The program, announced on Nov. 26 by the University of Manitoba and Shared Health at an event that included a pipe ceremony and a feast, will be offered to health-care workers across the province, as well as to faculty members and learners in the Rady Faculty. It will support training for up to 3,000 people annually, with each health employer identifying teams from within their organization to participate each year.

Giga Mino Ganawenimaag Anishinaabeg, meaning We Will Take Good Care of the People in Anishinaabemowin, draws upon the knowledge and expertise of local Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and health-care leaders. Each training module will engage health-care workers in a range of activities and reflections.

“The purpose of the training is to address racism, foster culturally safe environments for Indigenous patients, and improve Indigenous health,” said Dr. Marcia Anderson, the Cree-Anishinaabe physician who is vice-dean of Indigenous health, social justice and anti-racism of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

“Indigenous people make up 18 per cent of the Manitoba population. They have the poorest health status and the lowest life expectancy of any group. As an important step toward closing the health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, we’re providing staff at every level with the foundational knowledge to provide more racially just and culturally safe care.”

It’s essential for anyone involved in health care in Manitoba to acknowledge the multi-generational harms caused to Indigenous people by the health and residential school systems, Anderson said.

The training is supported through a grant of nearly $1 million awarded to Ongomiizwin through Health Canada’s Addressing Racism and Discrimination in Canada’s Health Systems program. It will be implemented as a partnership between UM and Manitoba’s health regions.

“All health-care workers have a responsibility to understand First Nation, Métis and Inuit peoples’ rights to culturally safe, equitable, dignified health care,” said Charlene Lafreniere, Shared Health’s provincial lead, Indigenous Health.

“Providing improved training across health organizations, including among decision makers and in the locations where care is provided, is one strategy we are implementing to address inequities and create a health system that is better equipped to deliver culturally safe, anti-racist health care.”

The training for UM staff will be provided through UM Learn. Health organization staff will take the training through the Shared Health Learning Management System (LMS). Private clinicians and external organizations can take the training through the Max Rady College of Medicine Continuing Professional Development LMS.

The training will consist of 10 online asynchronous modules that will take a worker a total of about 10.5 hours to complete, followed by an in-person workshop of two to three hours to consolidate learning.

Topics covered in the program include the impact of colonization on Indigenous health; strategies for recognizing and addressing racism in the health-care system; understanding the health-related Calls to Action made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission; and how the location of Indigenous patients (urban, rural/remote or on-reserve) has implications for health-care delivery.

“Participating in this new training is a meaningful step that physicians, learners, trainees and other health workers can take as a step toward reconciliation and as part of their responsibility to redress harm,” said Melanie MacKinnon, executive director of Ongomiizwin and leader of Ongomiizwin-Health Services.

A team of Indigenous coach-facilitators will be available to participants as they proceed through the program. “These facilitators will be trained to support learners as they translate the content of the modules into meaningful action,” Anderson said.

Cultural safety training has been provided to Manitoba health workers since 2015. But this is the first such program to be created in Manitoba.

Its creation comes on the heels of other organizational pledges to take action to address Indigenous-specific racism. These include a pledge by the Canadian Medical Association, which recently apologized for its role, and the role of the medical profession, in past and ongoing harms to First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples in the health system. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba apologized in 2023 for ongoing Indigenous-specific racism in the medical profession.

Watch the livestream launch of Giga Mino Ganawenimaag Anishinaabeg We Will Take Good Care of the People at 11 a.m. on Nov. 26.

This year’s honorees include Dr. Marcia Anderson, vice-dean Indigenous health, social justice and anti-racism at Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. The formal investiture ceremony will be held on July 11 at the Legislative Building.

A nationally renowned physician and an influential academic leader, Anderson  served as the public health lead for Manitoba’s First Nations COVID-19 pandemic response team and has been credited with mitigating the impact of COVID-19 in First Nations communities throughout Manitoba through collaborative leadership, clinical excellence and strong relationships

The Cree-Anishinaabe physician has won many awards over her career Including the 2011 National Aboriginal Achievement Award (now known as the Indspire Awards) and being named as one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women in 2018 by Women’s Executive Network and again in 2022.

In 2021, Anderson received the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada’s Dr. Thomas Dignan Indigenous Health Award. In 2022, she was recognized as Physician of the Year by Doctors Manitoba and awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration by the Institute of Public Administration of Canada Manitoba region.

UM Today asked Anderson to share her thoughts on this most recent impressive award, the Order of Manitoba, and her goals for the future.

How does it feel to be recognized with such a prestigious honour and what does this award mean to you personally?

I was extremely honoured when my friend and colleague senator Dr. Gigi Osler approached me for my consent to be nominated.

I looked at the list of previous recipients, which includes people like former national chiefs Ovide Mercredi and Phil Fontaine. It’s almost overwhelming to be considered as having contributed in a way that would put me in that company,  and to be inducted in the same year as the Honourable Murray Sinclair. He is someone I deeply admire and have learned extensively from.

I am incredibly grateful for the teams of people I work with – it is the team that makes our contributions possible.

In addition to feeling honoured, I feel an enormous responsibility to live up to the contributions of these other notable inducted.

Could you share some specific initiatives or projects you’ve been involved in that have made a difference in the lives of Manitobans, especially Indigenous individuals or communities?

As a team in Ongomiizwin we have provided a good work environment for our team that serves as a haven of safety and cultural connections that grounds all of the work we do. This is the place we lead from.

