure of programming, and the policies and regulations enforced at a northern swimming facility influenced Aboriginal participants' experiences there. The findings from this case study suggested that the leadership practices employed by predominantly Euro-Canadian lifeguards from southern Canada had a negative effect on Aboriginal patrons' experiences in the aquatic environment.…”

Managing Diversity to Provide Culturally Safe Sport Programming: A Case Study of the Canadian Red Cross’s Swim Program

“…While there is a significant body of literature concerning the tensions and difficulties of using standardized aquatics programs (i.e., the same program in very different contexts) in Aboriginal communities in Canada's North (Baker & Giles, 2008;Giles, Baker, & Rousell, 2007;Giles, Castleden, & Baker, 2010;Giles, Strachan, Stadig, & Baker, 2010;Rousell & Giles, 2011b), scholars have only begun to discuss the (in)effectiveness of these programs for other ethnic and cultural minority populations (Golob et al, 2013). For example, Giles et al (2007) discussed the lack of culturally appropriate content in standardized aquatics programs for Aboriginal participants in Canada's North (e.g., a failure to accept traditional practices, such as making an offering to the water before heading out in a boat or bringing a gun on a boating excursion, as legitimate) which led to programming that is less meaningful in these contexts.…”

“…Within an aquatics context, Giles's (2011a, 2011b) research in northern Canada demonstrated the extent to which the organizational culture of an aquatic facility can impact the experiences of participants who do not necessarily share the values of that culture. As the organizational culture in the northern aquatics facility was reflective of the approaches to Eurocentric leadership employed by the mostly Euro-Canadian aquatics staff (Rousell & Giles, 2011a, 2011b and not the often Aboriginal patrons, the authors identified barriers to embracing cultural and JSM Vol. 29, No.…”

The benefits and challenges of girl-focused Indigenous SDP programs in Australia and Canada

“…On its website, Right To Play states that 82% of participants believed that they were stronger leaders due to their involvement in the PLAY program (Right To Play 2014). Rose and Giles (2007) and Rousell and Giles (2012), however, pointed out that Eurocentric understandings of leadership do not necessary align with Indigenous understandings of leadership, which can cause problems in leadership programming for Indigenous youth. Right To Play is nevertheless expanding its programs to include urban Indigenous communities (Right To Play 2014).…”