Women Elders and Grandmothers Storytelling: Co-Creating a Collective Wisdom Bundle for Indigenous Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

St-Denis, Natalie

Women Elders and Grandmothers Storytelling: Co-Creating a Collective Wisdom Bundle for Indigenous Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

dc.contributor.advisor	Walsh, Christine Ann
dc.contributor.author	St-Denis, Natalie
dc.contributor.committeemember	Leason, Jennifer Lynn
dc.contributor.committeemember	Bennett, Marlyn Loretta
dc.contributor.committeemember	Allan, Billie
dc.contributor.committeemember	Hanson, Aubrey Jean
dc.date	2023-11
dc.date.accessioned	2023-09-01T16:04:48Z
dc.date.available	2023-09-01T16:04:48Z
dc.date.issued	2023-08-25
dc.description.abstract	The prevalence of child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities is not an isolated phenomenon but rather a symptom of historical and intergenerational traumas resulting from centuries of colonial violence and residential schools. Child sexual abuse can lead to long-term mental health impacts including depression, addiction, and suicide and is correlated with higher incidences of physical and sexual violence throughout the lifespan. Indigenous women in Canada are seven times more likely to be murdered and three times more likely to be a victim of severe violence or sexual assault compared to non-Indigenous women. This inquiry invited 10 Algonquian women Elders and Grandmothers to share survivance stories and teachings to support wholistic lifeways for Indigenous women survivors of child sexual abuse. This dissertation offers insights for: anti-colonizing narratives of child sexual abuse; reframing healing/trauma-based narratives to wholistic lifeways; a working definition of Indigenous sexual health; culturally informed Indigenous sexual health education; coming to know stories as medicine as an Indigenous storytelling methodology; a relational living collective wisdom bundle holding stories and teachings from 10 Algonquian women Elders and Grandmothers; as well as offering guidance for anti-colonizing social work practice and education. Outcomes from this dissertation seek to guide and inform Indigenous and non-Indigenous social service agencies – social workers, health care practitioners, policy makers and funders – serving Indigenous women survivors of child sexual abuse in their programs and services to improve the wellbeing of Indigenous women, their families and communities.
dc.identifier.citation	St-Denis, N. (2023). Women Elders and Grandmothers storytelling: co-creating a collective wisdom bundle for Indigenous women survivors of child sexual abuse (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1880/116947
dc.identifier.uri	https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/41793
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	child sexual abuse
dc.subject	Indigenous women
dc.subject	storytelling
dc.subject	collective wisdom bundle
dc.subject.classification	Social Work
dc.subject.classification	Native American Studies
dc.title	Women Elders and Grandmothers Storytelling: Co-Creating a Collective Wisdom Bundle for Indigenous Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
dc.type	doctoral thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Social Work
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudent	I do not require a thesis withhold – my thesis will have open access and can be viewed and downloaded publicly as soon as possible.