Our team is a new research partnership currently conducting a secondary analysis of Indigenous participants in community survey data related to sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, sexual health care and digital literacy. The survey was conducted in 2022 in five cities in BC. This research is governed by our team’s Indigenous Steering Committee including Elder Barb Whyte from the K’ómoks Nation and Indigenous sexual health and testing leads and allies working at First Nations Health Authority (Jae Ford, Jennifer Cochrane), Métis Nation BC (Yvonne Houssin, Christiane Boroto), the BC Association of Friendship Centres (Noelle Horoscoe) and Chee Mamuk, BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC)’s Indigenous Health and Wellness Team (Judy Sturm). The research is supported by settler researchers on our team based at the BCCDC (Mark Gilbert, Hsiu-Ju Chang) who carry out data analysis and support knowledge mobilization following the direction of the Steering Committee.
We started our partnership in January 2025 by deciding our principles for working together (based on the 6 R’s of Indigenous research; Ranalda L, et al. 2022), with the analysis of survey data beginning in December 2025. Until now, our team has only met virtually through monthly meetings. By fall, we will have completed analyzing the data and preparing a technical report of our findings. We would like to hold a two day in-person meeting for our team this fall. The purposes of the meeting are to: 1) strengthen the relationships developing between us through sharing food, working in circle and reflecting on the research we are doing, and 2) talk more deeply about the meaning of the knowledge generated (for Indigenous people, the health system, and our own organizations). The meeting will be held in Victoria, BC, with over half of the Steering Committee members based on Vancouver Island. On Day 1 of the meeting, we will review the findings and develop recommendations. On Day 2 we will continue the discussions from Day 1, finalize our knowledge mobilization plan including returning findings back to the Indigenous people on whose lands the cities where survey took place are located, and further reflect on and explore potential collective actions or further research related to promoting sexual health and preventing STI for Indigenous people.