Despite federal commitments to address and resolve health inequities, Indigenous people in what is presently known as Canada continue to face persistent and pervasive barriers to accessing culturally appropriate health care and achieving equity. Steeped in colonialism, the very system intended to support and heal people is failing Indigenous populations and in many instances, causing harm.

That’s why the Indigenous Research Support Initiative is hosting Pathways to Indigenous Equity: An Indigenous Lens on Health Systems Transformation and Research on Tuesday, April 27. The panel discussion features Dr. Brittany Bingham, CGSHE’s Director of Indigenous Research, along with Leslie Bonshor, Aboriginal Health Executive Advisor at Vancouver Coastal Health, and Dr. Lindsay Farrell, of UBC’s Faculty of Medicine. The panel discussion comes in the wake of the recent review of BC’s health care system, In Plain Sight: Systemic Racism in Indigenous Health Care. Among other gaming findings, it reported that 84 percent of Indigenous participants described personal experiences of racism and discrimination that discouraged them from seeking necessary care and that reduced their access to care.

In light of the In Plain Sight report, panelists will explore how we can we apply a decolonial lens to health research and in doing so, challenge our health care systems and structures to transform. They will also consider how we can ensure that systemic change is informed by Indigenous knowledge, voices and tradition? All three panelists are deeply invested in exploring such questions and have dedicated their careers to dismantling colonial approaches to health care and creating health equity for Indigenous people. Using their considerable personal and professional knowledge and experience, they will discuss ways that collaborative approaches to research can bring about system-wide transformation and ensure Indigenous people’s human right to equitable health care is upheld.

Pathways to Indigenous Equity: An Indigenous Lens on Health Systems Transformation and Research takes place Tuesday, April 27 at 10:00 a.m. PT. Register here.