IMN-0ntario 2023 Summer Institute

ABOUT THE institute

there is a strong need for research in ontario's INDIGENOUS communities from an INDIGENOUS perspective.

OBJECTIVE

To provide methodological training to Indigenous undergraduate, graduate and/or health professional students who are undertaking Indigenous health and well-being research who are registered at an Ontario University.
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GOAL

The goal of the IMN-Ontario Summer Institute is to support and grow the next generation of Indigenous health scholars with an eye to serve the research needs and capacities of Ontario’s Indigenous communities and advancing Indigenous health equity along the way.

Future

The IMN-Ontario will continue to support Indigenous students as they pursue research in the area of applied community-based Indigenous health and well-being to build capacity in Ontario's Indigenous communities.
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DIGITAL RESEARCH METHOD TRAINING

We OFFERED A WEEK LONG SUMMER INSTITUTE IN JULY OF 2023 TO PROVIDE RESEARCH METHOD TRAINING TO the next generation of Indigneous researchers.
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THE INSTITUTE WAS OFFERED IN collaboratION with Storycentre CANADA.

Graduate Students apply skills learned at the Indigenous Mentorship Network of Ontario Summer Institute

digital storytelling

We ran a week long institute that trained Indigenous students at an Ontario university how to create digital stories.

Graduate student dialogue at the Indigenous Mentorship Network of Ontario Summer Institute

Develop research skills

Each student learned to create a short 3-5 minute video and develop their skills as Indigenous health researchers.

STORIES

These are some of the stories students constructed during their training at the 2023 summer institute.

The Landing

Once I started school, I wondered whose idea was it to make children sit at desks all day. And why hasn’t it changed today? The search for truth and understanding became my mission. As I learned more and grew up, my mission also included healing.

Sitting with ni'gokimisag in the apakweayhkiwe

Where is my peace? I am paddling along the march of Lake Ontario. Surrounded by thick, humid air. The smell of march, incoming rain. The humidity on my face feels like the remnants of a nkomis kiss.

A Sense of Belonging

I was afraid to be proud of who I am because I didn’t understand it. I was raised in a Christian home. There was no hiding who I am. How I look on the outside didn’t line up with how I felt on the inside.

Being Enough

I have spent my entire life yearning to know who I am meant to be, because if I don’t do Haudenosaunee things or speak a Haudenosaunee language, who am I? I am learning and I am a work in progress.

Team Members

IMN-ONTARIO LEAD

Dr. Chelsea Gabel

Dr. Gabel is Red River Métis from Rivers, Manitoba and is a citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation. She holds a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Well-Being, Community-Engagement and Innovation and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health, Aging and Society and the Indigenous Studies Department at McMaster University. Dr. Gabel is also the lead of the Indigenous Mentorship Network - Ontario and co-leads the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research (NEIHR) National Coordinating Centre.

RESEARCH COORDINATOR

Val O'Brien

Valerie O’Brien is Mushkegowuk Cree with Irish heritage from Northern Ontario and is a member of the Weenusk First Nation. She has been the Coordinator of the Indigenous Mentorship Network at McMaster University since January 2023. She has been with McMaster University for more than 17 years working in various Indigenous research coordination/administration roles. She completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology in 2000 and a MSc in Health Research Methodology in 2012, both at McMaster University.

STORYCENTRE CANADA

Rani Sanderson

Rani worked for more than 15 years as a film programmer, video artist, and VJ in many cities, countries, islands, clubs, and festivals around the world, before pursuing a second education in environmental studies, with a concentration on community arts, environmental education, and social justice. It was during this time, in 2008, that she was first introduced to StoryCenter, and she has been facilitating digital storytelling workshops ever since. BA, Film, Ryerson University; MS, Environmental Studies, York University.

INDIGITAL Storytelling

Indigenous Mentorship Network of Ontario