Deadly Dads Support Society: understanding the development and impact of a culturally centred, group-led support strategy for nêhiyaw (Plains Cree) fathers and men

Through a long-standing community-university partnership, we developed a culturally centred, group-led support strategy for nêhiyaw (Plains Cree) fathers and men to enhance their well-being. A community-based participatory research approach was adapted to honour nêhiyaw ways of knowing. Group-led and developed support activities for fathers and men took place from August 2021 to January 2023, with data gathered from Wisdom Circles, meeting minutes, reflexive journals, photos, implementation notes, and community reports. Data analysis was narrative, relational, and non-linear. Knowledge sharing efforts aimed to: 1) explore lessons from co-developing support activities; 2) understand the significance of gathering in safe and healthy ways; and 3) examine the impacts of support on members. The group's development was rooted in mutual generosity and overcoming institutional inequities to offer meaningful supports. This resulted in healthy ways of gathering and supporting one another through relational connections; learning from and identifying with one another; and breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma through cultural connections, sharing, and expressions of love. Experiential and pressure-free activities contributed to a sense of belonging, positivity, and collective ownership, and supported participants through life difficulties. The success and sustainability of the group relied on transcending Western academic approaches to embrace community ways of knowing and relationality.