You began your mandate a few weeks ago. Can you share with us how it is going so far? First of all, I want to give honour and respect to [founding IHPP Director] Dr. Kent Saylor for the incredible work that he鈥檚 done. I鈥檓 so incredibly honoured and appreciative to be a part of this work that he has started with his counterparts. For him to work tirelessly to create this program for Indigenous students and to create these networks has really been groundbreaking and I鈥檓 so grateful to be a part of it. I鈥檇 also like to commend Alex [Allard-Gray, IHPP Program Manager] and Romina [Pace, IHPP Associate Director] for their dedication to the students and the program. They鈥檙e really just amazing. It is so gratifying to work with them 鈥� I could not do this without this well-established team.
Your background is mainly in education and community outreach, particularly working with Indigenous women鈥檚 groups and projects. How will this perspective inform your approach as Director of the IHPP? I carry all that work with me, being trauma informed and I meet people where they are, in a very safe manner. I am a person rooted in social justice and traditional teachings. I worked at the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls [MMIWG]. I鈥檓 looking for actionable ways to root out systemic violence and I鈥檓 looking for progressive and positive momentum. So, for me to join the IHPP, where I鈥檓 working with faculty and students in a very good way, with a good mind, to create curriculum, to create positive relationships and build trust, is to build on the foundation of Dr Saylor and his counterparts.
As part of your new role, you will be developing and implementing an FMHS Indigenous Strategic Plan to support all prospective and current Indigenous students, faculty and staff. Have those reflections begun? Right now, I鈥檓 taking in all the things that I need to know from the Indigenous circle and I鈥檓 holding space for the people who are sharing the knowledge with me. The priority for our strategic planning is the safety and education of our students, the education and support of our professors and the relationship building and trust overall for everybody involved in the retention and support of those students. And bringing in our partners and our networks and bringing in more people to work at 平特五不中 who are Indigenous and want to support our circle and building that circle and strengthening it. Those are the things on my mind.
We are pulling together all the calls to action from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, the calls to action in health and education from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as well as from Joyce鈥檚 Principle, Jordan鈥檚 Principle and Bill 96. We want to make sure that all our educators know the impact of these policies and legislation on Indigenous communities 鈥� which most Indigenous students already know. We鈥檙e going to use all that to frame the strategic plan.
Are there any immediate differences between the health care field and education that you鈥檙e noticing? Everything seems to be very black and white in medical language. Because I come from education, I鈥檓 trying to reframe and change from the dominant narrative of negative disparities in Indigenous populations 鈥� high rates of diabetes, high rates of alcoholism and X, Y and Z 鈥� to a space where the narrative is about our successes, our resilience and how we rose above despite all of that. I think changing that narrative is going to be helpful and more uplifting within the curriculum.
Can you tell us about some priority areas for Indigenous health professions students going forward? It鈥檚 really important to me to remove the pressure from Indigenous health students to have to share and teach in their Indigeneity when they go into a classroom. They鈥檙e asked, 鈥楾ell me what status is,鈥� or 鈥榃hat does it mean to grow up on the rez?鈥� Not every student grows up on the rez, and not every student knows what it means to be traditional. We鈥檙e not a monolith. It鈥檚 really stressful for a student to go into a classroom with those expectations on top of the expectations of just being a student 鈥� especially health professions students who are taking care of people who may live or die or have mental health issues.
It鈥檚 hard enough to leave community and to be there in a space that historically we weren鈥檛 allowed to be in. Academia has honestly been an uncomfortable space for Indigenous people historically because the foundation is based on the same colonial construct as residential schools. So, when Indigenous people come into the space, they may be automatically triggered because it brings back that intergenerational trauma. Then for them to be asked to teach about themselves is another trigger.
What can the IHPP do to help? I want us to help carry that load. It鈥檚 so very important for those students to have advocates and to know that they don鈥檛 have to be that voice in the class. That they can reach out to someone who will help build those relationships with professors in a positive way. There鈥檚 no negativity in it 鈥� everybody goes in with a good intent. We鈥檙e all learning together what is safe and and how we can be more trauma informed.
How can you support faculty members to become more trauma informed? I鈥檓 putting the pieces together that will strengthen the organization by filling in the gaps of the foundation, so that we can have long term sustainability. If any professor comes to us and says 鈥業 need support because I have Indigenous students who are struggling. Can you help me to have a good dialogue with my students?鈥� or 鈥楥an I refer my students to you so that they can get the support they need?,鈥� we will be able to say absolutely, 鈥榊es, I can help you.鈥� Then we can remove the elephant in the room and combat all that in a good way so we can have those really honest dialogues.
This year we are observing the second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. What does this day mean to you? Every day is a day of reconciliation for us as Indigenous people. I think of my aunts and uncles 鈥� I had four who went to Thomas Indian School [in New York State] 鈥� and it did do a lot to my family and to my community. So, when I think of reconciliation, I am grateful for the awareness and the education of the general population of Canada in understanding the treatment of Indigenous people. to learn about what really happened because there has been a silence on this not-so-historic issue. I hope there are rematriations (I don鈥檛 say repatriations because I鈥檓 a matrilineal community member and I believe that everything returns back to the mothers) when our babies are found and families are able to heal.
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