The need to change the narrative, to change the context: Urban indigenous women surviving-or-thriving responses to stressors

• Indigenous women have varying degrees of control over their life stressors. • A lack of control over built and neighborhood environments was experienced. • Their environments impacted how they managed their mental and physical health. • Drugs and alcohol, shutting down and cutting ties were common survival responses. • Gaining control included engaging in culture, relationship building and advocacy. In Canada, Indigenous women have a range of life stressors and possess a spectrum of behaviours in response to stressors. We aimed to learn more about their life stressors and coping strategies. We recruited women self-identifying as Indigenous living in Toronto, Ontario, to discuss their life stressors through sharing circles and one-on-one interviews. A thematic analysis was conducted on the transcribed semi-structured discussions. Our data shows the participants’ experiences of control over stressors ranging from loss of control, being controlled, and attempting to control their socio-economic situations and financial constraints, their perceived identities and images as well as the impact of the social environment on their health and wellbeing. We also summarized how they address stressors and their experiences with and understandings of how the concept or practice of control manifests in their responses. Our findings provide a glimpse into the complexities of coping and the sense of control Indigenous women have over life stressors and has important implications for service providers, policy-makers and researchers.