“We Exist. We’re Not Just Some Fairytale in a Book”: Migration Narratives of LGBTQ2S Aboriginal People in Toronto by Rachel Harris A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Geography and Planning University of Toronto © Copyright by Rachel Harris 2015 “We Exist. We’re Not Just Some Fairytale in A Book”: Migration Narratives of LGBTQ2S Aboriginal People in Toronto Rachel Harris Master of Arts Department of Geography and Planning University of Toronto 2015 Abstract Over the past 60 years, the urban Aboriginal population in Canada has increased by almost 700 percent. Toronto’s population is no different; from 2001 to 2011, the Aboriginal population in Toronto grew by 87 percent. While it has been suggested that there is a high rate of Aboriginal mobility between reserves and cities, there are few qualitative studies that examine experiences of migration. Within that, little attention has been paid to narratives of Aboriginal people who are marginalized within this already marginalized community, such as the LGBTQ and two-spirited (LGBTQ2S) population. Utilizing Indigenous methodologies and a critical population health theoretical framework, semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-two LGBTQ2S migrants to understand urban transition narratives. The findings suggest that LGBTQ2S migrants have unique migration narratives based on their intersectional identities, which contribute to new challenges accessing housing, employment, culture, and services for this particular population. ii Acknowledgments I would first like to acknowledge that this research took place in Toronto, land that has most recently been in the care of the Mississaugas of the New Credit. Miigwetch. I would also like to truly commend and acknowledge my community partner, the Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto, for recognizing, supporting, and advocating for LGBTQ2S people in Toronto. I would like to thank my participants for consistently emulating the Seven Grandfather Teachings, sharing their stories of survival and perseverance, punctuating conversations with laughter, and for always expressing optimism. It was a privilege to be able to sit down and chat with you, if only for a while. I would also like to thank the many people who I spoke with in the early phases of this project for taking a stake in the future of service delivery in Toronto. Personally, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Kathi Wilson, for her consistent guidance, support, and always letting me be the free one on her “buy one get one free” coupon lunches. I also extend thanks to my committee members, Dr. Sarah Wakefield and Dr. Nicole Laliberté. Sarah, I truly admire your dedication to community-based research. Nicole, thank you for the strong mentorship well beyond your duty throughout my degree – it was a pleasure and an honour to be your Teaching Assistant. You truly enriched my graduate experience. To my officemates and Tennis Crew (Léa, Emily, Marie-Line, and Paulina), thank you so much for your kindness, laughter, and a lot of coffee. A special thanks to Léa for being the very best cycling and bus buddy. To the rest of the MA cohort, thank you for your thoughtful feedback and many hangouts. Finally, to my favourite board game rivals, Kaitlyn and Mike, many times hanging out with you was the light at the end of the tunnel to a long workweek. Thank you. I owe tremendous gratitude to two communities I was a part of prior to and while completing this thesis. To my friends in Big Grassy and Dene Tha’, thank you for letting me live, learn, and grow with you. I dedicate this thesis to you. I would also like to acknowledge funding from the J. M. Tomczac/Ontario Graduate Scholarship, the James T. Lemon Memorial Scholarship, and the University of Toronto Mississauga’s Graduate Expansion Fund. iii To my family: Dad, thank you for trying to articulate what I do to the rest of the family and the many visits to Toronto along the way. Mom, I’m still not sure if you know what I do, but thank you for trying and likely overselling me. To Emily and Sebastian, thank you for your open door policy – it was a privilege to be able to spend so much time with my beautiful nephew in his first year. I will always remember and cherish that time. To my wonderful in-laws, Vicky and Erich, thank you for your generosity and love (and for putting up with me). Finally, to my incredible partner Aly, who makes a tremendous difference in the Aboriginal community every day. As I wrote in my undergraduate acknowledgements to you, this thesis ends one chapter of our lives and begins another. I am honoured to call you my partner, and humbled that you chose me to spend your life with. Throughout this process, you have been the very best sounding board, critic, comedian, and motivator. Thank you. Your compassion, wit, intelligence, and support have never wavered, and neither has my love for you. iv Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS III TABLE OF CONTENTS V LIST OF TABLES VIII LIST OF APPENDICES IX CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 BACKGROUND 1 1.1.1 ABORIGINAL DEMOGRAPHY, MOBILITY, AND URBANIZATION 1 1.1.2 PUSH, PULL, AND GOVERNANCE: QUALIFYING ABORIGINAL POPULATION GROWTH 2 1.1.3 SHORTCOMINGS OF CURRENT