Aboriginal Health Conference bridges gap between awareness and action

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January 27, 2005

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/aboriginal_conference05.jpg” caption=”2005 conference organizers, from left to right: Avita Sooknanan, Jessica Shearer, Bonnie Freeman and Dana Martin.”]Aboriginal high school, college, and university students, and those interested in returning to school for a career in healthcare, will be at McMaster Saturday for the second annual Aboriginal Health Conference.

Organized by the McMaster Student International Health Initiative (SIHI), the McMaster Indigenous Studies Program and the Native Students Health Sciences office, the conference, called “Bridging the Gap: Moving from Awareness to Action”, will take place in the McMaster University Student Centre (MUSC). Registration will take place outside the CIBC Banquet Hall on the third floor of MUSC, starting at 8:30 a.m. Opening ceremonies will commence at 9:30 a.m. inside the CIBC Banquet Hall.

This year's theme focuses on action, following last year's focus on awareness. Speakers and participants will share skills and ideas through large forums and workshops. A poster contest will also be on display and prizes — from a new computer to an Mp3 player — will be awarded.

There will be three speakers throughout the day, including: Dawn Martin-Hill, a founder and current academic director of McMaster's Indigenous Studies Program; Cornelia Wieman, Canada's first female Aboriginal psychiatrist and member of the Little Grand Rapids First Nation (Ojibway) in northern Manitoba; and Jason Whitebear, a youth policy analyst with the First Nations Centre, National Aboriginal Health Organization.

Workshops, focused on medicine, nursing, physical and rehabilitation therapy, MRI and X-Ray services, social work and midwifery, will be held at various locations in the student centre. For a list of workshops and locations, click here.

Registration forms and further information about the conference can be found at the SIHI Web site. The registration cost is $5 for students, $10 for the general public, and free for Aboriginal students attending health careers workshops.

Last year's conference was attended by nearly 300 people from across Canada and the US. Among those contributing to last year's dialogue was Ovide Mercredi, former chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Canada, who acted as keynote speaker for the event.