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Background: There are a variety of methods for priority setting in health research but few studies have addressed how to prioritise the gaps that exist between research evidence and clinical practice. This study aimed to build a suite of robust, evidence based techniques and tools for use in implementation science projects. We applied the priority setting methodology in lung cancer care as an example. Methods: We reviewed existing techniques and tools for priority setting in health research and the criteria used to prioritise items. An expert interdisciplinary consensus group comprised of health service, cancer and nursing researchers iteratively reviewed and adapted the techniques and tools. We tested these on evidence-practice gaps identified for lung cancer. The tools were pilot tested and finalised. A brief process evaluation was conducted. Results: We based our priority setting on the Nominal Group Technique (NGT). The adapted tools included a matrix for individuals to privately rate priority gaps; the same matrix was used for group discussion and reaching consensus. An investment exercise was used to validate allocation of priorities across the gaps. We describe the NGT process, criteria and tool adaptations and process evaluation results. Conclusions: The modified NGT process, criteria and tools contribute to building a suite of methods that can be applied in prioritising evidence-practice gaps. These methods could be adapted for other health settings within the broader context of implementation science projects.

O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation (OPCN), an Indigenous community in northern Manitoba, Canada, was flooded by Manitoba Hydro in 1974-75 and forced to relocate from its ancestral lands to a nearby settlement under dire circumstances. Regaining strength from their inherent cultural values grounded in their relationship with the land, OPCN subsequently formed a community-based food program called Ithinto Mechisowin (‘food from the land’) in part to respond to these impacts. This thesis uses OPCN’s concept of resources to present a nuanced understanding of Indigenous food systems in Canada. I have framed the concept of Indigenous food sovereignty as a counter-hegemonic knowledge-in-action practice that brings in the multilayered and anticolonial view of food and the role food plays in reinvigorating individual, family and community level strengths in overcoming a wide diversity of challenges. I explore the many ways in which Ithinto Mechisowin inspires reconnection with land, thereby improving access to culturally appropriate healthy food and strengthening Indigenous food sovereignty and creating pathways to resurgence.

The First Nation community of Poplar River in Northern Manitoba is using a UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination to assist with meeting local needs. Going beyond the expected, non-renewable resource development, Asatiwisipe First Nation is taking control over its own developmental plans, and forging an ecologically sustainable vision of community-controlled economic and political development. This initiative is an escape from the ‘progress trap’ where Indigenous resource stewardship practices will guide sustainable community economic development. This thesis explores the application of intangible cultural heritage as a lens for looking at the culture/nature discussion, food sovereignty, Indigenous resource management as well as Aboriginal and treaty rights. Based on longitudinal research over the past eight years, this dissertation is a collection of interviews and narratives from community members, personal experiences and policy research. Despite systemic Eurocentrism and many challenges, permanent protection of the Poplar River Community Conserved Area through the World Heritage Site nomination is perhaps the best solution for the community as it is an initiative that has been instigated by the First Nation itself.

Indigenous peoples have been the sole occupants of the vast lands now known as the continent of North America since time immemorial. The land base provided a full range of climatic zones and an abundance of aquatic, wildlife, and vegetation resources for diverse Indigenous peoples. In Lake St. Martin First Nation, Manitoba where the focus of the research is, the Indigenous peoples are known as Anishinabek. The Anishinabek were able to survive in this vast expanse of land by using their skills and knowledge, which are the Anishinaabe Knowledge Systems (AKS), while preserving ecological integrity. Anishinabek’s survival depended on a relationship with the environment through knowledge, which was passed on over thousands of years acquired by direct human contact with the environment. This relationship has been disrupted by colonization and artificial flooding over time and has resulted in the permanent displacement of the community in the summer of 2011. Environmental changes proved to have the most negative impact in terms of changes in all aspects of Anishinabek’s lives and livelihoods. In May 2011, the community of Lake St. Martin First Nation was fully evacuated due to the artificial flooding of Lake St. Martin. This research had to come to an end, but the end has not come yet for the evacuees as they are still housed in hotels across the province and in temporary housing in April of 2012. The land is still held sacred and is seen as the giver of all life and all opportunities for well-being, healthy living, and economic prosperity. Although Anishinabek cultures have changed with modern times, this ancient and sacred relationship to the land still remains close and important to the Anishinabek and continues to be the foundation for their nation building. In Anishinaabe societies, gender has been important in the transmission of knowledge. Language was also an important component and played an important role in AKS. This research explored the role of language and ge