Indigenous Health Education Pathways to Healing

BACKGROUND

In response to the findings of the remains of Indigenous children at Residential Schools across Canada, and driven by a commitment to create change, the Cumming School of Medicine’s Indigenous, Local and Global Health (ILGH) Office has launched the Indigenous Health Education Pathways to Healing initiative.

Pathways to Healing is seeking to provide funding, resource and infrastructure support for projects that further reconciliation and healing with Indigenous Peoples.

It is grounded in education, founded in three principle truths identified in the Indigenous Health Dialogue (IHD) and guided by the IHD’s Five Recommendations for a Path Forward.

Principle Truths

Any Indigenous health initiative should be grounded in these three principle truths:

1. The health status of Indigenous people is rooted in social determinants that are specific to social, cultural and political contexts of Indigenous populations. Colonization is the prime driver of health inequity disrupting the wellbeing of Indigenous people through exclusion.

2. The healing of Indigenous people involves addressing unresolved trauma from ongoing multigenerational adverse life experiences, rectifying social resource inequities arising from ongoing processes of colonization and reconnecting with Indigenous culture and healing practices.

3. Complicity with ongoing colonization manifests as a health care system that is too often under-resourced and ill-equipped to address the health disparities specific to Indigenous populations.

APPROACH

Pathways to Healing is unique in that it is approaching the funding application process with an open mind and incorporating Indigenous ways of doing and sharing knowledge. This includes incorporating the principles of Sharing Circles, an integral part of oral tradition in Indigenous communities, into Pathway to Healing Circles in lieu of a letter of intent.  

These circles will provide a safe space for discussion of ideas, building relationships, engaging in peer-based learning, collaboration and seeking guidance on the application process in a dynamic informal structure. The circles will also serve to create a community of practice and knowledge with a shared passion of working toward the common goal of meaningful learning, sharing in best practice and creating new knowledge.

Throughout the application and funding process, applicants are expected to attend several Pathway to Healing Circles to share their ideas, strategies and collaborations to achieve the shared goal, timelines and budgets. Pathway to Healing Circles will be held bimonthly on Thursdays at 12 p.m. MDT. See below for registration details. 

PROJECT FUNDING UPDATE

We are pleased to announce that in the first phase of applications, seven project proposals were submitted and three were selected. Pathways to Healing will work with the project teams to align outcomes and build capacity in a supportive environment to achieve the goal of the initiative to catalyze collaboration for medical education.

Selected Projects 

Many Voices Youth and Emerging Adult for Mental Health Research led by Dr. Jennifer Markides and Dr. Whitney Hindmarch

Evaluation of a New Longitudinal Indigenous Health Elective in Family Medicine led by Dr. Amy Gausvik, Dr. Molly Whalen-Browne and Dr. Pamela Roach

“A walk for my people:” Indigenous healing walks and the legacies of Indian residential schools led by Dr. Alexandra Giancarlo

We wish to thank each project team for the work done to submit their proposal. We welcome further applications focused on Indigenous health education projects with clear learning or knowledge exchange objectives focused on the educational needs of the Cumming School of Medicine to advance innovative methods, curricular development, knowledge sharing events, capacity building and initiatives leveraging scale and spread. 

This healing initiative is in alignment with the Cumming School of Medicine’s Indigenous Health Dialogue recommendations for appropriate engagement and inclusion, and with principles of ii’ taa’poh’to’p, the University of Calgary’s Indigenous Strategy. We look forward to engaging with the Indigenous community, academic community and local community throughout this process.

Key Contacts

Path2Healing@ucalgary.ca 

Indigenous, Local and Global Health Office

Pathways to Healing Team

Dr. Lindsay Crowshoe, Assistant Dean, Indigenous

Dr. Aleem Bharwani, Director, Public Policy

Dr. Dianne Mosher Associate Dean, Indigenous

Project Partners

Cumming School of Medicine

Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute

Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta

Office of Indigenous Engagement, University of Calgary