Third annual Indigenous Research Day showcases research initiatives and community collaborations focused on Indigenous knowledge and issues
The McMaster Indigenous Research Institute hosted its third annual Indigenous Research Day on Nov. 13, 2024. The event gathered Indigenous researchers, students, faculty and community members to showcase Indigenous scholarship, research, methodologies and unique knowledge-sharing approaches.
Held at CIBC Hall, the event aimed to centre Indigenous voices and foster academic relationships. The event featured speakers, panelists and facilitators of Indigenous heritage representing diverse fields of study and traditional knowledge.
The event featured speakers, panelists and facilitators of Indigenous heritage representing diverse fields of study and traditional knowledge.
Elder Dixie Doxtator spoke at the beginning of the event, inviting participants into a space of respect and reflection, reminding attendees of the deep spiritual connection between the land, people and Indigenous ancestors.
She acknowledged the wisdom of those who came before and called upon the strength and guidance of the Creator, the Four Directions and the natural world - core elements in many Indigenous spiritual traditions. The Creator represents a higher power or source of life, while the Four Directions symbolize the cardinal directions, each associated with specific teachings, elements and cycles of life.
Savage Bear, director of MIRI and assistant professor in the department of Indigenous Studies, delivered a welcome address and opening with greetings in multiple Indigenous languages. The address honoured the legacies of influential Indigenous figures such as Justice Murray Sinclair and Dawn Martin-Hill of McMaster University, celebrating their contributions to Indigenous health and community partnerships.
Bear emphasized the importance of fostering respectful and ethical research with Indigenous Peoples, with an eye on future generations of Indigenous scholars.
Panel discussions began with three students from the first cohort of the new Indigenous Studies master's program, starting with Kendal Garlow's work on fostering tradition, identity and access to Haudenosaunee food options. This presentation explored how traditional food systems preserve culture and promote wellness within Indigenous communities.
Panel discussions began with three students from the first cohort of the new Indigenous Studies master's program, starting with Kendal Garlow's work on fostering tradition, identity and access to Haudenosaunee food options.
Kelsey Chan followed with a discussion on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, which aims to uphold Indigenous rights and sovereignty in British Columbia. Her presentation highlighted the critical role that legal frameworks like DRIPA play in supporting Indigenous self-determination and advancing justice.
Tia Kennedy presented on the community-based model for revitalizing Doodem (clan) governance on Walpole Island First Nation (Bkejwanong), emphasizing the importance of restoring traditional governance structures to empower communities and strengthen cultural ties.
Research presentations delved into Indigenous governance, climate action and language revitalization, centering around the theme of restoring sovereignty to Indigenous peoples. They highlighted knowledge and decision-making processes that have historically been taken away and displayed the implications of this with mediums such as virtual reality.
Research presentations delved into Indigenous governance, climate action and language revitalization, centering around the theme of restoring sovereignty to Indigenous peoples.
The third annual Indigenous Research Day united diverse voices to share insights, research and cultural practices, fostering dialogue and collaboration across disciplines.
Co-presidents Emma Robertson and Olivia Beausoleil reflect on the growth the Indigenous Student Athlete Council has experienced along with its potential future
A group of McMaster student-athletes are making strides in their sports while also working to foster inclusivity and representation for Indigenous student-athletes. The Indigenous Student Athlete Council has created a place for Indigenous student athletes to build community and increase visibility within the McMaster community.
Co-presidents Emma Robertson and Olivia Beausoleil both created ISAC and built it into what it is today. Both are student athletes themselves; Robertson is a part of McMaster’s cheer team, while Beausoleil is on the women’s football team.
“Athletics and Recreation had the idea [for an Indigenous student athlete council] and Emma and I had both reached out with interest in getting involved in it. So collectively Emma and I sort of got it off the ground,” said Beausoleil.
ISAC’s core goals are to provide a space to advocate for Indigenous student athletes at McMaster, provide Indigenous student athletes a safe community and increase representation and visibility of Indigenous student athletes.
“With ISAC, we’re looking to really increase the inclusivity of Indigenous student-athletes within athletics and recreation at McMaster and advocate for the interests of Indigenous student-athletes,” said Robertson.
With ISAC, we’re looking to really increase the inclusivity of Indigenous student athletes within athletics and recreation at McMaster and advocate for the interests of Indigenous student athletes.
Emma Robertson, Co-president
McMaster Indigenous Student Athlete Council
One aspect of the council that has been especially meaningful is that it has acted as a space to share personal experiences and stories through their meetings. This provides a platform for Indigenous student-athletes to connect and build community with one another
“Even just hearing each other’s stories, sometimes our meetings even get a little off topic, but hearing personal stories as an Indigenous athlete is interesting and being able to share them myself is interesting,” said Beausoleil.
