Linking sovereignty to community health, wellness, and healing

In this presentation, Melody will share how she first got involved in research in the circumpolar northern regions of Labrador and provide a thumbnail sketch of projects she was invited back to partner on, since the first study. In response to the social determinants of health, several Indigenous health scholars proposed an Indigenous determinants of health framework that provides helpful contexts and insights into the health and wellness of northern Indigenous communities. Melody will situate her research within an Indigenous determinants of health framework (“framework”) as well as highlight how research principles, protocols, and processes are an inherent part of the framework. Melody will share stories and examples of how impacts of and outcomes from research with and for First Nations (and other Indigenous groups) is inherently linked to self-determination and sovereignty. This presentation will include interactive components where people in attendance will be invited to respond to opinion polls or questions anonymously on their smartphone.