I’m proud of having worked with Melanie MacKinnon [executive director, Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing], the Kookums and Elders and our senior leadership in co-creating this environment.

It makes a real difference in the average length of service for the providers in Ongomiizwin Health Services and for the expansion of our programs out in community and here in the University.

I have learned a lot from Mel about our core business being relationships and was never as thankful for that as I was during the COVID-19 pandemic when we had to draw on all those relationships in our response.

I look at the national work I’m involved in and how we work together will people like Max Rady College of Medicine associate dean of admissions Dr. Sara Goulet in leading the way in meaningful change like requiring an Indigenous course to apply to our medical school.

I’m grateful for people who are willing to experiment the way forward with me, like Dr.

Delia Douglas [director of the Rady Faculty Office of Anti-Racism], as we developed and continue to try to meaningfully implement out anti-racism policy.

I can’t mention by name everyone on my teams, but I really appreciate each of them and how they contribute to our shared goals, because this is what results in the progress we have made.

Being honoured with the Order of Manitoba highlights not just your professional achievements, but also your leadership and commitment to service. Can you speak to the importance of leadership in addressing health disparities and promoting cultural understanding?

When it comes to health equity, human rights, social justice, anti-racism and cultural safety, we all have a role to play.

I think we need to have some humility in that these are complex topics, there are multiple experiences and areas of expertise that need to be part of our path forward and we don’t always know with certainty what is going to work and when our best intentions and best guesses might have unintended negative consequences.

When we are accustomed as leaders to being the experts, acting quickly and moving with certainty, we might get very stuck in leading through this complexity that requires us to critically self-reflect and may have a higher risk of getting something  wrong.

As a leader at this phase of my career, I still see my work in providing some academic leadership in Ongomiizwin, but increasingly I see it as supporting other leaders within the faculty in their own cultural safety, anti-racism and social justice work.

This is less about cultural understanding and more about understanding systems of power and oppression, our positionality and how that relates to our roles and increasing psychological safety in our environments so it’s safe to try, to question, to make mistakes and to learn.

In your opinion, what are some of the most pressing health-care challenges facing Manitoba today and how do you envision addressing them?

The most pressing health-care challenges we have in Manitoba include the system and health workforce challenges that many are struggling with.

Increasing cultural safety and address racism in the work and learning environments are important strategies to help stabilize the workforce and improve patient outcomes.

Our health outcomes remain largely defined by inequitable access to the underlying determinants of health, with this inequitable access also being related to structural drivers like colonialism and racism.

I’m fairly confident in some of the approaches we have in health professional education in the upcoming years to increase racial justice and cultural safety in our teaching and environments, but I don’t presume to have the answers to all of the complex health care challenges in the system.

It’s easy to say we need to shift funding upstream to public health and easily accessible, team based and responsive primary care, but harder to actually do.

Your achievements serve as an inspiration to many Indigenous youth aspiring to careers in medicine and academia. What advice would you give to those who are following in your footsteps?

I hope that my path is inspiring to Indigenous youth and also to other young people who have strong commitments to human rights and social justice.

At the high school and undergraduate university level the best advice I would have is to read and study widely.

Even if you want to come into a health profession, invest time in sociology, Indigenous studies and critical race and gender studies for example.

Know who you are by strengthening connections to the communities you are part of.

Explore lots of different passions like arts, travel and sports, because they too will benefit you and your work in the future in ways you might not be able to see now.

Find a range of mentors with different characteristics you admire or expertise you want to learn from.

Work hard to understand what your piece of this work is to do and keep prioritizing yourself, your well-being and the relationships that are important to you.

Looking ahead, what are your aspirations and goals for the future, both personally and professionally, as you continue to make a difference in health care and education?

My goals remain the same – to make a meaningful and measurable difference in the health care quality and experiences our relatives have.

I’m so curious and excited for the impact our new race based data, anti-racism approaches and cultural safety training will have in the next five years.

Cutting-edge building planned for health education

UM is set to transform health education in Manitoba with plans for a multipurpose building to open in 2025 on the Bannatyne campus. The project, supported by donors and a $40-million commitment from the provincial government, will allow for 30 additional medical school seats and introduce state-of-the-art facilities.

Situated at the corner of McDermot Avenue and Tecumseh Street, the multi-storey building will contain classrooms, simulation labs and a theatre to accommodate the growing number of medical students. The facility will also house the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry’s expansive new dental clinics, Ongomiizwin – Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing and a 90-space child-care centre. Read more >

Three new research chairs fuel discovery

Dr. Genevieve Thompson, professor of nursing, was named the inaugural Research Chair in Person-Directed Living, a position jointly established by Riverview Health Centre and the College of Nursing. Thompson’s focus will be on research to improve quality of life for people in long-term care. Read more >

Dr. Nishita Singh, a stroke neurologist who is assistant professor of internal medicine, was appointed the Heart & Stroke & Research Manitoba Chair in Clinical Stroke Research. The position at the Max Rady College of Medicine is the first chair in clinical stroke research to be established in Manitoba. Read more >

Dr. Jacquie Ripat, professor of occupational therapy, was appointed the first Endowed Chair in Technology for Assisted Living at the College of Rehabilitation Sciences. The chair, funded by donations to the Health Sciences Centre Foundation and UM, will focus on cutting-edge technology that helps people live independently. Read more >

Collecting data to disrupt racism

UM was a partner in announcing that Manitobans are now being asked to voluntarily declare their race, ethnicity or Indigenous identity when they receive care at hospitals. The initiative is led on behalf of Shared Health by Dr. Marcia Anderson, vice-dean Indigenous health, social justice and anti-racism of the Rady Faculty.

