Interweaving Relationality – Inawendiwin (Connection): Women Revitalizing Resurgence and Reciprocity
Alannah Young, PhD, Patricia May-Derbyshire, MA, M.Ed
Volume 26, Number 1 (2026) 26 (1): 16-46
Keywords Indigenous women, resurgence, relationality, land-based education, matriarchal leadership, reciprocity, knowledge translation
Abstract
Indigenous women’s leadership in medicine, health, and education continues to flourish across generations despite the enduring pressures of colonialism and industrialized care. This article interweaves storywork and conversational methods to illuminate seven interconnected, primarily women-led perspectives intersecting with the Center for Indigenous Land-Based Education, Research, and Wellness at xwc̓ic̓əsəm, at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver: The Medicine Camp; the Medicine Collective; the Indigenous Focusing-Oriented Therapy Collective; the ekw’í7tl Doula Programs; Women’s Wellness Gathering; Water Collective, and the Matrilineal Mentorship Collective. These sites address decolonial trauma, environmental justice, and food sovereignty through practices that restore reciprocity among land, body, memory, and community. We present a five-practice framework—research coordination, protocol engagement, preparation and access, application on the land, and reflection and storywork—as a model for weaving Indigenous relational ethics into education, health, and policy. We conclude with recommendations for Indigenous-led governance in health and higher education as pathways toward planetary wellbeing.
Alannah Young, PhD
Patricia May-Derbyshire, MA, M.Ed
Published June 5, 2026
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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