ABOUT US

The Indigenous Health Movement is the first student-led initiative of its kind in Canada.

VISION & MISSION

BACKGROUND

The Indigenous Health Movement (IHM) is a network for young Indigenous and Ally leaders to initiate reconciliation in the field of Indigenous health across Canada. Our commitment is to the communities we are advocating with and for. We want to continue putting these communities at the centre of our work and ensure we work together with community based agencies to support Indigenous care and community health.

Building from the Anishinabe concept, Mno Nimkodadding Geegi (“we are all connected”), the Indigenous Health Movement will be a collection of chapters that will each focus on advocacy campaigns, community learning sessions, and host their own Indigenous Health Conference. The most important aspect of this expansion is making the impact of our conference more sustainable in order to make community-centred change. We recognize the broad cultural and geographic variation amongst Indigenous populations across Canada, and as such, IHM chapters will be expected to work with their Indigenous communities and Elders to ensure the core values of IHM, listening and understanding people’s stories and histories, is maintained. This community centred approach involves having learning sessions lead by community agencies, focusing the Indigenous Health Conference on the local needs, and advocating using frameworks for health relevant to the unique community you are working with.

VISION

IHM aims to sustainably change Indigenous health through community centred, student-led chapters across Canada that engage with Indigenous Knowledge, narratives in health, and learnings from medical practice to advocate for equitable access and appropriate care to decrease the disparities in Indigenous health.

MISSION

This movement is committed to delving even deeper into the dialogue of reconciliation and the action of relationship-building than ever before. Just as Indigenous medicine wheels represent the alignment and continuous interaction of the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual realities of an individual, the 4 guiding principles of the Indigenous Health Movement represent the interconnectivity of various aspects of our lives, including connection with ourselves through lifelong learning, Indigenous peoples by putting First voices first, non-Indigenous knowledge bases by incorporating Two-Eyed Seeing, and our wider communities in the form of advocacy.

vision

CREATING SYSTEMIC CHANGE

IHM strives to build awareness on the inequities and disparities in health and care that exist for Indigenous people. Through our university chapters we hope to support Indigenous health and care initiatives through local partnerships and empower youth to become change agents in their own communities.

LIFE LONG LEARNING

There is a common misnomer that through the necessary training and tests you can be "competent" in a culture. However, we can never master an individual's history, heritage, and values. As such, IHM aims to engage audiences with the narratives and knowledge of Indigenous peoples so we can collectively step away from common biases and preconceptions in order to begin to understand one another. IHM is not about cultural competency, it is about cultural humility.

First Voices First

IHM provides a platform for Indigenous peoples to share their stories in a culturally safe space. These narratives are historically marginalized and have been excluded from conversations in healthcare. However, its important to recognize that we all have unique health needs and by empowering Indigenous ways of knowing we are promoting promote equitable, culturally appropriate healthcare.

two eyed seeing

In order to meet the health needs of diverse populations, IHM aims for greater recognition and understanding of differing perspectives to find the best way of caring for one other. In the words of Elder Albert Marshall, advocate for the principles of Two Eyed Seeing, there are multiple truths and it is important to not only identify individual truths, but to see how they intertwine and ultimately co-exist together.

About Us

strategy

STRATEGY & INITIATIVES

Our strategy is to identify disparities in Indigenous peoples' health and advocate for equitable and culturally appropriate health care by normalizing and embracing Indigenous knowledge.

Each of our initiatives respectfully and passionately brings together our different ways of knowing to motivate people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike, to use our collective understandings to address barriers to equitable health and healthcare in Indigenous communities.

POLICY AND ADVOCACY

EMERGING YOUTH LEADERS

COMMUNITY CENTRED

PARTNERSHIPS

INDIGENOUS HEALTH CONFERENCE

Learning is central to awareness; however, in order to create change it is essential that we introduce Indigenous Knowledge, into various levels of societal institutions to create systemic change. In partnership with local and national organizations, our Policy and Advocacy team aims to create sustainable impact for more equitable health systems. Using participatory models and consultations, our research and policy asks keep communities at the centre of every action.

Learning Circles are held weekly during the first hour of chapter meetings and act as an introduction to our Indigenous Knowledge, and give students a chance to learn Traditional Indigenous stories and teachings in an informal environment. The Circles are an opportunity for students to listen, participate, ask questions, and share their learnings with others as a means of increasing cultural understanding.

At the heart of IHM are our Indigenous communities and Elders. It is important to build relationships and partnerships to establish empathy for one another's values. By keeping our assumptions aside and continuing to ask questions, we can determine what is most important to the communities we stand with and behind. Conversations and community networking events serve as a platform to share experiences and learnings.

The Indigenous Health Conference is an interdisciplinary event held in Hamilton, Ontario. The conference is a partnership between students, Indigenous community members, and McMaster University. Every year, MacIHC brings together McMaster students, community members, Indigenous Elders, frontline workers, and academic researchers to discuss the implications of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the current state of health and wellbeing in Indigenous communities.

OUR TEAM

Neha Malhotra

Co-Chair

Bachelor of Health Sciences

Global Health Specialization

Neha is a fourth year Health Sciences student specializing in Global Health at McMaster University. Identifying as an Indo-Canadian whose hometown neighbours Six Nations of the Grand River, she has a keen interest in medical anthropology, cultural diversity and medical ethics. Neha sees IHC as an opportunity to change the language in the healthcare community from one requiring cultural competency to promoting cultural humility.

Hannah Martin

Co-Chair

Bachelor of Indigenous Studies & Psychology

Hannah is a third year Honors Indigenous Studies and Psychology student studying at McMaster University as a Loran Scholar ('15). Hannah is a Mi'kmaq First Nation and Scottish woman of the Millbrook First Nation community in Nova Scotia. She is a strong advocate for Indigenous rights, working in her free time to educate others about historic and contemporary issues and resiliencies of Indigenous peoples and creating spaces for Indigenous Knowledge both on and off campus. For Hannah, MacIHC is an opportunity for genuine education and reconciliation between community members and professionals in the realm of Indigenous health and care.