Indigenous Peoples and Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system. Despite several population studies on MS, Indigenous perspectives on MS are underrepresented in scholarly literature. Grounded in Indigenous methodology and influenced by the first author’s experience as an Indigenous woman living with MS, semi-structured interviews were conducted on the territory of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation in Prince George, BC, with three Indigenous participants living with MS and one non-Indigenous person living with MS and her Indigenous partner. This study offers a qualitative representation of how Indigenous people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Northern British Columbia experience and navigate illness, healthcare systems and healing practices. Their lived experiences highlight a diversity of MS treatment preferences (including Indigenous healing practices), as well as gaps in the availability of MS-related supports and service, and reinforce a need for further research on Indigenous Peoples and MS. Overall, this study seeks to contribute to the decolonization of health research, foreground Indigenous perspectives, and promote culturally relevant healthcare for Indigenous Peoples in Canada and beyond

Cultural diversity · Decolonization · First nation · Health care · Indigenous · Lived experience · Population · Qualitative research · Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights · Migration, Health and Trauma · Multiple Sclerosis Research Studies