Cultural Infusions and Shifting Sands: What Helps and Hinders Career Decision-Making of Indigenous Young Adults

Indigenous young adults experience disproportionately high rates of unemployment, which are exacerbated by systemic factors such as poverty and oppression (Britten & Borgen, 2010). Despite these challenges, many Indigenous young adults do well in their educational and employment pursuits (Bougie et al., 2013). This study explored what helped and hindered the career deci-sion-making of 18 Indigenous young adults in Canada who see themselves as doing well in this regard. Using the Enhanced Critical Incident Tech-nique (ECIT), a qualitative research method which focuses on helping and hindering factors (Butterfield et al., 2009), 13 categories were identified: (a) Family/Relationships & com-mitments, (b) Setting goals/Taking initiative/Focusing on interests, (c) Support from community/mentors, (d) A healthy way (physical, mental, social), (e) Finding meaning/motiva-tion & contributing, (f) Networking & who you know, (g) Systemic/ External factors (institution, job -mar-ket, sexism, racism, interpersonal aspects), (h) Financial situation, (I) Knowledge/Information/Certainty, (j) Experience (work/life), (k) Ed-ucational opportunities/Training & specialized education, (l) Indigenous background/Cultural factors, and (m) Courage & self-worth (vs. fear/doubt in self/others). These categories high-lighted the systemic, interpersonal, and experiential processes in career decision-making for Indigenous young adults in Canada. Implications for career counselling practice and future research are also discussed.