My name is Molly McKenzie, and this summer I interned at the Participatory Cultures Lab working on the More Than Words and Pathways2Equity projects. I am in my fourth of five years at McGill, earning my honours degree in Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies, and double minoring in Religious Studies and Indigenous Studies. My primary areas of academic interest involve the historical and current relationship of colonization and sex work, the connection between colonization and sexual and gender-based violence, and the capacities of religions to be both liberatory and oppressive and how those multitudes intersect.
I was initially drawn to the AIO internship with More Than Words and Pathways2Equity because of its direct link to my field of study and academic interests. Moreover, in the future I hope that my career involves working with and supporting the thriving of marginalized youth, which is at the centre of both projects. As Summer Research Intern, I hoped to learn the practical logistics of qualitative data analysis, research development, drafting proposals, and arts-based research methods; throughout my time at McGill, I had learned about these principles in theory via my courses, but was eager to see them applied and to learn about their functions hands-on.
More Than Words looks at the impacts of the producers of art (young people) and on survivors, their families, and communities in relation to their experience of sexual and gender-based violence. Training, leadership, & facilitation skills are developed among girls and young women to support intergenerational mentorship, or “auntiship.” More Than Words seeks to investigate and learn from the use of Indigenous-focused youth-led survivor engagement through the arts and works with girls and young-women, in all their diversity in sites across Canada: Eskasoni (Cape Breton), Nova Scotia; Rankin Inlet, Nunavut; and Treaty 6 (Saskatoon), Saskatchewan. Pathways2Equity builds on the work of More Than Words, fostering the leadership of Indigenous girls and young women as a basis for collaboration with boys and young men and creating culturally relevant dialogues on the root causes of, as well as solutions to, sexual and gender-based violence.
My responsibilities as an intern involved developing creative knowledge mobilization materials, toolkits, and youth-focused resources; involvement in qualitative data analysis; supporting the drafting of grant proposals; gathering support resources for fieldsites; transcribing interviews, recording notes during and producing reports after events; and evaluating the clarity and accessibility of the More Than Words web page and curating suggested changes. One of the primary projects I completed was a 46-page fieldsite handbook outlining the theoretical, logistical, and ethical facets of engaging boys and young men in gender-based violence prevention through participatory arts-based research to support Pathways2Equity project facilitators on the ground. The other main project I worked on was the curation and editing of the first edition of the bi-annual Pathways2Equity newsletter, as well as generating innovative and creative content additions to engage youth audiences.
There are many highlights from my time working with More Than Words and Pathways2Equity, but the ones closest to my heart involved seeing the activities and outputs of the fieldsites and observing how my work on these projects supported these results. For example, two participants from the Rankin Inlet fieldsite embarked on a two-week trip to visit the Treaty 6 fieldsite and strengthen the bonds between their groups. They went on adventures like attending the 2022 Inuit Studies Conference in Winnipeg and a powwow put on specially for them by the community in Treaty 6. It was incredible to see them have so much fun, make such strong connections, and grow as individuals and together. I supported them on this trip and afterwards by putting together a visually engaging itinerary for their trip highlighting each activity, as well as supported them as youth editors for the Pathways2Equity newsletter and as they wrote their section for the newsletter outlining their trip. It was so rewarding to support them in realizing their trip and documenting it afterwards.
Though my internship was overall a success, this did not come without challenges. These challenges primarily consisted of navigating my identity as a white settler working on a project focusing on Indigenous experiences. For example, I experienced some discomfort when writing the section of the fieldsite handbook covering colonization and gender as a white settler, as most of the fieldsite facilitators are Indigenous people and likely already had lived experience pertaining to how colonization affects the way gender is experienced by Indigenous peoples. I wanted to avoid “white-splaining” (i.e., white explaining) this to those who in all likelihood understood this concept better than I. I navigated this by attempting to frame this section of the handbook as a reference for facilitators in the case that they desired a text to draw upon when discussing colonization and gender with participants, as well as an educational resource for the participants themselves. I thus framed this section as an optional addition to how facilitators wished to lead these discussions rather than a pedagogical replacement for their lived experience.
Though I am not receiving academic credit for my internship, I am incredibly grateful for its impact on my university experience. My involvement with the Participatory Cultures Lab and the More Than Words and Pathway2Equity projects has opened many doors for me and fostered invaluable connections with others in the university community, including other interns as well as academics, researchers, and project managers.
I received funding for my internship through the Goodman Family Internships Award, which was generously contributed by the Morris and Rosalind Goodman Family Foundation. This award allowed me to afford daily expenses throughout the summer as well as to save for the upcoming academic year. Thank you again to the Morris and Rosalind Goodman Family Foundation for supporting me in my academic career.
