Aboriginal female sexual health in a context of cervical cancer and cervical cytology screening with reference to the Cree and Cree-Métis of Northern Alberta

Trapped within 'deficit model' methodologies, pathologizing views of Aboriginal women, their sexual health, and overall health proliferate in health research and literature, perpetuating a tendency to view these populations through a 'singular negative orientation'. Cervical cancer research, in particular, concentrates on cervical cytology screening and identifies Indigenous women as the one homogenous group predominantly lacking in knowledge or possessing inaccurate knowledge of the behaviours that lead to the early detection of cervical cancer.

This research involved Northern Alberta self-identifying Cree and Cree-Métis women who have experienced cervical cancer and self-identifying Cree and Cree-Métis Elders recognized within their various Aboriginal communities as having expert knowledge of their cultures, traditional norms, and teachings. Findings suggest that the women's experiences with cervical cancer induced feelings of fear, pain, and frustration. These feelings were related to the development of the illness, its progression, and the care that the women received with regards to associated treatments and procedures, the lack of information they were given, and a lack of understanding regarding the disease, its diagnoses, and treatments. Additionally, cervical cancer was a single illness affecting the women's lives, while their stories revealed that they draw upon traditional knowledge and teachings in relation to their sexual and overall health.

The research process was developed and carried out within an Indigenous research framework, adhering to Cree and Métis protocols of relationships and communication. The purpose was to gain new insights about how culturally informed knowledge influences and supports the sexual health of Aboriginal women, particularly in relation to cervical cancer and cervical cytology screening. Several key Indigenous principles of research—respect, reciprocity, relationship building—guided this research process and are shown to underlay successful outcomes of working with Cree and Cree-Métis women, Elders, and communities. The research process and the learning were shown to evolve in a spiral pattern, expanding outwards as the stories of the women and the teachings of the Elders built upon one another to create new images and insights into the sexual health and wellness of this particular group of Aboriginal women.