Browsing by Author "Voyageur, Cora"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Centering Intersectional Empathy in Theatre Creation: Directing as a Dramaturgy of Process
    (2021-06-28) Cant, Heather; Brubaker, Christine; Barton, Bruce; Brubaker, Christine; Voyageur, Cora
    Canadian theatre was founded on imperial and Eurocentric values that contribute to the presence of harm, exclusion, and inequity in its creation practices. This thesis reflects the journey of a settler theatre artist dispelling the nature of their cultural conditioning to embrace an anti-imperial worldview that centers intersectional empathy. I present the theory and research behind the development of the Process-As-Relation paradigm, which reflects the practices of intersectionality, anti-oppression, and heterarchical power distribution and ethically considers alternate ways of knowing through the ethnographic research of Indigenous peoples’ cultural perspectives and artistic practice in the theatrical medium. I then chart the application of the Process-As-Relation paradigm to the creative process for a production of Crave by Sarah Kane, presenting insight into practical usage and empirical data on efficacy. While Process-As-Relation was generated to shift my own artistic ontology – how I embody my worldview in artistic practice – it is a system of thought that can aid other theatre artists in addressing their own relationship to imperial thinking in their artistic praxis. This research demonstrates that by incorporating the Process-As-Relation paradigm in curating the artistic process as well as anchoring individual artistic practice, theatre makers can embrace relational thinking that prioritizes wholism and the nourishment of both the individual and the collective.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Decolonizing Settler Workspace: Insights from an Indigenous Meaning of Work Perspective
    (2024-01-26) Yuan, Nan Hung; Murry, Adam; Voyageur, Cora; Lee, Kibeom
    The present study conducted a literature review on divergent streams of research in the ‘Meaning of Work’ (MW) literature and proposed a theoretical model that encapsulates existing knowledge. I explored the links and relevance of the mainstream MW (Meaning of Work) literature, as represented by the proposed model, to the literature on Indigenous employment. Using this model as an analytical foundation, I conducted qualitative content and thematic analyses on interview data from 18 Indigenous employees of Western Canadian universities, representing diverse professions, seniority levels, and genders. My analyses show that the criteria for meaningful work for my Indigenous employee participants were linked to their cultural identities.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    “I would rather be here than anywhere else”: A Case Study of Awo Taan Healing Lodge
    (2022-01) Magnussen, Jacey; Voyageur, Cora; Tézli, Annette; Murry, Adam
    This thesis focuses on Awo Taan Healing Lodge (ATHL) - an Indigenous women’s emergency shelter located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This research assesses how ATHL serves the needs of Indigenous women (and other women) who seek refuge in times of distress. What are ATHL successes and its shortfalls? By analyzing numerous quantitative and qualitative data sources, this research takes the form of an explanatory mixed methods case study of ATHL across three time periods: 2010, 2015, and 2019. This research intends to expand the literature on Indigenous women’s experiences with homelessness and service access. There is a lack of research regarding Indigenous women’s experiences of homelessness and domestic violence and how these impact their interactions with service agencies and service providers. This lack of attention leads to invisibility, ineffective service delivery, and inadequate funding for specific groups and their needs. This research found certain trends that impact ATHL and their clients, such as increased instances of mental health concerns for clients, clients staying for longer periods of time at ATHL, and increasingly violent instances of domestic violence. Longitudinal trends found in the quantitative data created a framework for qualitative data analysis. Four key themes emerged from the qualitative data, including: (1) ATHL’s cultural services were beneficial to their clients, (2) clients’ needs were changing, (3) clients needed continued support after they exited ATHL, and (4) ATHL needed more funding and support. Based on the findings of this research I propose recommendations for improvement to services accessed by Indigenous women seeking shelter.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Nehiyawak (Cree) women’s strategies for aging well: community-based participatory research in Maskwacîs, Alberta, Canada, by the Sohkitehew (Strong Heart) group
    (2023-06-27) Listener, Luwana; Ross, Sue; Oster, Richard; Graham, Bonny; Heckman, Seth; Voyageur, Cora
    Abstract Background The Sohkitehew (Strong Heart) Research Group, which included an Elders Advisory Committee of seven Nehiyawak (Cree) women, set out to bring Maskwacîs community members together to understand Nehiyawak women’s experiences of “aging well”. The goals of this research were to generate information honouring Indigenous ways of knowing, and gather strengths-based knowledge about aging well, to help Maskwacîs, women maintain wellness as they age. Methods We facilitated qualitative Sharing Circles in three different settings in Maskwacîs. Discussions were prompted using the four aspects of the self, guided by Medicine Wheel teachings: Physical, Mental, Emotional, Spiritual. Detailed notes were recorded on flip charts during the discussions of each Sharing Circle. Data were analysed using descriptive content analysis to identify practical strategies for aging well. Results Thirty-six community members attended one or more Sharing Circle. Strategies included: Physical—keeping active to remain well; Mental—learning new skills to nourish your mind; Emotional—laughing, crying, and being happy; Spiritual—practicing Nehiyawak traditional ways. Participants commented that balancing these four aspects of the self is necessary to achieve wellness. Following the analysis of the Sharing Circle comments, three community feedback sessions were held to discuss the results in the wider community. These strategies were formatted into a draft booklet which incorporated Cree language, and archive photographs of Maskwacîs women and families. Conclusions The Nehiyawak Sharing Circles identified practical strategies that help women to remain well as they age. This positive approach to aging could be adopted in other Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Preventing Violence Against Women: Emerging Practices of Canadian Activism through Social Media
    (2023-09-10) Felt, J. Mylynn W.; Bakardjieva, Maria; Dumitrica, Delia; Voyageur, Cora; Rodgers, Kathleen; Thrift, Samantha
    The Canadian women’s movement has seen a recent surge in attention and participation. In a rising cycle of contention, broad collective action campaigns can appear as a single social movement. This research uses a comparative case study to examine three cases of varying scale through the causal mechanisms of signaling, innovation, and campaigns/coalitions to examine how social media contribute to the emerging repertoire of contention. The three cases under investigation are a localized case: Safe Stampede, a national case: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and a transnational case: Women’s March on Washington. Results show that social media are not only integral to collective action but also influence the nature of many emerging practices. Organizers utilize personalized participation and localization, favoring tactics that improve visual imagery for social media posts. In outreach efforts, they rely on the scale of social media to connect with influencers, traditional media, and conscience constituents through affordances such as hashtags and addressivity markers. The affordances of social media encourage tactics designed to generate viral content and to leverage shame as a motivator for change. A sense of duty spurs organizers and participants to greater action beyond what might be termed clicktivism. Whether a campaign targets only the local community or a global one, organizers seek to localize their message for regional supporters. In all cases, ideological differences must be resolved in order to maintain solidarity and prevent damaging divides. As social movements progress, they tend to follow predictable patterns toward institutionalization, especially as a cycle of contention begins to recede.