Manitoba is the first province in Canada to systematically collect this information from patients when they access care. The purpose of amassing and analyzing the data is to address racial inequities in health care. Read more >  

Dental college celebrates patient’s enduring trust

Catherine Hyska has been a devoted patient at the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry’s clinic for an astounding 57 years. She started visiting the clinic in an era when fillings cost 25 cents and crowns were priced between $5 and $10. Now 93 years old, she attributes her enduring oral well-being to the guidance of the dental students who have cared for her.

Hyska’s loyalty speaks volumes about the dental college’s quality of care, compassionate students and affordability for community members. Read more >

Medical college marks 140 years

Since its founding in 1883, the Max Rady College of Medicine has educated and trained the majority of Manitoba’s physicians and played a crucial role in the delivery of health care across the province.

The college is known for leadership in the areas of social accountability, equity, diversity and inclusion and anti-racism initiatives, Indigenous health and interprofessional collaboration. Its robust research enterprise includes a focus on global public health, infectious diseases and population health. Alumni, partners, faculty members, learners and friends of the college gathered in November for a gala celebration of its proud history.

Read more about the college’s research achievements of the past 140 years

Read more about alumni and faculty members who are Canadian Medical Hall of Fame laureates

College of Nursing welcomes historic summer cohort

In May, the College of Nursing opened a new chapter, welcoming its first summer cohort of 120 students. This enrolment expansion, supported by an investment of $4.3 million from the Province of Manitoba, marked a significant step in addressing the province’s nursing shortage.

The college has revolutionized its bachelor of nursing program, now accommodating three cohorts annually, with year-round delivery of the program across three terms: summer, fall and winter. This approach ensures that students will complete the degree in 28 months. Read more >

First class graduates from new PharmD program

The first students to earn the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) undergraduate degree at UM were recognized at Spring Convocation, marking a new era for pharmacy education in Manitoba.

The PharmD program, which has replaced UM’s longstanding bachelor of science (pharmacy), is a four-year professional degree program that focuses on clinical practice, experiential learning and pharmaceutical sciences. The program prepares pharmacists for their evolving scope of practice and role in patient care. Read more >

Ininiw scholar develops curriculum framework

With a vision to integrate Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing, Ininiw (Cree) scholar Margaret Hart is developing a curriculum framework for the occupational therapy program in the College of Rehabilitation Sciences.

Hart, who is from Pimicikamak Cree Nation with ties to Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, has extensive experience as an Indigenous educator. In consultation with communities, she is working to decolonize the occupational therapy curriculum and infuse it with First Nation philosophies. Read more >

Pride flag, queer health symposium encourage inclusion

In a ceremony in September, the Pride flag was unveiled in a permanent position above the stage in the Brodie Centre atrium, demonstrating the Rady Faculty’s commitment to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment for all. Read more >

In October, Caring Queerly, the first Rady Faculty symposium on queer health, was held on the Bannatyne campus. More than 60 people registered for the two-day event, which offered a safe space to discuss queer health inequities and services. Read more >

Rady Kids’ Club provides study break for parents

For students in the health sciences who have children, juggling the demands of university life and parenting can be a challenge. It’s tough to find quality study time.

In a game-changing initiative, the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences Family Centre has introduced the free Rady Kids’ Club. Designed for children aged four to 12, the club runs one Saturday morning per month in the gym on the Bannatyne campus, giving parents some uninterrupted study time. Read more >

Maté was joined by more than 1,000 attendees at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation’s gathering for residential school Survivors and regional health support and cultural workers in late August, where he delivered the keynote address. He also sat down with the Centre’s executive director, Stephanie Scott, and UM Today The Magazine.

“The average doctor doesn’t hear a single lecture [about trauma] in all of their medical training—not five minutes. You know? They should have a whole course on it. They should have a whole four years of courses on it, actually. Because when it comes to healing, if you can heal the trauma, you can heal the conditions that trauma causes.”

The retired physician shared worrisome stats with the audience of Survivors and support workers from across the country, including: Indigenous people develop diabetes up to 30 years earlier than the average Caucasian and have three times the rate of rheumatoid arthritis.

He also shared his thoughts on addiction, insisting it’s not a disease, nor is it inherited, but rather a manifestation of trauma, an unhealed wound. It is never the primary problem; it is an attempt to solve a problem, said Maté. He shared his mantra: “Don’t ask ‘why the addiction?’ ask ‘why the pain?’” It’s no accident there is a significant, disproportionate plague of addiction in Indigenous communities, he noted.

“They happened to be the ones who’ve suffered most in this country,” Maté said.

He spent more than a decade treating patients with drug addictions in Vancouver’s East Side.

“I couldn’t help but notice after a while that the people who got ill—it wasn’t accidental. It wasn’t random. There are certain things about them and how they lived their lives and how they thought about themselves, and how they related to their world that promoted the illness.”

He invited attendees of the gathering to explore if they have any of these reappearing characteristics: a compulsive concern for the emotional needs of others while ignoring their own; identifying with duty, role and responsibility at the expense of their own rest; repressing healthy anger; feeling like they’re responsible for how people feel and wanting to avoid disappointing anyone. 

“Those are the things that lead to illness,” Maté said. “Because what is lacking in all of these is compassion for the self…. You do have to find your own authentic self, which means knowing what you need and offering that compassion to yourself.”

