RESEARCH
Indigenous Community-Based Research
Dr. Nicole Ineese-Nash leads community-engaged research focused on Indigenous children, youth, families, disability, mental health, early learning, land-based education, and systems change.
FINDING OUR POWER TOGETHER RESEARCH LAB
Dr. Nicole Ineese-Nash leads a multidisciplinary research team through the Finding Our Power Together Research Lab. The Finding Our Power Together Research Lab is a national, Indigenous-led research team based within Finding Our Power Together, a national Indigenous-led charitable organization, and affiliated with Toronto Metropolitan University. The lab is guided by an Indigenous Community Advisory Council, OCAP and CARE principles, and community priorities.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Our Children, Our Way: Nishnawbe Aski Nation Wise Practices
Principal Investigator
A multi-phase quality improvement and participatory research project co-developed with Nishnawbe Aski Nation to strengthen Indigenous early learning and child care across NAN communities.
Bridging the Gap: Indigenous Youth Leading the Path to Improved Mental Health Systems
Principal Investigator
A five-year institutional ethnography and systems change project examining how Indigenous youth navigate mental health service systems in the Greater Toronto Area. Conducted in partnership with Finding Our Power Together, this project identifies systemic barriers and community-led pathways toward more relational and accountable mental health care.
Indigenous Healing Lodges Feasibility Study
Principal Investigator
A community-engaged feasibility study exploring the development of Indigenous-led healing lodges in the Greater Toronto Area. Conducted with United Way’s Indigenous Partnership Council, this project examines cultural governance, service design, community care, and the conditions needed for urban Indigenous healing spaces.
The Indigenous Disability Affirming Early Learning Partnership
Co-Director
A collaborative project co-led with Dr. Kathryn Underwood to develop disability-affirming early years systems grounded in Indigenous and African knowledges. The project brings together participatory policy analysis, community-based training, and cross-sectoral design to reframe early learning and care through culturally informed, relational, and disability-affirming models of support.
Indigenous Youth Rising
Co-Investigator
A participatory research project led by Dr. Leah Levac and conducted with Finding Our Power Together, that explores Indigenous youth political engagement, governance, leadership, and civic participation through storytelling, workshops, collaborative analysis, and youth-centred research activities.
Telling our Stories
Co-Investigator
This participatory photovoice project engages autistic youth in remote northern communities to document their experiences and self-advocate through visual storytelling.