Weaving the sweetgrass and porcupine quill birch box into a methodology: the living stories of chronic kidney disease for First Nations People
Date
2018-04-30
Authors
Smith, Mary
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Abstract
The thunderstorm encroaches, the smoky raven like clouds float over my spirit. This writing takes place at a time of mourning, a deep and lonesome sadness for family relations who have passed over the last few years, many having died of kidney disease. Yet, I cannot escape this feeling that has filled the silent spaces and the deeper meanings that lie behind spoken words. These are the words of my relations, the words that fill these empty pages, the words of an enduring past and present. As I begin, I wonder, how will I shape these passages into an articulation that may bring an illumination of all that has happened over the last few months since the inception and then ethics approval of this work. So here I shall offer an understanding of the background that brought this study forward. I will recount the progression of thought that precipitated the methodology. Like water that flows and is fluid, this writing has become realized to be ever changing, boundless and repelling conventionality. It is not just a story about living with kidney disease, this is a passage that motions and travels through history making interconnections amidst the broader social, political and contextually traditional and creative ways of being. Through the methodology of the sweetgrass porcupine quill box, living stories came forth within the context of a First Nations community. Sharing circles involving ten participants conveyed the living stories of kidney disease that illumined the significance of Indigenous Knowledge, relationality, cultural safety and equitable access.
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Keywords
Kidney, Methodology, Indigenous, Nursing, Healthcare, Cultural safety