Mandy Buss [B.Sc./06, MD/09], the Indigenous health lead for the department of family medicine in the Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, echoes Maté’s call for more trauma training in med schools. UM helped chart the path with a session developed seven years ago for undergrads about trauma-informed care. Buss oversees the initiative, which involves a Knowledge Keeper and has students walk through a series of cases with a trauma-informed lens.

But a two-hour session barely touches the surface, says Buss, who creates and implements Indigenous health curriculum.

“We don’t really dive into what skills physicians need and I don’t know of too many programs across Canada that actually even touch upon it, let alone talk about the theory.”

That prompted Buss to get involved in a research project on trauma-informed care curriculum in family medicine, with the intent of ultimately increasing its presence in the education of future doctors. “Not only to benefit the patients that we see, but also to benefit the physicians because it can be really dissatisfying when you’re trying to navigate trauma within patients and you feel like you’re not well equipped to deal with it,” says Buss.

“I think we don’t do it because people don’t know how to teach it. We need, really, a lot more research around how do we build those skills.”

Lisa Monkman [B.Sc./00, MD/04], an Anishinaabe family physician and co-chair of the Postgraduate Medical Education Truth and Reconciliation Committee in the Max Rady College of Medicine, agrees that trauma is a much-ignored topic and applauds Buss’ strides to ensure what Manitoba doctors are learning better reflects the needs of all patients.

“What she’s doing is unique,” says Monkman. “Most other medical schools do not have this robust or informed a curriculum that addresses the complexity of [realities]—like racism—and its impacts on Indigenous health.”

In Maté’s latest book, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture, he references a former trailblazing Harvard University professor and physician from the 1930s, Dr. Soma Weiss.

“Weiss told the medical school class that emotional factors are at least as important as physical ones in the causation of illness, and they must be at least as important in the healing of them,” he said.

More recently, a current Harvard professor who believes in this connection told Maté that to talk about mind-body medicine is to jeopardize one’s career. Another colleague at UCLA shared that she has started asking patients about their trauma and is effectively easing them off medications. She was afraid to use her name in his book.

“There’s a lot of doctors who are getting this information or picking up on this stuff a lot more than they used to be. So it’s changing. But it’s changing on the margins. It’s not changing in the mainstream medical schools. The resistance is incredible,” he said, noting a sweeping transformation is probably a century away.

Monkman suspects physicians’ reluctance to adopt a more holistic approach comes down to a few things: not having the background in trauma care and addictions, but also not having the time in an over-run health-care system.

“It’s poorly understood and also I think that it’s emotionally easier to focus on the physical body and disease processes,” she says. “It takes time to get to know people in the context of their own lives in order to know what’s going to help them in a meaningful way.”

***

LISTEN to a related podcast: What’s The Big Idea, featuring Dr. Marcia Anderson [MD/02], vice-dean of Indigenous health, social justice and anti-racism at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. In conversation with President Michael Benarroch, Anderson discusses how the University of Manitoba can further ground medical education in anti-racist practices and provide greater health equity for Canada’s Indigenous, Black and racialized communities. 

Read more about Maté’s visit to Winnipeg in UM Today The Magazine.

On Nov. 18, UM alumni, partners, faculty members, students and friends of the college will celebrate the 140th anniversary at a gala at the RBC Convention Centre. The event will raise funds for MD and grad student bursaries.

While the medical college has educated generations of physicians and served the community, it has also been a thriving centre for the advancement of medical science.

“We’re known for punching above our weight in terms of our research achievements,” says Peter Nickerson [B.Sc.(Med.)/86, MD/86], vice-provost (health sciences) and dean of the Max Rady College of Medicine and the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

“Each year, the college brings in more than $100 million in external research funding. Our investigators, including master’s and PhD students, conduct multidisciplinary research that influences health policy, improves patient care and saves lives.”

From innovative disease research carried out in labs and at hospital bedsides, to studies that give a voice to under-represented patient groups, to findings gleaned from one of the world’s richest storehouses of health data – the Manitoba Population Research Data Repository – the Max Rady College of Medicine is constantly generating new knowledge.

“Our strengths include being exceptionally collaborative, forging effective external partnerships and reaping the benefits of intergenerational chains of research mentors and mentees,” says Nickerson, a kidney specialist who is himself a distinguished research scientist.

In addition to the acclaimed faculty members and alumni who are laureates of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame – we’re spotlighting them in a list on Nov. 16 – here are 10 Max Rady College of Medicine research highlights that have made an indelible impact.

Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum

• In 1948, a cardiologist convinced nearly 4,000 air force veterans to enrol in a study of their cardiovascular health. The extraordinary project, based at UM and known as the Manitoba Follow-up Study, is one of the world’s longest-running health studies of a specific cohort. One of its findings in the 1990s was that shorter men are at greater risk of dying of heart disease than taller men. The study, now led by Robert Tate [M.Sc./75, PhD/00] and marking 75 years, is still tracking a handful of surviving participants. Meanwhile, UM scientists like Lorrie Kirshenbaum [B.Sc./86, M.Sc./88, PhD/92], Canada Research Chair in molecular cardiology, are engaged in leading-edge cardiovascular research. Kirshenbaum has earned international recognition for his work on cardiac cell death and its impact on the development of heart failure.

