ABSTRACT
Funded by the government of Canada, the last residential school for Indigenous peoples closed in 1996. Operated by a network of boarding schools and administered by Christian churches, this compulsory practice that included separation of families with First Nations and Indigenous children has had a profound impact on psychosocial development, identity formation, and interpersonal relationships.
Informed by the Minority Stress Model, this chapter offers guiding principles that take into account distal and proximal stressors that inform and affect Indigenous self-concept development about one’s sexual identity, sexual orientation, and gender identity. It concludes by offering approaches that incorporate spiritual health as a crucial part of sex therapy treatment.
