#BeadAndThrive: How social media can support research as an iterative process

This textbook chapter discusses #BeadAndThrive Indigenous Health Social Media Campaign, an initiative by the Coronavirus Variants Rapid Response Network’s Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research (CIEDAR) pillar aimed at pandemic preparedness and improving Indigenous cultural skills. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many communities were unable to connect in person. CIEDAR identified the potential in distributing beading kits to Indigenous individuals and using social media as a way to connect individuals across the country. Creating a space for Indigenous people to (re)connect to culture-based healing practices can simultaneously improve overall well-being while tackling the harmful impacts of colonialism. #BeadAndThrive initiated as a community engagement project rooted in qualitative research methods, with the intent of conducting thematic discourse analysis after data collection. Community members were asked “How have you thrived during the pandemic?” as part of the campaign. The research team planned to collect data from interviews and surveys from individuals who submitted their thrivance stories to CIEDAR through social media. However, without the team’s having previously established close relationships with Indigenous communities online, very few thrivance stories were submitted, and the research could not proceed as planned. Instead of continuing as a project based in research, CIEDAR transitioned #BeadAndThrive into a community-building project that focuses on strengthening relationships with community members through social media platforms, highlighting the iterative nature of research.

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