In Manitoba, Canada there is a critical need to understand the journey that northern First Nation people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) experience and navigate. Unique factors make the northern journey different from all other Manitobans. These include geographic isolation in small Reserve communities with limited health care services, difficulties in maintaining confidentiality, stigma, and a lack of culturally appropriate programs and health interventions. In contrast, connection to family and community, access to the land and traditional foods, ceremony and medicine are factors that might create resiliencies among northern First Nation people living with HIV. 
 
Here, we describe the methods that we are using to harvest and analyze narratives from people with lived HIV experience from northern Manitoba, and from health care providers who have knowledge about the health care processes. Our methods are focused on foraging an allyship. To do that, we are committed to explicitly developing ethical space using two-eyed seeing, believing, and doing. We understand that allyship is an important ethical approach to engaging with, and developing actionable recommendations relevant to, northern First Nations in Manitoba.
 
We anticipate that through this process we will learn from First Nation individuals living with HIV how practices for HIV health care delivery need to be changed. With this knowledge we can then move from knowledge to action to reduce stigma and promote well-being.

About the Authors

Linda Larcombe
​Dr. Larcombe is a broadly trained anthropologist whose work is focused on First Nations history, health and collaborative research. Her experience in archaeology, ancient DNA, history, traditional land use studies, medical anthropology, immunogenetics, and research with First Nation communities, brings a unique perspective to investigating the risk factors for infectious diseases. Linda is the Nominated Principal Investigator of this project. 

Elizabeth Hydesmith has spent most of her career in public health and has more than a decade of experience in regional, provincial and national health service management of public health and knowledge translation agencies in the not-for-profit and public sector in Canada and Australia. Understanding and addressing health disparities amongst and between populations in society has been the focus of her studies and career in health care. Elizabeth is a doctoral student in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Manitoba, exploring the challenges faced by First Nations people navigating the health system. Elizabeth is a PhD candidate who is a co-investigator on the project. 

Gayle Restall
​Dr. Restall is a registered occupational therapist with a background community health. Her work focuses on meaningful participation of people who require health services in their own care, program development, research, and social policymaking, and on exploring the experiences of stigma and resilience of people living with chronic health conditions to enact systemic change. Gayle is a Principal Investigator on this Project.

Laurie Ringaert is the Project Coordinator/Evaluator and a Co-Investigator on the Project. She also serves as Co-Strategic Facilitator of the MB HIV-STBBI Collective Impact Network. Laurie has extensive experience with community-based research, social science research methods, developmental and impact evaluation, meeting facilitation, engagement of diverse groups, strategic planning, health care transformation, change management, knowledge translation and organizational development. She has worked with many Indigenous groups and communities on projects in Canada and the USA. Laurie was appointed as the Co-Program Chair of the Indigenous Interest Group with the American Evaluation Society 2017-18.  Laurie is the founder and Principal Consultant with Change Weavers Consulting. 

Matthew Singer is an anthropologist who works with First Nation communities in Manitoba and northern Ontario collecting and recording their current and past land use. For the last 10 years, Matthew has been working with First Nations in northern Manitoba on a number of health-related studies. He is also an archaeologist who has worked in Israel and South Africa. Matthew is a project administrative lead on this project. 

Rusty Souleymanov
Dr. Souleymanov is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Manitoba. His work focuses on the health and well-being of socially and economically marginalized communities in Canada. Rusty is a co-investigator on this project.

Yoav Kaynan
Dr. Keynan is the Section Head of Adult Infectious Diseases, in the Department of Internal Medicine. He is a clinician-scientist and HIV clinician. His work focuses on immunobiology of HIV infection, opportunistic infections and comorbidities. He is the scientific Director of the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases. Yoav is a co-investigator on this project. 

Michael Payne
​Mike is the Executive Director of Nine Circles Community Health Centre and the Administrative Lead for the Manitoba HIV Program Leadership Team. He also serves as Co-Strategic Facilitator of the MB HIV-STBBI Collective Impact Network Mike's responsibilities include oversight of regional and national collaborations including the Manitoba HIV Program Collective Impact Network and Manitoba's Community Based Research Program (in collaboration with REACH 3.0 and the St. Michaels Hospital).  Mike’s educational background includes a degree in Sociology through the University of Winnipeg and certification through the University of Manitoba’s Canadian Institute of Management (CIM). Mike is a co-investigator on this project.

Kelly S. MacDonald
Dr. MacDonald has worked in the field of global infectious diseases and specifically on host immunity to HIV and its application in vaccine design for 25 years. She has expertise in the area of both bacterial and viral sexually transmitted infections from both a clinical and research standpoint with a special interest in studying them in resource poor settings. Her current work involves the examination of a novel HIV vaccine strategy best suited for resource poor settings using a Varicella Zoster Virus vector. Kelly is a co-investigator on this project. 

Pamela Orr
​​Dr. Orr is a Professor of Internal Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Community Health at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. She is engaged in research partnerships with First Nations and Inuit communities to support health and wellness. Pam is a co-investigator on this project. 

Albert McLeod
​Dr/Elder McLeod is a status Indian with ancestry from Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation and the Métis community of Norway House. Dr. McLeod is recognized as a pioneer in HIV education for Indigenous people. Over the past 35 years, well-respected knowledge keeper he has worked tirelessly for the rights of Two-Spirit (2S), lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (2LGBTQ+) people in the local community and across the continent. Albert is a Principal Investigator on this project.