ABSTRACT
The narrative inquiry with youth who left school before graduating raised wonders for the authors about the experiences of many youth, but particularly Aboriginal youth, in schools. The study, a narrative inquiry into the educational experiences of Aboriginal youth and their families, was a collaborative conceptualization. The research team included representatives of Aboriginal community organizations, Elders, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal graduate students, a policy representative from Edmonton Public Schools (EPS), and Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal scholars from different research disciplines. The time of the arts club was the time period when other school clubs met. Periodically, Aboriginal Elders joined the youth and researchers. It is in this context that researchers came to meet Aboriginal youth research participants for the narrative inquiry. For some youth arts club was seen as a safe space, where they could share their poetry, rap songs, artwork, and family stories without being interrupted or without needing to attend to the mandated curriculum.
