Moving Forward Together in Aboriginal Women's Health: - Theses ...

Moving Forward TogetherJanet Kellycollaborative action (take action) as they developed. This ensures that thewomen’s voices, decisions and actions remain in context of what washappening around them and for them at the time, an important consideration inwoman-centered postcolonial feminist studies. Further analysis based aroundthe three central themes of knowledge sharing, working together andaddressing issues is positioned at the end of the chapter.Negotiated codingIn order to include the women co-researchers and stakeholders’ voices andviewpoints, but not identify them as individuals (which is what theyspecifically asked for), I devised the following coding system. AWG D refersto discussions with the small group of four Aboriginal community women.WFG refers to discussions with the broader membership of the Women’sFriendship Group open to a wider group of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginalwomen. AHS D refers to discussions with Aboriginal health staff and CH Drefers to discussions with community health staff. Mg refers to managers.Background – building relationships and expectationsAs strongly encouraged by Aboriginal women co-researchers, AboriginalReference Group, I begin this chapter with a historical account of events andrelationships between the Aboriginal community women, the Gilles Plainshealth services and myself. Aboriginal co-researchers (AWG D7) discussedthat often this aspect is over looked in reports and studies, and yet from theirperspective it makes the difference between whether a program or researchworks or not.A culturally safe meeting place - Aboriginal Young Mothers’ GroupThe four Aboriginal community women (who later became co-researchers) andI first met at Gilles Plains Community Health Service. I was invited by anAboriginal Health Worker to provide a contraceptive workshop for the GillesPlains Aboriginal Young Mothers’ Group in 2000. This parenting group washighly regarded by the Aboriginal women who attended (communityconsultations with Aboriginal community women 2005). It was supported byAboriginal Health Workers and Registered Nurses from Gilles Plains162