Dr. Edward (Ted) Lyons

• In the mid-1960s, UM radiologist Edward (Ted) Lyons [B.Sc./63, B.Sc.(Med.)/68, MD/68] became one of the earliest pioneers of ultrasound. His groundbreaking research helped to establish ultrasound as safe for fetuses and mothers, and his findings influenced hospitals across the globe to adopt the technology. Lyons led the first lab in Canada to perform general ultrasound. For years, he worked with manufacturers to evolve the technology from a machine the size of a refrigerator to a portable device no larger than a cellphone. He has called himself “a traveller on a stream of new imaging technology.”

Dr. Stephen Moses

• Frank Plummer [MD/76], who passed away in 2020, was a key member of a multigenerational chain of researchers who have worked for more than 40 years in partnership with the University of Nairobi, making high-impact discoveries in the area of sexually transmitted infections. In the late 1980s, Plummer led a UM team in discovering that some Kenyan women sex workers who had been exposed to HIV infection were naturally immune to it. This breakthrough provided vital new information for HIV vaccine and drug development. In 2007, UM’s Dr. Stephen Moses co-led a study showing that circumcision reduced the risk of HIV infection by 50 to 60 per cent in men who had heterosexual sex. This insight was named one of the biggest medical breakthroughs of the year by Time magazine.

Dr. Heather Dean

• In the late 1980s, when Type 2 diabetes was considered an adult-only disease, UM pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Heather Dean and her colleagues made the startling discovery that some First Nations children in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario had the disease. They published the first paper about these children in 1992. Dean went on to work closely with First Nations communities to better understand the disease. Today, UM researchers continue to study many aspects of youth-onset Type 2 diabetes, including following a cohort of offspring of First Nations individuals who were first diagnosed as children.

Dr. Ryan Zarychanski (Photo: Doctors Manitoba)

• In 2012, a breakthrough by UM and CancerCare Manitoba scientists made the cover of Blood, the world’s top medical journal on blood disorders. The study, led by Dr. Ryan Zarychanski [B.Sc./95, B.Sc.(Med.)/00], identified the genetic mutation responsible for the hereditary blood disorder xerocytosis. Groundwork for this discovery had been laid 40 years earlier by UM hematologist Lyonel Israels [MD/49, M.Sc./50], founding father of CancerCare Manitoba. Zarychanski now holds the Lyonel G. Israels Research Chair in Hematology. This year, he was named Physician of the Year by Doctors Manitoba for leading international clinical research to rapidly assess potential treatments for COVID-19.

Dr. Gary Kobinger

Dr. Jason Kindrachuk

• During the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, UM’s Dr. Gary Kobinger was chief of special pathogens at the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. His team of UM and PHAC researchers co-developed an experimental antibody cocktail called ZMapp. In 2014, it was used in saving the life of an American doctor with Ebola – a dramatic event that made international headlines. Today, Dr. Jason Kindrachuk, Canada Research Chair in the molecular pathogenesis of emerging viruses, is keeping UM on the map as a virus centre through his work on viruses such as Ebola, mpox and coronaviruses.

Dr. Marcia Anderson

• UM is a national leader in partnering with Indigenous communities in health research. In 2019, for example, a landmark joint study by the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba and the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy in the Max Rady College of Medicine illuminated the worsening health gap between First Nation people and all other Manitobans. This year, UM’s Marcia Anderson [MD/02] took a leadership role in making Manitoba the first province to systematically ask hospital patients to voluntarily declare their race, ethnicity or Indigenous identity. The purpose of collecting this data is to address racial inequities in health care.

Dr. James Blanchard

• In 2022, health research and programming in India led by James Blanchard [B.Sc.(Med.)/86, MD/86], executive director of the UM Institute for Global Public Health, received a major injection of support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The funding of US$87 million will support reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health in the state of Uttar Pradesh. In total, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has invested US$280 million in international UM projects. The Institute for Global Public Health has been a world leader in forming partnerships to strengthen health systems and influence health policy, particularly in countries in Asia and Africa, says Blanchard, who holds a Canada Research Chair in epidemiology and global public health.

Dr. Ruth Ann Marrie

• An internationally renowned multiple sclerosis (MS) researcher at UM, neurologist Dr. Ruth Ann Marrie, directs the MS Clinic at Health Sciences Centre. This year, Marrie received a prestigious U.S. prize for her trailblazing body of work. She and her team were the first to explore the implications of comorbidities such as high blood pressure and heart disease in people with MS. She has also shown that the disease may have a “prodromal phase” that precedes the onset of specific MS symptoms. Her ongoing research is laying important groundwork for both prevention and improved treatment of MS.

Dr. Meghan Azad

• Meghan Azad [PhD/10] is a worldwide expert on the science of breast milk. She holds a Canada Research Chair in developmental origins of chronic disease at UM and is also a researcher with the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba. This year, she and her team landed a grant of US$2.5 million from a prestigious U.S. funder, the National Institutes of Health. The project will include in-depth lab analyses of milk samples from 1,600 mother-child pairs, looking at breast milk in a way that is unique in the world. The data will then go to machine-learning experts at Stanford University, who will use artificial intelligence to explore it. The study is expected to generate the world’s largest and most detailed dataset of mothers, infants and breast milk.

The brightly coloured artwork, which includes imagery of Thunderbirds, was inspired by Indigenous youth taking flight to attain their education and employment goals.

Angeconeb is a Winnipeg artist who is a member of Lac Seul First Nation in Ontario. EleV, a Mastercard Foundation program, commissioned the mural from him in partnership with UM.

“I hope this mural will inspire people and bring them joy,” the artist said.

The mural was unveiled at an event organized by Ongomiizwin, the Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing, to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (Orange Shirt Day) on September 29, 2022.

