“These Girls are our Future”

Abstract

While it is recognized that tobacco misuse among young females has serious health implications for Aboriginal populations, there is a worrying lack of representation from this community in current tobacco control research. We review the present state of Aboriginal tobacco control across Canada and report on the design, development, and implementation of the weekend workshop for Aboriginal women and girls. We suggest that not only are borrowed tobacco control initiatives failing to protect young Aboriginal females due to their lack of relevance, but that the voice of the Aboriginal community appears to be completely absent when it comes to defining social determinants of nontraditional tobacco use. We suggest that the extent to which the disproportionate burden of nontraditional tobacco use among its young women can be addressed is contingent upon increasing the presence of Aboriginal researchers and recognizing the central importance of community-relevant social determinants.