Dissertation
CAREGIVING AND CULTURAL CONNECTEDNESS: COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVES OF THE URBAN INDIGENOUS EXPERIENCE
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
05/2025
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000007455
Abstract
Although over 70% of the Indigenous population in the United States reside in metropolitan areas, urban Indigenous peoples have often been invisible and their experiences misrepresented in the literature (Yuan et al., 2014; Urban Indian Health, 2013). The current study centers the voices and the lived experiences of caregiving adults within the urban Indigenous community of one metropolitan area to identify what encompasses a strong sense of cultural connection, belongingness, and resource needs for families and communities to promote healing and break cycles of intergenerational trauma transmission. With the guidance of a Community Advisory Board, four talking circles, an Indigenous research method, were held with 14 adult participants who identified as urban Indigenous caregivers (i.e., parents, guardians, Elders, educators, practitioners) of children. Transcripts underwent qualitative hybrid coding, integrating both an inductive and deductive approach to reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022; Kovach, 2009; Swain, 2018). Six primary themes were identified: (1) Grounding in Identity; (2) Barriers to Belongingness and Strong Sense of Self; (3) Fostering Belongingness; (4) Caregiving Practices as specific to the urban Indigenous context; (5) Pathways for Healing; and (6) Community Needs. Each theme included respective subthemes, adding detail and specificity. Participants called for culturally and trauma-informed caregiving and healing initiatives that are inclusive of the diversity and multiplicities of urban Indigenous populations. Implications of these efforts inform strengths-based program development to promote generational healing through an Indigenous worldview.
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Details
- Title
- CAREGIVING AND CULTURAL CONNECTEDNESS
- Creators
- Meenakshi Richardson
- Contributors
- Sara F. Waters (Chair)Myra Parker (Committee Member)Yoshie Sano (Committee Member)Lisa Colón (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of Human Development
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 188
- Identifiers
- 99901220328401842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation