Research
Assistant Professor in Indigenous Studies at University of
British Columbia- Okanagan Campus (on Syilx Territory),
Métis Scholar, Community-Based Researcher, PhD.
There is nothing I enjoy more than
co-creating community-based
research projects with Indigenous
communities
This was part of my work as a grad student, central to my role as UBC’s Indigenous Community Liaison, and my current work as an Assistant Professor. Central to my work is an Indigenous Research Methodology, meaning that research is dependent on co-operation and collaboration, mutual thinking and reflection, and the sharing of visions for the future.
Because the goals of Indigenous research are often meant to meet a community need and benefit the community, it tends to be interdisciplinary and wholistic. Below you will find some of my research interests, but you might notice, my current and past projects have led me down many different paths, as I actively work to respond to community priorities.
Research Interests:
Contemporary Métis and Urban Indigenous Peoples in British Columbia, Canada; Métis Culture, History, and Identity; Urban Indigenous Health and Wellbeing; Urban Indigenous Identity and Belonging; Métis traditional knowledge; Place-Identity; Land-based Healing; Inter-Indigenous Relations and Treaties; Indigenous Identity and Representation; Indigeneity; Indigenous Research Methodologies and Theory; Indigenous Community Engagement; Critical Indigenous Studies; Systems Mapping; Decolonization and Indigenization
The Strength of Our Ancestors: A Youth-led Investigation of Urban Indigenous Identities (2022-2024)
Funded by Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Development Grant and in collaboration with Kelowna Métis Association, the project walked alongside Indigenous youth as they navigated their Indigenous identity within an urban setting. Youth engaged in land-based activities for improved wellbeing including making moccasins and attending a sweat lodge ceremony.
Stay tuned as this research develops!
Urban Indigenous Wellbeing Eminence Research Cluster (2021-2024)
Funded by UBC Okanagan’s Office of the Vice-Principal, Research & Innovation 2021-2024, Cluster of Research Excellence, the Urban Indigenous Wellbeing Collective is an interdisciplinary research collective of Elders, community members, partner organizations, and Indigenous and settler researchers and trainees. Guided by principles of an Indigenous relational approach, this team is committed to respectfully working with, and responding to, Urban Indigenous Community identified research priorities. Team members have experience and expertise in community-led Indigenous research methodologies, Indigenous health, health promotion, identity and belonging, cultural safety, land-based healing, population health, geography, creative practices, occupational therapy, and mental wellness. In Oct 2023 we hosted our first annual Indigenous Wellbeing Gathering Conference in Kelowna, BC (Syilx Territory).
Urban Indigenous Identity, Gender, and Wellness: Sharing Wisdom Across Generations (2021-2024)
Funded by Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR). Identity and gender are essential elements of social participation and dimensions of wellness; however, they are overlooked in research, and can be embedded in action-oriented, Indigenous-led and community-based participatory wellness projects. The purpose of this project is to bring together Indigenous youth, young adults, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers to share/create knowledge, raise awareness and improve understanding of Indigenous concepts of identity and gender to co-develop strengths-based Indigenous-led culturally safe and gendered approaches for self-determination and improved wellness.
Coming Together, Sharing Traditions and Taking Action for Urban Indigenous Diabetes & Obesity Prevention and Management: Community Resilience and Wellness (2021-2022)
Funded by Canadian Institute of Health Research, Diabetes Prevention and Treatment in Indigenous Communities: Resilience and Wellness LOI. (Co-Principal Applicant with Dr. Donna Kurtz (NPA), Dr. Julianne Barry, Dr. Viviane Josewski with Co-Applicants Dr. Peter Hutchinson, Dr. Charlotte Jones, Dr. Mary Jung, Dr. Alexandra King, Dr. Jonathan Little and Karlyn Olsen)
Learning from Our Elders: Indigenous
Perspectives of Gender in Harvesting and
Gathering (2020-2022)
Funded by Canadian Institute of Health Research, Indigenous
Gender and Wellness Development Grant. (Co-Principal
Investigator with Dr. Donna Kurtz, Dr. Julianne Barry, Dr. Judy
Gillespie, Dr. Charlotte Jones, Dr. Peter Hutchinson, Dr. Malcolm
King, Dr. Alexandra King, Dr. Jonathan McGavock).
All Our Relations: Reconciling Contemporary
Inter-Indigenous Relations among Métis in
British Columbia (2020-2022)
Funded by Rupertsland Centre for Métis Research
Research Fellowship and UBC’s Hampton Fund Research Grant in
the Humanities and Social Sciences (Principal Investigator)
Select Publications:
Research
Gmitroski, K, Hastings, K.G., Legault, G. & Barbic, S.
2023
Métis health in Canada: a scoping review of Métis-specific health literature, CMAJ Open, 11(5) E884-E893.
Legault, G.
2022
From (Re)Ordering to Reconciliation: Early Settler Colonial Divide and Conquer Policies in Canada, Journal of Indigenous Social Development, 11 (2), 44-66.
Legault, G.
2021
Hegemonic Discourses of Métis Identity in British Columbia, Canada. International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies, 14 (2), 79-95.
Legault, G.
2021
Making Métis Places in British Columbia: The Edge of the Métis National Homeland. BC Studies, 209 (1), 19-36.
Runner-up for BC Studies Best Paper Prize (2021)
Corbett, J., Evans, M., Legault, G. & Romano, Z.
2015
Relocating a Sense of Place Using the Participatory Geoweb: The
Historical Document Database of the Métis Nation British
Columbia. International Journal of Applied Geospatial
Research. 6(1) 24-39.
Legault, G.
2015
Mixed Messages: Deciphering the Okanagan’s Historic McDougall
Family. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 39(2):241- 256.
Evans, M., Barman, J., Legault, G. and Dolmage, E.
2012
Métis Networks in British Columbia: Examples from the Central
Interior. In N. St-Onge, C. Podruchny & B. MacDougall (Eds.), In
Contours of a People: Métis Family, History and Mobility. Norman:
University of Oklahoma Press, 331-367.