University of Manitoba Press The Arts of Indigenous Health and Well-Being

Drawing attention to the ways in which creative practices are essential to the health, well-being, and healing of Indigenous peoples, The Arts of Indigenous Health and Well-Being addresses the effects of artistic endeavour on the “good life”, or mino-pimatisiwin in Cree, which can be described as the balanced interconnection of physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental well-being. In this interdisciplinary collection, Indigenous knowledges inform an approach to health as a wider set of relations that are central to well-being, wherein artistic expression furthers cultural continuity and resilience, community connection, and kinship to push back against forces of fracture and disruption imposed by colonialism. The need for healing―not only individuals but health systems and practices―is clear, especially as the trauma of colonialism is continually revealed and perpetuated within health systems. The field of Indigenous health has recently begun to recognize the fundamental connection between creative expression and well-being. This book brings together scholarship by humanities scholars, social scientists, artists, and those holding experiential knowledge from across Turtle Island to add urgently needed perspectives to this conversation. Contributors embrace a diverse range of research methods, including community-engaged scholarship with Indigenous youth, artists, Elders, and language keepers. The Arts of Indigenous Health and Well-Being demonstrates the healing possibilities of Indigenous works of art, literature, film, and music from a diversity of Indigenous peoples and arts traditions. This book will resonate with health practitioners, community members, and any who recognize the power of art as a window, an entryway to access a healthy and good life. About the Author Nancy Van Styvendale is a white settler scholar, associate professor, and associate dean (research) in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta. J.D. McDougall is a Métis PhD candidate in the Department of English at the University of Saskatchewan, and lecturer in the Indigenous Literatures in English program at First Nations University of Canada.Robert Henry is Métis from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan in the Department of Indigenous Studies, and co-director of the nātawihowin and mamawiikikayaahk Research Networks. Robert Alexander Innes is a member of Cowessess First Nation and associate professor in the Indigenous Studies Program and the Department of Political Science at McMaster University.