Keatton Tiernan, PhD

Area of Study / Keywords

Indigenous Youth Health Promotion Youth Leadership and Mentorship Relational Wellbeing Physical Activity Sport Recreation Mino-pimâtisiwin and Wholistic Wellbeing Indigenous Research Methodologies Community-Engaged and Participatory Research Qualitative and Arts-Based Methods

About

I am a Métis and Cree scholar and Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation at the University of Alberta. My community-engaged research program examines Indigenous youth health promotion, leadership and mentorship, relational wellbeing, belonging, and mino-pimâtisiwin. I work alongside Indigenous youth, communities, and youth-serving organizations to understand and strengthen the relationships, environments, and opportunities that support young people in living well.

My scholarship is grounded in relational Indigenous research methodologies and draws on qualitative, youth-centred participatory, and arts-based approaches. My work spans school, recreation, and community settings, with an emphasis on producing research and knowledge mobilization resources that respond to community priorities and support practical action.

I hold a PhD in Public Health from the University of Alberta and a BSc (Honours) in Kinesiology from the University of Victoria. I am a member of the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute and continue to work closely with the Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program.

Outside of work, I enjoy strength training, running, swimming, gardening, and spending time with family.

Research

My research program is organized through THRIVE—Transforming Health through Relationality, Indigenous Values, and Equity. THRIVE focuses on Indigenous youth health promotion, mentorship, belonging, relational wellbeing, and wholistic health, with particular attention to physical activity, sport, recreation, school, and community settings.

A central foundation of my research is my longstanding collaboration with the Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program, a community-based initiative in which Indigenous high school mentors lead healthy living programming for younger peers. Through this partnership, I have examined how youth leadership experiences shape educational attainment, employability, confidence, belonging, and wholistic wellness; how high school credit can recognize and sustain youth leadership; and how mino-pimâtisiwin is understood and enacted through relationships and responsibilities.

Methodologically, I work with relational Indigenous and community-engaged approaches, qualitative inquiry, focused ethnography, photovoice, youth participatory methods, arts-based methods, program evaluation, and knowledge mobilization. Across projects, I aim to conduct research that is rigorous, useful, and accountable to Indigenous youth, communities, and partner organizations.

My current research includes establishing an Indigenous Youth Research Steering Committee, examining pathways through which mentorship and leadership support Indigenous youth wellbeing, and strengthening school and community systems that recognize and sustain youth leadership.

Teaching

I teach KRLS 323: Indigenous Perspective on Activity, Health, and Wellness in Canada. My teaching emphasizes relational learning, critical reflection, and the connections among physical activity, health, identity, land, community, and colonial systems.

Across my teaching and mentorship, I aim to create respectful and participatory learning environments that value Indigenous knowledges and encourage students to consider their own positionality, relationships, and responsibilities. I have also contributed to undergraduate and graduate teaching in qualitative and community-engaged research, cultural humility, relational ethics, arts-based methods, Indigenous youth health, and school health promotion.

My teaching and mentorship interests include Indigenous perspectives on activity, health, and wellness; Indigenous youth health promotion; community-engaged and qualitative research methods; cultural humility and relational ethics in research; participatory and arts-based methods; and program planning and evaluation in Indigenous community contexts.

KRLS 323 - Indigenous Perspective on Activity, Health, and Wellness in Canada

This course explores perspectives on practices related to the health and wellness of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. In this context health is defined as a state of balance involving body, emotions, mind, and spirit. The various forms of activity, sport, recreation, and leisure activities in which Indigenous Peoples participate will be examined. Prerequisite: KRLS 104 or NS 111. Credit will be granted for only one of KRLS 323 or PERLS 323.

Browse more courses taught by Keatton Tiernan

Keatton Tiernan, Genevieve Montemurro, Leah J Ferguson, Tara-Leigh McHugh, Kate Storey

Health Promotion International. 2025 September; 10.1093/heapro/daaf156