The council began just two years ago. Since then it has been able to grow and improve in meeting its goals. They have been able to increase their outreach and have achieved a greater overall presence throughout the beginning of the fall semester.
“One thing we’re looking to do is really grow the council and get more members or visibility on campus. So even at the start of this year, having a presence at welcome week or student orientations has been great. We’ve met some first year Indigenous student athletes so we’re hoping to have a new meeting soon to invite and welcome some potential new members,” said Robertson.
Along with growing in visibility, the council has grown its connections with other groups in McMaster’s student-athlete landscape. Groups like McMaster’s Black Student- Athlete Council, the Women’s Athletic Leadership Committee and the LGBTQ2SIA+ Athletic Advocacy Group along with the Indigenous Student Athlete Council all aim to provide support for marginalized student-athletes at McMaster. These groups have also served as a model for the Indigenous Student Athlete council as they have worked to build themselves up.
“This year we’ve been connecting more with the leaders of other student groups. This has been helpful to see what challenges they’ve had and things they’ve succeeded in and how we can work together,” said Robertson.
One of the ISAC’s biggest events is its Orange Shirt Day event. Orange Shirt Day aims to recognize the tragedies of the residential school system and the Indigenous children who were taken from their families.
This year the council is holding its Orange Shirt Day event on Sept. 28. This event will be hosted during the men’s and women’s soccer and rugby games at Ron Joyce Stadium. It will take place from 12:00 p.m. when women’s soccer kicks off against Algoma University, until 8:00 p.m. when men’s rugby kicks off against Western University.
“So right now our event is on Sept. 28. With the women’s and men’s soccer and rugby games. We have a couple different things going on there. We’re going to be selling orange shirts there, we have different Indigenous vendors who are going to be present on the concourse selling things. We may or may not have a singing group coming as well,” said Robertson.
This will be the council’s second year in a row running an Orange Shirt Day event during a McMaster sports event. With a year under their belt, the council has been able to grow this event and get more people involved.
“Last year when we started, the council didn’t really start until the beginning of September, so it was a lot more last minute and a bit crazier. But this year, we started meeting and planning things out earlier in the summer, so it’s been nice to have more time to do that. We’ve also been able to reach out to other Indigenous student services and the Indigenous studies department and have been working with some of the staff there to coordinate with other things going on with truth and reconciliation on campus, as well as getting help and support from them has been great,” said Robertson.
As Orange Shirt Day approaches, the council’s co-presidents also hope to create a long lasting space for the coming years. Gaining new members has been a challenge for the council, but Robertson and Beausoleil have worked tirelessly to keep the council running.
“Just building the council is important. There are currently only four of us on the council, but a lot of us are in our final year here. So, being able to make sure we have some members to carry forth the council in the coming years so it doesn’t die off just as we’ve gotten it going,” said Olivia Beausoleil.
Just building the council is important. There are currently only four of us on the council, but a lot of us are in our final year here. So, being able to make sure we have some members to carry forth the council in the coming years so it doesn’t die off just as we’ve gotten it going.
Olivia Beausoleil, Co-president
McMaster Indigenous Student Athlete Council
With its continued growth and refinement, the council hopes to be a strong and supportive space for Indigenous student-athletes at McMaster.
IHM co-chairs outline their plans to make discussion around Indigenous health more accessible and engaging
Three years ago, for our first Education and Reconciliation issue, The Silhouette spoke with the then co-chairs of the Indigenous Health Movement, Jayden Rivers and Alexa Vrzovski, about the student-lead group, its operations and its goals.
For this year’s return of this important issue, we spoke with current co-chairs Darci Debessige and Georgia Campbell about their goals for the group and where they hope to take it this year. Debassige is of Ojibwe ancestry and Campbell is Metis.
The Indigenous Health Movement was initiated in 2016 by students Yotakahron Jonathan, Yipeng Ge, Alex Liu, Sharon Yeung and Deepti Shanbhag as a group project. It was launched with the goal of harboring discussion and raising awareness about the systemic issues Indigenous folks face in the context of health and healthcare.
Due to this lands history of colonialism and the attempted erasure of Indigenous cultures and people, Indigenous folks have poorer health outcomes for many conditions, are relatively lacking in access to health services and face racism within today’s health care system.
“There are vast differences in the health outcomes of indigenous people in Canada, but also across the world. There are vast differences in the healthcare that they receive, and the way that they are treated by healthcare practitioners,” said Debassige.
There are vast differences in the health outcomes of indigenous people in Canada, but also across the world. There are vast differences in the healthcare that they receive, and the way that they are treated by healthcare practitioners.
