Indigenous Program
Zaagi’iwewin – Love (Adik/caribou) | Kitaay bizhikikwe (Amanda Myers) and Nimkee Giizhis (Mike Cywink)
Program Overview
The Indigenous Program has been working with First Nations communities across the country for close to two decades to improve prevention, clinical management and the status of diabetes for Indigenous peoples. The Program works directly with community partners to centre Indigenous knowledge and local resources to empower grassroots solutions. Since its inception, the Program has formed more than 30 community partnerships across seven full-scale programs. These programs include an epidemiological assessment of diabetes in Canada, the development of a web-based diabetes surveillance and chart audit systems, a fellowship training program for Indigenous youth, community-driven quality-improvement training programs and several clinical tools to assist the journey towards wellness.
Current Programs
SOAR: Pathway to Wellness
A community-driven program aimed at improving the health and health equity of Indigenous peoples living with diabetes.
FORGE AHEAD
A community-driven, culturally relevant program aimed at enhancing chronic disease management and appropriate access to available services.
Land Acknowledgement
Western University is situated on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Lunaapeewak and Attawandaron peoples, who have longstanding relationships to the land and region of southwestern Ontario and the City of London. The local First Nation communities of this area include Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, Oneida Nation of the Thames, and Munsee Delaware Nation. In the region, there are eleven First Nation communities and a growing Indigenous urban population.