Indigenous Perspectives on Healthy Relationships

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) invites the public to the grand opening of The Noojamadaa Exhibit. Over the past year, a research team led by NOSM Associate Professor Dr. Marion Maar has collaborated with Manitoulin First Nations communities and organizations on a photovoice project to support healthy relationships and counteract intimate partner violence. In photovoice methodology, participants are invited to take photographs and share their narratives to stimulate community action. As part of the methodology, Maar and Beaudin Bennett (Masters of Indigenous Relations program at Laurentian University) invited participants to take photographs and share their stories over a period of several months.

Featuring thoughtful photography by First Nations women on Manitoulin Island, The Noojamadaa Exhibit uses an experiential learning approach to foster and promote healing and reconciliation. The knowledge translation aspect of the project involves gallery installation and film footage in collaboration with the Indigenous theatre group De-ba-jeh-mu-jig Storytellers and the Laurentian University School of Architecture.

Date:                Thursday, March 23, 2017

Time:               6:00 p.m. Grand Opening (Doors open at 5:00 p.m.)

Location:       McEwen School of Architecture
83 Elm Street
Sudbury, ON

Noojamadaa means “let’s heal” and the exhibit provides a safe space for Indigenous and non‐Indigenous peoples to reflect on our shared journey towards wellness, through contemplation of our relationships with one another and our surroundings.

This project is a new opportunity to raise awareness about the characteristics of intimate partner violence, and to help inform community health strategies that can then begin to address this important issue. In undertaking this project, Manitoulin First Nation communities have taken new steps toward community-based solutions to intimate partner violence. The project is guided by an Indigenous community advisory committee, to ensure that the work continues to reflect the needs of communities.

The exhibit runs from March 23 – April 1, 2017. Admission is free. All warmly welcomed. Funding was provided by the Women’s Xchange.

For information regarding The Noojamadaa Exhibit, or to schedule a guided tour please contact:

Dr. Marion Maar
Associate Professor, Medical Anthropology
Phone: 705-662-7233
Email: mmaar@nosm.ca

First-year medical students at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) spend four weeks in an Indigenous community during one of their Integrated Clinical Experience (ICE) modules. Each of the communities that host students has a Local Community Coordinator (LCC) to help orient the students and support them during their experience in the Indigenous community.

Each year, medical students, faculty, staff, Elders, and LCCs come together for a two-day workshop to prepare students for their time in the Indigenous communities. This workshop—led and coordinated by NOSM’s Office of Indigenous Affairs with the support of Learner Affairs and Undergraduate Medical Education—enables students to meet the LCCs for their host community and ask questions about what to expect while on placement. This year’s workshop was held February 22 and 23 at the medical school buildings in Sudbury at Laurentian University and in Thunder Bay at Lakehead University.

Elder Perry McLeod-Shabogesic from Nipissing First Nation and Elder Audrey DeRoy from Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation were in attendance to support the students in learning about Indigenous culture, language, and communities. Experienced LCCs, Leah Migwans from M’Chigeeng First Nation and Bernadette Wabange from Migisi Sahgaigan (Eagle Lake First Nation), shared their experiences with NOSM medical students over the years as a learning opportunity for new LCCs.

“Miigwetch to all the Local Community Coordinators who work tirelessly to ensure that medical students at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine have incredible learning opportunities while living and learning in an Indigenous community,” says Tina Armstrong, NOSM’s Director of Indigenous Affairs. “Students experience the realities of life and health-care delivery in their host community—learning that can’t take place in a traditional classroom setting.”

Immersion in remote and rural Indigenous communities broadens students’ cultural awareness and strengthens their communications skills. These are integral skills for effective medical practise in Northern Ontario.