Transformative Community: Gathering the Untold Stories of Collaborative Research and Community Re-integration for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, Post-Incarceration and Beyond

The Canadian carceral system is purposefully designed to disconnect and isolate people.  Ongoing colonialism in Canada at the intersection of carceral, social service, health and child welfare systems has resulted in the disproportionate and unjust representation of Indigenous Peoples across each stage of the penal process. Given the ongoing silencing of people who are or have been incarcerated, Participatory Action Research led by Peers with living experience of the carceral state and grounded in the wisdom of Indigenous Elders is urgently needed. In this context, a research network, called the Transformative Health & Justice Research Cluster (THJRC), based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, has formed to disrupt status quo research practices, bringing together Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peer Leaders, Elders, academics, community advocates and student trainees, and support the empowerment of people who have been incarcerated. In this reflective piece, Nicolas Crier, one of the THJRC Peer Leaders, will provide an overview of the who, what, why, when and how of the THJRC, reflecting on the impacts and strengths of the collaborative community in general, as well as within the specific context of COVID-19. Co-authors, representing diverse positionalities and perspectives within the THJRC, will weigh in when relevant.