Renee McBeth

Biography:

Dr. McBeth has a PhD in Political Science from the University of Alberta and is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Faculty of Medicine. In her role with the Inner City Health and
Wellness Program, Renée is coordinating collaborative research with people with shared lived and living experience of currently illegal drug use in central Edmonton. Renée is a
white settler scholar and her research interests include methods of co-creation and practical governance for housing and support services. Developed in her community-
engaged doctoral research, the practical governance method enables groups to identify a shared purpose, facilitates meaning-making, and supports authoritative decision-making.

Node Funded Project (June 2024)

Title: Towards Culturally Safe Partnerships for Indigenous People Who Use Drugs

Principal Investigator: Renee McBeth, University of Alberta

Co-investigators/collaborators:

Dr Ginetta Salvalaggio, Dr Kathryn Dong, Dr Elaine Hyshka (University of Alberta)

Description: Given the disproportionate representation of Indigenous people among those experiencing drug-related harms, it is critical that Indigenous PWUD are both centered in health system improvement, and have access to culturally safe spaces for partnering to promote their own health and prevent undue harm.

Indigenous knowledge-keepers and Indigenous PWUD have insisted that healthy communities depend on “emplaced” relational knowledges. Culturally safe partnerships are needed to ground health services in emplaced networks and Indigenous knowledges ethically and sustainably. Relational practices from different specific traditions can help build trust and anti-colonial caring spaces . The understanding behind this approach is that partnerships are relationships, institutionalized within services. Indigenous PWUD recommendations for health and healing are necessary to support active and equitable involvement in creating healthy communities. As stated by Tracy Wilson, Indigenous knowledge keeper and advisor to this team, creating culturally safe partnerships is a form of harm reduction for Indigenous PWUD.

The objectives of this community-based research project are: 1. To document Indigenous PWUD experiences partnering with the health system, and elicit recommendations for improving available supports. 2. To share project learnings and emerging best practices with organizations that work with PWUD. Methodology: Indigenous PWUD co-researchers will facilitate sharing circles with fellow Indigenous PWUD who work or volunteer with Indigenous and/or Indigenous-serving health and social organizations in Edmonton and area. Indigenous PWUD co-researchers will be mentored by Indigenous knowledge keepers who will also provide broader project guidance and input. The project will generate community-led outputs, starting with a presentation, a partnership, and a potential toolkit (supported by CRISM) and building towards larger grants, PWUD supports, publicly available resources, reports, and publications. All outputs will center
the relational practices and priorities of Indigenous PWUD researchers and sharing circle participants.