ARTWORK / STREETLIVES, STREET-INVOLVED YOUTH IN THUNDER BAY: A COMMUNITY-BASED, ARTS-INFORMED INQUIRY by Amy Campbell McGee A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Adult Education and Counselling Psychology Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Amy Campbell McGee (2010) ARTWORK / STREETLIVES, STREET-INVOLVED YOUTH IN THUNDER BAY: A COMMUNITY-BASED, ARTS-INFORMED INQUIRY Doctor of Philosophy, 2010 Amy Campbell McGee Graduate Department of Adult Education and Counselling Psychology University of Toronto Abstract Artwork / Streetlives is a community-based, arts-informed, research project which addresses harm reduction amongst street youth in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Nine street-involved participant researchers (supported by a team of researchers and community organizations) used art making and storytelling as ways of understanding the risks specific to street-involved youth in Thunder Bay. Due to the heterogeneous nature of the participant researcher group and a majority of Aboriginal research participants, a novel approach was used to create principles of research collaboration, in pursuit of the principles of ownership, control, access and possession for ethical research with Aboriginal peoples. The participant researchers found that their most common experience was their vulnerability to governmental social services and law enforcement personnel and policies. They further agreed that the risk of losing their children to child protection services is a source of increased vulnerability and a barrier to accessing treatment. They all agreed that the process of art making was fruitful and were surprised by the clarity and evocative nature of their artwork, finding that meeting weekly to do art is gratifying and therapeutic. They were interested ii to discover that the art they created, just by telling their stories, contained strong prevention messages they would have been influenced by as younger people. As such the participants want to continue making art, and showing their work, particularly to young people, social service providers, and law enforcement officers, who they think are in the best position to learn from it. This project is building capacity in the community (by teaching artmaking, group work, organizing, critical thinking, and presentation skills), is contributing to scholarship, and significantly and positively impacting the lives of the participant researchers. This work is represented in traditional academic prose and as collaborative fiction. iii Acknowledgements Important People Who Supported This Research Project Delta Hillyard (Peer Research Co-ordinator), Aboriginal Advisory Committee Derek Khani, (Research Co-ordinator), Community Artist Ma-Nee Chacaby (Elder), Aboriginal Advisory Committee Collin Graham (Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy), Aboriginal Advisory Committee J. Gary Knowles, Supervisor - OISE/University of Toronto Jean-Paul Restoule, Committee Member - OISE/University of Toronto Dr. Peggy Millson, Committee Member – Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto Community Organizations Superior Points Harm Reduction AIDS Thunder Bay Catholic Family Development Centre I am grateful to the Ontario HIV Treatment Network and Catholic Family Development Centre for providing the funding for this research. iv Dedication This project is dedicated to one of the young researchers who died unexpectedly in an accident. He was a father, and a kind, creative and motivated young man. He will be missed. v Table of Contents Abstract.......................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements..................................................................................................... iv Dedication .....................................................................................................................v List of Figures ................................................................................................................viii List of Appendices........................................................................................................ ix Part One: The Story........................................................................................................1 This Story is For You: The Artists. .................................................................................4 April 2006 ....................................................................................................................6 April 2003 ..................................................................................................................14 May 2003 ..................................................................................................................17 June 2003..................................................................................................................26 February 19, 2004.....................................................................................................34 March 2004...............................................................................................................38 February 2006...........................................................................................................41 June 2004..................................................................................................................46 October 2005 ...........................................................................................................51 January 2006............................................................................................................52 May 2006 ..................................................................................................................56 June 2006..................................................................................................................58 September 2006.......................................................................................................60 November 2007 .......................................................................................................66 March 2008...............................................................................................................70 Part Two: Process, Art, Excesses and Less Harm .......................................................75 Chapter One: Why We Did the Research............................................................77 Chapter Two: Why I Wanted to Do It....................................................................80 Her story, and my story ........................................................................................80 What is knowledge and how do I learn it?........................................................86 Theoretical approach .........................................................................................88 Chapter Three: Why Art-Making is Good Research............................................92 Methodology........................................................................................................92 The value of this research....................................................................................95 Chapter Four: Work in Aboriginal Communities ...................................................98 Chapter Five: How We Made the Art and Learned From It.............................108 Process ................................................................................................................108 The art..................................................................................................................116 Chapter Six: Gallery of Participant Artwork .......................................................119 What is the meaning of risk? .............................................................................137 Chapter Seven: Do Lies Make Better Stories?....................................................162 vi Chapter Eight: Pleasures and Excesses, How I Understand Substance Use ...168 Decriminalization................................................................................................172 Harm reduction theory ......................................................................................176 Harm reduction practice ..................................................................................178 Conclusion: Less Harm ..............................................................................................185 References.................................................................................................................189 vii List of Figures Figure 1. Spoon. (28cm x 22cm).................................................................................85 Figure 2. Circle of Life. (54cm X 44cm)....................................................................120 Figure 3. Two sides to the same person. (64cm X 48cm).......................................121 Figure 4. Are you safe? (64cm X 48cm) ..................................................................122 Figure 5. Sexual risk. (48cm X 64cm)........................................................................123 Figure 6. Sex work and risk. (64 X 48) .......................................................................124 Figure 7. Either way it’s bad. (64cm X 48cm)..........................................................125 Figure 8. Something great came out of it. (48cm X 64cm)...................................126