At Orange Shirt Day events on both UM campuses, participants commemorated the tragic legacy of residential schools and called for reconciliation. Speakers emphasized the Rady Faculty’s commitment to its Reconciliation Action Plan, developed in response to the health-related Calls to Action made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Marcia Anderson [MD/02], the Cree-Anishinaabe physician who is vice-dean Indigenous health, social justice and anti-racism of the Rady Faculty, said the Brodie Centre atrium is the ideal setting for Angeconeb’s mural because it is the heart of the Rady Faculty.

“This artwork is a hopeful symbol of how we are decolonizing the university and bringing Indigenous knowledge into the heart of our education, research and service work,” Anderson said.

Here’s a look at recent initiatives that are supporting Indigenous inclusion, equity and advancement across the Rady Faculty:

The College of Pharmacy has increased the number of places allocated for Indigenous applicants to 10 in each incoming class of 55 as part of its new Canadian Indigenous Applicant Pool for the Doctor of Pharmacy program.

The Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry has a proposal, currently awaiting UM Senate approval, to increase the number of places allocated for Indigenous dentistry students to five in each incoming class of 29.

At the Max Rady College of Medicine, which has a process for supporting admissions of Indigenous students, representation in the incoming class of 110 has included 15 Indigenous students in 2020, 17 in 2021 and 13 in the most recent class.

“The inclusion of Indigenous practitioners and leaders in our health-care system is key to honouring reconciliation and creating a system where First Nations, Métis and Inuit patients feel safe to participate and access the care they need,” said Sara Goulet [B.Sc. (Hons)/97, B.Sc.(Med.)/05, MD/05], associate dean (admissions) of the medical college.

At the College of Nursing, Mahkwa omushki kiim: Pathway to Indigenous Nursing Education (PINE) provides a supportive community for Indigenous students who are preparing for, or admitted to, the bachelor of nursing (BN) program.

PINE provides access to Knowledge Keepers, student advisors and academic coaches. Since the program’s inception in 2008, 51 participating students have gone on to graduate from the BN program. Currently, 69 pre-nursing and BN students are enrolled in PINE.

At the College of Rehabilitation Sciences, a two-day, in-person retreat with First Nations partners was held in October. The partnership is named Kiga mamo anokimin onji minoayawin/Kamamawi atoskatenow minoyin, meaning “We will work together for health and wellness.” Its goal is to bring the college’s rehabilitation services to communities.

The partnership started in 2016 with five First Nations communities and has grown to include 10. It has included initiatives to help people who are frail and people who have dementia, as well as projects to build playgrounds and walking trails.

At Ongomiizwin – Education, a mentorship program for Indigenous students in the health sciences has been launched.

The program is called Gekinoo’amaaged, which means “Teaching each other.” It pairs Indigenous learners with Indigenous student mentors who are further ahead on the university journey and can offer guidance and advice.

Evan Loeb, a third-year Métis dentistry student, is one of those who signed up as a mentor. “I would like to give back to students because I know Indigenous people are under-represented in health-care fields,” he said.

Ongomiizwin – Research recently hosted its 10th annual Indigenous Health Research Symposium. One of the speakers, Métis rheumatologist Cheryl Barnabe [B.Sc./99, B.Sc.(Med.)/03, MD/03], discussed what it means for researchers to work in true partnership with Indigenous communities.

It’s essential, she said, to establish relationships, respect the research priorities of the community, hire local people for research roles, build on community strengths, use an Indigenous lens to interpret findings, and follow the community’s wishes as to how research results are shared.

Recognizing Indigenous Achievement 

Monica Cyr [B.Sc.(HNS)/15, M.Sc.(HNS)/18] is one of two inaugural recipients of UM Indigenous Doctoral Program Fellowships. Cyr, an Indigenous dietician, is pursuing her PhD in community health sciences. She is studying Indigenous women’s self-image before and after giving birth.

Wanda Phillips-Beck [M.Sc./10, PhD/22] earned a 2022 UM Distinguished Dissertation Award for her doctoral research. The Anishinaabe nurse holds Manitoba’s first Indigenous Research Chair in Nursing and is an adjunct professor in the College of Nursing.

Phillips-Beck’s research focused on the policy that requires Indigenous women from rural and remote communities to travel to urban hospitals to give birth. The study showed that being forced to leave the community is associated with increased odds of inadequate prenatal care, lower odds of breastfeeding and higher odds of having a small baby.

Margaret Lavallee [LLD/22], Elder-in-residence at Ongomiizwin, was honoured with the official naming of the Dr. Margaret Lavallee Boardroom in recognition of her many contributions to mentorship, education and health service.

Four Rady women received 2022 Indigenous Awards of Excellence from UM for their work as community builders and trailblazers:

Mandy Buss, Melody Muswaggon, Mélanie Morris and Charisma Castel.

Mandy Buss [B.Sc./03, MD/09], Indigenous health lead in the department of family medicine; Melody Muswaggon, health innovations lead at Ongomiizwin – Health Services; Dr. Mélanie Morris, surgeon and Indigenous health lead at Winnipeg Children’s Hospital; Charisma Castel, a bachelor of health sciences student whose roles have included communications coordinator of the UM Indigenous Students’ Association.

Ishkode Catcheway, a student in the bachelor of health sciences program, received a 2022 Emerging Leader Award from UM. Catcheway has served as a peer mentor in the Neechiwaken program and a participant in the Indigenous Circle of Empowerment. She is the first in her family to attend university.

