Understanding our past, reclaiming our culture: Conceptualizing Métis culture and mental health in British Columbia

Despite reported disparities in mental health for the Métis population, as well as the historic and contemporary challenges that many Métis people face in maintaining cultural connectedness, cultural continuity research with Métis communities remains largely ignored. To address this gap, this research sought to explore the meaning of cultural continuity and mental health for Métis people in British Columbia (BC). This thesis includes a meta-synthesis of relevant, original research with Indigenous Peoples in Canada and the United States, and a grounded theory study that explores Métis participants’ experiences and conceptualizations of mental health and cultural continuity. Through the development of a Métis cultural continuity framework and evidence that associates cultural continuity as a Métis determinant of health, the findings point to the need for conducting community-driven quantitative research, in addition to supporting cultural practices, language revitalization, and Elder-youth engagement opportunities for increased cultural continuity for Métis people in BC.