RESEARCH 3 1.1.4 GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT: TORONTO 4 1.1.5 MARGINALIZED IN AN ALREADY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITY: THE URBAN ABORIGINAL LGBTQ2S POPULATION IN TORONTO 5 1.2 THESIS OUTLINE 7 CHAPTER 2 CRITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW 8 2.1 THE EVOLUTION OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY 8 2.1.1 INDIGENOUS GENDER AND SEXUALITY 9 2.1.2 COLONIZING GENDER AND SEXUALITY 12 2.1.3 RETHINKING INDIGENOUS FEMININITY AND MASCULINITY 16 2.1.4 AN AUTHOR’S NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY: FROM BERDACHE TO TWO-SPIRIT 17 2.2 LGBTQ2S ABORIGINAL PEOPLE AND INTERSECTIONS WITH HEALTH, WELLBEING, AND SERVICE PROVISION 18 2.2.1 AREAS OF CURRENT RESEARCH 19 2.3 CRITICAL POPULATION HEALTH THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS 28 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 31 3.1 RESEARCH SETTING 31 3.2 INDIGENOUS METHODOLOGIES AS A METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK 32 3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN 33 v 3.3.1 PHASE I 33 3.3.2 PHASE II 35 3.3.3 PHASE III 37 3.4 DATA COLLECTION AND PARTICIPANTS 37 3.5 DATA ANALYSIS 40 3.6 EVALUATION OF RESEARCH METHODS AND POSITIONALITY 40 3.6.1 RESEARCH METHODS 40 3.6.2 POSITIONALITY 42 CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 44 4.1 AN OVERVIEW OF SERVICES IN TORONTO 44 4.2 RESITUATING US: CRITICAL POPULATION HEALTH, INTERSECTIONALITY, AND INDIGENOUS METHODOLOGIES 48 4.3 DISTAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH: MIGRATION, COMMUNITY, AND CULTURE 54 4.3.1 MIGRATION AND COLONIALISM AS DISTAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH 54 4.3.2 DISCRIMINATION AND RACISM AS DISTAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH 59 4.4 INTERMEDIATE DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH: CULTURAL CONTINUITY AND SERVICE DELIVERY 64 4.4.1 SERVICE ACCESS AND AVAILABILITY AS DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH 64 4.4.2 SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND CULTURE AS INTERMEDIATE DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH 73 4.4.3 LGBTQ2S IDENTITY AS DETERMINANT OF HEALTH 80 4.5 PROXIMAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH: HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT 82 4.5.1 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AND HOUSING 82 4.5.2 EMPLOYMENT 88 4.6 WEAVING IT TOGETHER: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS AND LGBTQ2S RESURGENCE 91 4.6.1 TRANSITION TIME 92 4.6.2 LGBTQ2S RESURGENCE 93 4.6.3 ANOTHER AUTHOR’S NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY: FROM TWO-SPIRIT TO… 96 4.7 SUMMARY 97 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION 99 5.1 SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION OF KEY FINDINGS 99 5.2 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LITERATURE AND LIMITATIONS 105 5.3 RETHINKING LOPPIE READING & WIEN (2009) 109 vi 5.4 FUTURE RESEARCH AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY AND PROGRAMMING 112 REFERENCES 115 APPENDICES 128 vii List of Tables Table 3.4 Demographic, Mobility, and Socioeconomic Characteristics of Participants………...39 Table 4.1 An Overview of Aboriginal Services (TASSC Membership).………………………..45 Table 4.2 Distal, Intermediate, and Proximal Determinants of Health…………………………..50 viii List of Appendices Appendix 1: Interview Guide………………………………………………………….….….128-9 Appendix 2: Recruitment Poster……………………………………………………………..…130 Appendix 3: Letter of Information…………………………………………………………...…131 Appendix 4: Verbal Consent…………………………………………………………….…..….132 Appendix 5: Written Consent…………………………………………………………….…..133-4 ix Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Background 1.1.1 Aboriginal Demography, Mobility, and Urbanization In an era of increasing government decentralization and municipal downloading, cities are the new administrators of federal and provincial programs and services. However, one group of people continues to be governed at the highest level1 – Canada’s Aboriginal2 peoples. As of 2011, 4.3 percent of Canada’s population – or 1,400,685 people – identify as Aboriginal and it is their unique demography and mobility trends that warrant a discussion around Aboriginal urbanization, service provision, and government policy (Statistics Canada, 2014a). Work by Verma (2014) and INAC & CMHC (2007) estimated the Aboriginal population would grow from 1.6 to 2 percent per year from 2001 to 2016, for a population of approximately 1.2 million by 2011. Yet, as of the 2011 National Household Survey, over 1.4 million people identify as Aboriginal, meaning the population’s actual growth far outweighs projected growth (Statistics Canada, 2014a). From 2001 to 2006 alone, the Aboriginal population of Canada grew 20.1 percent – compared to the non-Aboriginal population’s growth rate of 5.2 percent – and continues to grow today at a rate higher than the average Canadian population growth (Statistics Canada, 2014a). Accompanying this growth, 46 percent of the Aboriginal population is under the age of 25 (compared to 29% of Canada’s population), meaning that the population growth rate will continue to be higher than the Canadian average (Statistics Canada, 2014a).