“What inspires me to continue my academic journey is being able to not only take up spaces where my mom and grandma weren’t ever wanted … but also to give my younger siblings and cousins something to look at and draw from,” Catcheway said.

More than 100 students and physicians registered to take part in the full-day event that took place on UM Bannatyne campus last month. It was co-sponsored by Doctors Manitoba.

The morning focused on the experiences of health-care providers and featured a keynote lecture by Dr. Marcia Anderson, vice-dean, Indigenous health, social justice and anti-racism, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, who spoke about dissecting the culture of medicine and how it can be more inclusive. A panel, featuring two faculty members and three medical students, discussed topics such as the barriers they’ve faced in becoming physicians and what’s gained from EDI.   

In the afternoon, conference participants attended breakout sessions where patients from various communities shared their personal experiences of implicit bias and anti-racial behaviors in health care. Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba, Rainbow Resource Centre, Main Street Project, and Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre took part.

Second-year medical students Jacie Liu and Mirha Zohair helped organize the conference.

“We wanted to give a platform for students to hear voices from all different kinds of people,” said Jacie Liu, a second-year Max Rady College of Medicine student and the MMSA’s Global Health Liaison Sr.

“When you have a space for people to share their experiences, it makes people feel supported, like you’re not the only one going through this and you don’t have to do it alone. If we do it together – change is possible.”

Liu and Mirha Zohair, a second-year medical student and MMSA’s equity, diversity and inclusivity representative, organized the event along with an executive committee. The idea for an EDI conference at UM came to them from their classmate, Harram Memon, who’d heard about similar events at other Canadian medical schools.  

One issue Zohair has been focusing on in her MMSA role is the concept of a minority tax, which she said is when minorities engage in EDI work and end up taking on more of the work than their colleagues. The conference is one way to help address this issue, she said.

“Today’s conference showed that a lot of people are interested in learning about these issues, so hopefully now that work can be spread out amongst all of us,” Zohair said. “As the work is spread amongst all of us, hopefully it will be more effective and be more impactful because there are more people behind it.”

Nolan De Leon, a first-year medical student, said he attended the conference because he believes EDI should be one of the absolute pillars of what medical professionals do.

“I want to make sure I’m providing the best care I can to everyone that comes into the clinic regardless of privilege, regardless of where they come from, regardless of orientation,” De Leon said. “It’s important that we treat people like people.”

Tooba Razi, a first-year medical student, said that what she was hoping to take away from the event was how to be a better ally and how she can use her privilege to help others.

“It’s great seeing this initiative in Manitoba,” Razi said. “It’s great seeing my classmates and peers so passionate about this.”

The organizers said they have plans to hold the conference again next year.

The province will be the first in Canada to systematically collect this data from patients when they access care. The purpose of amassing and analyzing the data is to address inequities in health care.

The initiative is led on behalf of Shared Health by Dr. Marcia Anderson, executive director of Indigenous academic affairs at Ongomiizwin, the Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing in UM’s Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

“The only reason to collect racial, ethnic and Indigenous identifiers in data is so that we can measure … how systemic racism is happening in health care, intervene, and then check to make sure that our interventions are actually making a difference,” said Anderson, who is also vice-dean Indigenous health, social justice and anti-racism of the Rady Faculty.  

The initiative was jointly announced on Feb. 2 by UM, Shared Health and the province.

That morning, Ongomiizwin and the UM-based George & Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation, also a partner in the initiative, hosted a discussion of community-owned, race-based health data at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

“As a health system … we are trying to take critical steps to disrupt racism and discrimination in all forms,” Monika Warren, chief operating officer of provincially co-ordinated health services at Shared Health, told about 150 in-person and online attendees.

Beginning in April 2023, patients at hospitals, including emergency rooms, will routinely be asked to self-identify during registration by choosing from a list of Indigenous, racial and ethnic identities.

The central point made by speakers and panelists at the event was that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) communities must have governance over the use and release of the data.

Because there is a risk of race-based data being misused to cause harm, speakers said, transparent governance agreements must be maintained between the health system and BIPOC communities. The data must be collected in a culturally safe way and must only be used to advance health equity.

“We must ensure that we … don’t end up reinforcing biases and stigma,” said Kasari Govender, British Columbia’s human rights commissioner, who spoke via videoconference.

Anderson noted that there are established agreements between Canada and Indigenous Peoples for data governance. “How do we apply those same principles around community ownership and data sovereignty for diverse Black and racialized communities?” she asked.

Anderson and Dr. Jillian Waruk, senior epidemiologist with the Government of Manitoba, gave a presentation showing that when Manitoba started collecting voluntary race-based identifiers in the spring of 2020, the data quickly exposed the disproportionate effects of COVID-19 on BIPOC communities. This knowledge allowed for targeted efforts, such as improved vaccine access, that saved lives.

Fewer than two per cent of patients declined to declare their identity, Anderson noted.

Based on the principle that the data would be controlled by the communities, Waruk released the COVID-19 data only with approval from an advisory council of experts from BIPOC communities.

Any request for the release of data was discussed by this council based on key considerations for race, ethnicity and Indigenous identity data collection and use, adopted by the Office of Anti-Racism in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

Panelist Dr. Randy Fransoo works at the Canadian Institute for Health Information, which has established pan-Canadian standards for the collection of race-based data. Manitoba’s use of COVID-19 data was “a shining example” for the rest of Canada, he said.

