Acts of Resistance – Cultural Humility in Action: How First Nations Health Authority Employees Have Become Catalysts for Systems Change and Equity.

Acts of Resistance – Cultural Humility in Action: How First Nations Health Authority Employees Have Become Catalysts for Systems Change and Equity.

The School of Leadership Studies would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Katelyn Moon on the completion of a Master’s Thesis titled, Acts of Resistance – Cultural Humility in Action: How First Nations Health Authority Employees Have Become Catalysts for Systems Change and Equity.

This thesis is available through RRU’s library here [https://www.viurrspace.ca/items/1a00b431-f384-4257-9bad-31012a932647]

We asked Katelyn a few questions about this research and this is what they said: 

What are some key takeaways from your thesis that would be helpful for other leaders?

Leadership and cultural humility are both ways of being. Leadership and cultural humility are personal practices that exist in relationships. Being a leader and being culturally humble is having integrity and taking action that aligns with one's values, reflecting on and integrating the learnings from the action taken, and striving to do better the next time. The most significant growth in both leadership and cultural humility typically occurs when it’s hardest to show up, when there are barriers and tension with a person's values.  Leadership and cultural humility require a person to show up in the face of those challenges often with vulnerability, bravery, and integrity.

How is the organization moving change forward based on your work?

The First Nations Health Authority is continuing to use an action-oriented process to engage all 203 First Nations communities and organizational employees in creating new knowledge around what cultural safety and humility and First Nations-specific anti-racism action, education, and policies are needed to influence systems transformation. My research has affirmed that engagement processes should focus on relationships, provide opportunities for experiential learning and feedback gathering, and that stories are a critical tool for understanding and documenting.

What surprised you about your experience of the thesis process?

I wouldn’t say that it was surprising, but there were many times throughout the thesis process when I felt tension between the requirements and what felt aligned with my leadership and cultural humility practice. Doing a thesis on cultural humility and resistance to colonialism and white supremacy culture naturally meant that I also was deepening my practice of cultural humility, which included acts of resistance against the colonialism and white supremacy that exists in academia. A highlight of navigating decolonizing my thesis was having the confidence to defend my thesis in a way that included culture and used a storytelling approach. I have great gratitude for my thesis supervisor Mike Lickers who continuously encouraged me and supported my resistance.  

How are you applying lessons learned from your whole MA-Leadership journey?

I have always tied my MA work to truth and reconciliation from my earliest posts in term one to completing my thesis two and a half years later. I learned through my research that people who have a deep commitment to cultural humility and resisting colonialism and white supremacy culture can often have overwhelming self-doubt including wondering if they are enough or too much when trying to influence change. Often when I hit submit on my posts I would wonder if I was being too much, too passionate, too political, or too off-topic. In contrast, I was encouraged by my closest peers and faculty to keep pushing which strengthened my leadership and cultural humility practice.