Celebrating Kathleen Lounsbury: Integrating Indigenous Nursing Knowledge with Art & Spirituality

Kathleen Lounsbury, Doctoral Student (PhD of Nursing) and Indigenous Curriculum Consultant at Trinity Western University

We’re honoured to spotlight Kathleen Lounsbury, a cherished member of our Art and Spirituality Research Team, TWU doctoral student, and a trailblazer in Indigenous integration in nursing education. 

Hailing from the Namgis First Nation of the Kwakwaka'wakw, Kathleen brings her cultural roots and scholarly vision to transform healthcare through arts-based, land-based, and spiritually informed practices. 

A Warm Congratulations! 

Earlier this year, Kathleen was awarded prestigious funding from the CIHR for her outstanding project “Kitchen Stories: A digitally mediated study for conservation, mobilization, and integration of Indigenous Food Sovereignty.” Her work is now also focused on birthing sovereignty. This award marks a significant milestone and recognition of her growing scholarship in weaving Indigenous methodologies into healthcare spaces. 

Kitchen stories: A group of Indigenous Elders, sharing stories and cultural knowledge around food.

Seeking to address the problem Indigenous communities are facing in regards to accessing traditional birthing practices, including traditional foods and preserving their traditional way of life, Kathleen has developed a novel research approach to gather Indigenous knowledge.  

As part of her abstract grant proposal, Kathleen writes:  

“I will gather Indigenous ways of knowing and being from knowledge keepers (I.e., elders) through what I refer to as Kitchen Stories. Placing knowledge keepers (around 18-20 in two sites) in a familiar environment will allow for the elders to relax; talking becomes more natural when they are busy cooking or harvesting foods. They can share their memories and stories of accurate traditional attitudes about harvesting, cooking, and preparing foods, as well as knowledge about how our multilevel relationship with food crosses important cultural and social knowing. This sharing can spark memories of others within the group and then, more wisdom flows.” 

Through Kathleen’s research, she hopes that Indigenous and non- Indigenous people will gain deeper understanding of birthing sovereignty, which can compel them to work together for expanded solutions. 

We congratulate Kathleen on receiving this well deserved CIHR award and look forward to learning from her research! 

Educational Journey & Community Engagement 

Kathleen’s journey in health sciences started with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (2002), followed by healthcare work at Seabird Island, Cheam First Nation, and in communities within the Burrard Inlet. She also served at a high-risk pregnancy centre in Surrey, helping to provide care to urban Indigenous populations.  

In Spring 2021, she earned her Master of Science in Nursing at TWU, researching system transitions in Indigenous and federal healthcare models.  

Currently, Kathleen is pursuing a PhD in Nursing through TWU’s inaugural doctoral cohort, focusing on Indigenous ways of knowing in healthcare systems and Indigenous birthing sovereignty, with a focus on gender-based violence.

Research & Teaching 

Kathleen Lounsbury leading a workshop at Trinity Western University. (Photo Credit - TWU)

As a part-time instructor and Indigenous curricular consultant in TWU’s School of Nursing, Kathleen has revitalized curriculum through experiential learning—bundle-making, blanket exercises, medicinal plant walks, and community immersive experiences. Her work, rooted in Indigenous methodologies and community-based participatory action research, emphasizes ceremony, language, storytelling, and relational learning. 

Some of Kathleen’s current research projects include: 

• Kitchen Stories: In her doctoral research, she will employ kitchen stories to study and conserve, mobilize and integrate Indigenous Birthing Sovereignty in her home community. Dr. Sheryl Reimer Kirkham, Dr. Kendra Rieger, and Dr. Lisa Bourque-Bearskin are her doctoral supervisors and support her in this important work. 

• Gathering Ni Noxollas’ Stories about Kwakwaka’wakw Birthing Practices: Kathleen and her team employed a strengths-based strategy to reduce health disparities, enhance cultural competence in health care delivery and promote culturally competent care for Indigenous communities. 

• Arts-based spiritual care in healthcare: Kathleen is a co-investigator on our team, and we value her contributions in advancing equity-oriented arts-based spiritual support in health and social services.

In Kathleen’s Own Words: Art & Spirituality  

We are so grateful that Kathleen is a co-investigator on research team! In this video interview with Dr. Kendra Rieger, Kathleen shares about the interrelatedness of art & spirituality, offering stories of how art brought healing to herself and others. She also gives advice on how to use art when working with Indigenous people.  

Video Interview: Kathleen Lounsbury and Dr. Kendra Rieger

“Art and spirituality is such a natural thing in my family...it’s a way that we are...We respond to things through art…it's a way in which we can express ourselves. We’ve been through a lot of trauma, a lot of hard times. Art has been very therapeutic.. It's a calming thing to do.. “ 

Kathleen shares a story of how art helped a young man journey through a troubled relationship and transform his fear, and how quilting helped her personally find peace and hope during a difficult pregnancy. Art, she explains, gives voice to “the Unutterables” — those deep feelings and experiences that are hard to put into words. 

For practitioners engaging with Indigenous people, she offers thoughtful advice: to listen deeply, avoid assumptions about cultural knowledge, and meet each person where they are, recognizing that some may carry trauma around lost traditions. 

“Art creates a third space,” she says, “a way to express who they are.. How they’re feeling.. Express their connections to things.. To one another, to land, to inanimate things. It’s a very, very beautiful way I think that Indigenous people have to give of themselves and to make a mark in the world and leave legacy of their story. Their story is powerful.” 

Looking Ahead 

Kathleen’s leadership, stories, and courage are catalytic in bringing forth the healing power of art, spirit, and ancestral wisdom.  

We are grateful for Kathleen’s contributions in our Art and Spirituality Research Team, and look forward to witnessing how Kathleen’s research, teachings, and storytelling will continue to illuminate paths of wellness, justice, and deep cultural reconnection.