The other panelists were Karen Sharma, executive director of the Manitoba Human Rights Commission; Dr. Tina Chen, distinguished professor of history and executive lead (equity, diversity and inclusion) at UM; and Dr. Delia Douglas, director of the Office of Anti-Racism in the Rady Faculty.

When an audience member commented, “We’ve been data-collected to death” and questioned whether the initiative would lead to improved health care for First Nations, Anderson agreed that the project must lead to “concrete, deliberate action.”

“Data collection … is not the end of the line,” she said. “It’s the starting point of an intervention.”

“We are fortunate at UM for the inspiring achievements of these six women,” said Mario Pinto, vice-president (research and international). “These honourees have already made transformational impacts in our province and around the globe. The example set by their leadership is fundamental in transforming the learning environment at UM to prepare a new generation of ethically literate students.”

Read about these inspiring and accomplished women:

• Marcia Anderson, Vice-dean Indigenous health, social justice and anti-racism, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences – winner in the Canadian Tire Community Impact category
• Raman Dhaliwal, Associate Vice-President (Administration) – winner in the Mercedes-Benz Emerging Leaders category
• Netha Dyck, Dean, College of Nursing – winner in the Executive Leaders category
• Denise Koh, Assistant Professor, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, and Chief Occupational Medical Officer and Medical Officer of Health, Province of Manitoba – winner in the Canadian Tire Community Impact category
• Sabine Kuss, Professor, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science – winner in the Mercedes-Benz Emerging Leaders category
• Teassa MacMartin, graduate student and NSERC Canada Scholarship recipient – winner in the Canadian Tire Community Impact category

Launched in 2003, WXN is Canada’s national organization that propels and celebrates the advancement of women at all levels, in all sectors and of all ages. The winners range from rising stars to top of their fields to advocates to champions for others to community leaders to teachers and students.

“This year’s winners truly inspire us in the way they lead from a place of truth. They make Canada a better place by unabashedly following their passions and purposes without apologies, excuses or hesitation,” said Sherri Stevens, Owner and CEO of WXN. “Their bravery, grit, focus and strength shine not only in their own accomplishments, but also in the way they show future generations what’s possible.”

These six winners join 27 previous UM recipients named Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 since the awards began.

“I’m super happy with it,” the artist said. “I’m excited it’s in such a place like this too, at the University of Manitoba.”

Angeconeb, who is Anishinaabe and a member of Lac Seul First Nation in northwestern Ontario, painted a stunning mural in the Brodie Centre atrium at UM’s Bannatyne campus. The mural was commissioned by EleV, a Mastercard Foundation program, in partnership with UM.

Angeconeb stood below the untitled mural and explained its symbolism: At the bottom of the mural are little birds starting their journeys, and above them are three face figures that represent everyone. In the middle, the main thunderbird, with outstretched wings, offers the other birds guidance. Along the top are smaller thunderbirds, which represent the teachings, and are on their own journeys.

While Angeconeb spoke with ease about the elements of the mural, painting it was a bit of a challenge. While he normally uses a lift to paint his murals, this artwork required scaffolding. Parts of the mural forced him to paint on his hands and knees, reaching out to stroke layers of paint. He also had to paint around four windows.

“I’m proud of how it turned out,” said Angeconeb, who now calls Winnipeg home. This is his first mural in the city. 

With more than 17,000 followers on Instagram, Angeconeb has become known for combining the woodlands style of painting with pop culture references. He’s been commissioned to create everything from a Google Doodle to a massive mural at TikTok’s Canadian headquarters.

Blake Angeconeb’s mural in the Brodie Centre atrium at the Bannatyne campus was officially unveiled on Sept. 29 at Ongomiizwin – Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing’s event to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Angeconeb’s Bannatyne campus artwork was officially unveiled on Sept. 29 at Ongomiizwin – Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing’s event to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The audience clapped loudly when the veil was dropped.

Dr. Marcia Anderson, vice-dean, Indigenous health, social justice and anti-racism, told the audience that they had several options for where the mural could have been located on the Bannatyne campus, but the Brodie Centre atrium represents the heart of the faculty.

“The university has always been described as having three pillars – research, education and service, but in the spirit of reconciliation, of a renewed relationship of recognizing this institution’s place on our homelands, we really need to understand that the heart of what we do – our foundation is Indigenous lands, relationships with Indigenous peoples, incorporation of Indigenous languages and of health and healing too. So that is why we chose this location,” Anderson said.

Debra Beach Ducharme, director of Indigenous health integration, Ongomiizwin – Education, read a statement at the unveiling on behalf of Jennifer Brennan, director of Canadian programs for the MasterCard Foundation.

“We are inspired by the way Anishinaabe artist Blake Angeconeb has brought the Indigenous youths’ perspectives to life through art in this mural and showcase how Indigenous youths and all of us must take flight together to make our vision a reality,” Beach Durcharme said on behalf of Brennan.

A partnership between the University of Manitoba and Mastercard Foundation’s EleV program officially launched today at the Fort Garry campus. This partnership was created with the goal of increasing Indigenous student outcomes and working with communities to bring post-secondary opportunities home to Indigenous learners.

The national launch of EleV’s Taking Flight Together campaign takes place on Oct. 26 with a program on APTN.

Angeconeb said he hopes Indigenous students feel a sense of pride and are more at home when they see the mural. For non-Indigenous students, he hopes they enjoy it and see the beauty of Indigenous art.

“I hope this mural will inspire people and bring them joy,” Angeconeb said. “I hope it will brighten their day when they see it.”