Lived Experiences of First Nations Girls: Exploring the Developmental Processes of Identity Formation Through Narrative Interviews

Through narrative interviews, I explored the developmental and relational processes associated with identity formation of 16 First Nations (Anishinaabe) adolescent girls aged 12 to 18 years. I used an inductive thematic analysis approach to prioritize the girls’ voices in their stories. The girls shared developmental and relational ways of understanding themselves in relationship to others and their world. Based on the analyses of the girls’ interviews, I proposed three themes of identity development processes: Being (present development), Becoming (active exploration), and Envisioning (future-oriented lens of what is to come). In all these processes, the girls commented close relationships that were vital in supporting their emerging understanding of themselves. The results point to a wholistic and integrated model of Anishinaabe girls’ processes of identity development in which their personal and relational selves were integrated, there is an understanding of the continuity of the self, and a recognition of the key influences from their close relationships. For Indigenous youth, elucidating the processes of identity carries utility in understanding the strength, preservation, and continuity of the self, withstanding 500 years of colonialism (Pitawanakwat, 2006; Chandler et al., 2013).