Métis cancer survivor experiences documented in digital storytelling project

A storytelling project supported by USask and SK-NEIHR is sharing powerful stories of survival in the hopes of raising awareness for healthcare access among Métis communities.

Dr. Robert Henry (PhD), an associate professor in USask’s Department of Indigenous Studies in the College of Arts and Science who holds a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Justice and Wellbeing, co-led this project with Dr. Chelsea Gabel (PhD) from McMaster University that highlighted stories of Métis cancer survivors in Saskatchewan.

They worked with Terri Hansen-Gardiner, a Knowledge Keeper with SK-NEIHR and a cancer survivor and support worker, to help bring the project to life. Henry said it was important to approach this project through the community, to help ensure the people sharing their stories also kept ownership of those stories.

“They’re finding ways to get their treatment and also keep the relationships they have in their community,” he said. “They’re not stories about hardship. They’re stories about how people have had to persevere through a very difficult time.”

The goals of the project were threefold: to look at health and wellness in Northern communities in a new light, to explore and share the experiences of Métis patients navigating the Saskatchewan health-care system and dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, and to work with SK-NEIHR to give those survivors a piece of legacy storytelling to share far into the future.

The project resulted in a series of digital stories featuring first-person accounts of cancer survivors or their family members detailing the most important moments of what Hansen-Gardiner referred to as the “cancer journey.”

Henry said the participants in the digital stories – and following focus group discussions – were very open about their struggles to leave home to deal with their diagnosis.

“Some of the stories talk about what individuals had to give up to get treatment ... We don’t normally think about that, and the impact that has,” he said.

Hansen-Gardiner said her hope is these stories can help people understand more about cancer, and not go through the same difficult circumstances she did.

"When I first saw the video, I was very proud,” she said. “If people see this, they’ll say ‘look at her. She made it.’ I’m proud to say that I make a difference for a lot of people.”

After being diagnosed with cancer in 2014, Hansen-Gardiner said one of her lasting memories of her treatment was seeing Elders in waiting rooms, sad and afraid because they often didn’t speak English and didn’t understand what was happening to them.

It’s one of the many reasons Hansen-Gardiner works with the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency’s Northern Health Bus, which travels through more than two dozen communities in Saskatchewan to help with education and awareness of major health issues. Hansen-Gardiner, who speaks Cree, can interact with the community in what is the first or only language for many.

“It’s so important that you’re hearing it from me, you’re seeing me,” Hansen-Gardiner said. “I’m so grateful. That’s how people learn – seeing other people telling their journey, what they went through, the challenges they faced and how they overcame those challenges.”

There are some resources to support Métis cancer patients living in Northern Saskatchewan, provided by entities like Métis Nation–Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Health Authority, but Hansen-Gardiner said too many people aren’t aware that they exist or don’t know how to access them.

Henry said the project highlighted the policy gaps and barriers for Métis cancer patients, whether that be finances, insurance, travel, language, or any other hurdle.

Hansen-Gardiner lauded Henry, USask, and SK-NEIHR for their support and for their work with cancer patients.

Henry said creating a space for “ethical digital storytelling” – gathering these stories alongside the community and giving them ownership – was crucial for making this project happen.

As USask and SK-NEIHR continue working with Indigenous and Métis communities on wellness and policy-focused projects, Henry said establishing USask as a safe place for these stories to be told and housed will set the university up for success in the future.

“It’s not just researchers doing research, but communities developing the research program themselves, and we support them to make sure they get the outcomes they want,” Henry said. “It’s done in a good way, to improve relations between USask and our communities.”

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