Indigenous Mentorship Network launched, opportunities for students
Nipissing University is part of a new provincial network of Indigenous health training that is both culturally relevant and scientifically rigorous. And, there are currently funding and workshop opportunities for students.
The Indigenous Mentorship Network Program of Ontario (IMNP) launched January 11, with 13 research institutions and a team of 70 researchers, trainees and community collaborators — more than half of whom are Indigenous.The new network will support research by Indigenous people for Indigenous people, with emphasis on the health and social issues that matter to Indigenous people.
The Nipissing IMNP team includesDr. Cindy Peltier, Indigenous Education Chair;Dr. Brenda Bruner, Associate Professor in the School of Physical Health and Education;Dr. Carly Dokis, Associate Professor of Anthropology;Dr. Katrina Srigley, Associate Professor of History;and Dr. Renee Bedard, Assistant Professor of Native Studies.
“For the first time, we are connecting the networks of the community with the networks of academia,” said program leader Chantelle Richmond, Associate Professor of Geography at Western University and College Member of the Royal Society of Canada. “We are putting communities in the driver’s seat on health research that matters to them.”
Richmond, an Anishinabe scholar from Pic River First Nation, said the network re-orients health research to connect traditional knowledge with research rigor and measurable results. Ontario-based, the network aligns with the other seven provincial nodes of the Indigenous Mentorship Network Program, which is funded by the Canadian Institute for Health Research.
The network will build and support the next generation of Indigenous health scholars by providing well-supported training opportunities and environments for community-based learning and research. It will offer scholarships, seed grants, webinars, research innovation and publishing opportunities to trainees, postdoctoral fellows and new investigators.
It will operate from Western University on funding of $1 million from the Canadian Institute for Health Research and $1.2 million from other partners during the next five years.
The driving force behind thenetwork can be exemplified by the Anishnabek phrase: “Mno Nimkodaddig Geegi: We are all connected.”
The governance structure includes Northern researchers at Lakehead, Laurentian, Nipissing universities as well as the Health Sciences North Initiative and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In Central Ontario, participants include Western, McMaster, Guelph and Toronto universities plus St. Michael’s Hospital. In Eastern Ontario, participants are Queens, Trent and Ottawa universities. A Community Advisory and Elders’ Council will play a key role in ensuring the network continues to serve the needs of scholars, trainees and communities.
Current opportunities for students include:
IMNP-Ontario scholarship and seed grant for Indigenous graduate students
Applications due by Friday, March 2, 2018.
Scholarships are open to Indigenous graduate students who are registered at Ontario institutions and undertaking applied community-based health research. Seed grants are open to Indigenous post-doctoral fellows and new investigators pursuing applied community-based health research at Ontario institutions. Please Note: one is specific to Nipissing University, and one is Ontario-wide.
For more information, and to apply, visit: http://imnp.uwo.ca/opportunities.html.
Workshop on Supporting Transitions to Health Research and Professions
This three-day workshop will engage Indigenous undergraduate students in several formal and informal training sessions designed to share best practices, skill building and mentorship relating to successful transitions into graduate school and Indigenous health training. Current graduate students, Faculty and Elders, will facilitate the sessions. Some of the topics to be explored include:
Pathways to Indigenous health careers;
How does one apply to grad school;
Learning lessons from current graduate students; and,
Applied research in the Indigenous health context.
There is no cost to attend this workshop, and accommodation will be provided. Space is limited to 13 undergraduate Indigenous students.
Application Deadline is January 26th at 4 p.m.
To apply, visit http://indigenousscholarship.uwo.ca/imnp/