Darci Debassige, Co-chair
Indigenous Health Movement
Since its inception, the main event the Indigenous Health Movement has held is the Indigenous Health Conference. The group has since expanded and diversified its endeavors to engage people and raise awareness about Indigenous health. “We’ve run learning circles where you can have facilitators come in and run cultural programming. We had a birch bark basket making event last year, and we’ve had a speaker series, which are like smaller forms of a conference,” said Debassige.
Debassige and Campbell explained that the smaller events like their speaker series as well as some of their new ideas for this coming year are all aimed at engaging more students by making the movement more accessible and approachable. Because the movement aims to educate and raise awareness about Indigenous health to as many as they can, the group and its events are open to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.
One of their bigger projects this year that students should look out for is their new podcast called The Circle, which hopes to be a medium for discussion and awareness-raising just like the conference and speaker series. Debassige revealed that Campbell had initially proposed the idea in her application to join the Indigenous Health Movement.
"At the end of all of our applications for the executive team is “what is an idea that you have? What would you like to see happen?” Because people who have good ideas make good team members. And so at the end of this one application, it’s like, I just think that a podcast would be really cool … and I was like, “that’s a good idea,”” said Debassige. “A podcast I think is a good way to deliver information because it’s so accessible,” said Campbell.
A podcast I think is a good way to deliver information because it’s so accessible.
Georgia Campbell, Co-chair
Indigenous Health Movement
The group has over the summer recorded their first pilot episode of the podcast, and is hoping to release it in the coming weeks as they figure out the logistics of publishing it. For their first few episodes, they hope to speak with both current about and past Indigenous students, both about Indigenous health and their experiences and journeys.
Whether you are an Indigenous or non-Indigenous student or member of the campus community, the Indigenous Health Movement welcomes all to become involved in their events and partake in their opportunities to educate the community about Indigenous health and reconciliation.
C/O Gayatri Malhotra, Unsplash
Roe v. Wade should be an eyeopener for Canadians on its issues surrounding abortion access
In 1973, Roe v. Wade became a landmark case for reproductive rights as the United States Supreme Court affirmed the right to abortion. On June 24, 2022, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, making abortion illegal or highly restricted in twenty states as of July 9, 2022, with others slowly following.
But this is all happening in the United States, not in Canada. So why should we care? As we are known for our amazing healthcare, it’s not an issue for us, right?
But this is all happening in the United States, not in Canada. So why should we care? As we are known for our amazing healthcare, it’s not an issue for us, right?
Being Canadian, I am beyond grateful for the ease I have had in terms of healthcare and knowing certain accommodations and procedures will always be available for me, but not every Canadian can say the same.
For instance, individuals living in provinces and territories such as Prince Edward Island, Northwest Territories and Yukon, face many issues when it comes to receiving abortions. These regions often only have one abortion provider, usually found in urban areas. Moreover, these provinces and territories only have a gestational limit of 12 to 16 weeks, whereas here in Ontario the limit is around 23 to 24 weeks.
This lack of accessibility only makes it so much more difficult for individuals to go and receive abortions due to both location as there are so few providers and the shorter gestational limit.
This lack of accessibility only makes it so much more difficult for individuals to go and receive abortions due to both location as there are so few providers and the shorter gestational limit.
Additionally, abortions are not only used when one wishes to terminate a pregnancy. They are the procedure when an individual has a miscarriage or is in a condition where the baby cannot survive and will only cause harm and danger to the mother's body. Meaning as ironic as the concept of abortions may be to some, they do also save lives.
It has also been well established that restricting abortion access impacts marginalized populations heavily. According to Statistics Canada, in 2016 38 per cent of Inuit women and one in four off-reserve Indigenous and Métis women cited the most common reason for dropping out of school was pregnancy. In a study on young pregnancies in Nunavut, researchers found that Inuit women generally, have their first child at an early age and have more children than other non-Indigenous women.
Given the state the ongoing effects of COVID-19 has left our economy and society in, our government not solving current challenge and causing even more challenges for marginalized communities is more than reason enough for why we should care about what's happening here.
With the lack of funding, access, care and the history our country has over controlling certain communities, it becomes immensely difficult. This law change affects individuals economically, it will increase poverty rates, kill mothers and leave families grieving and disproportionately affect marginalized communities.
Currently in Canada inter-provincial abortions are restricted to those who can afford to travel, have the money and the available necessities. With all of the major changes happening around abortion laws and rights in the States, it should make you open your eyes to what is happening here, especially with the preconceived notion that Canada’s abortion laws are perfect. It is important we continue to do our research, never stay quiet and support our peers, even as we still have improvements to make ourselves.
With all of the major changes happening around abortion laws and rights in the States, it should make you open your eyes to what is happening here, especially with the preconceived notion that Canada’s abortion laws are perfect.
