9 November 2006

Carrie Bourassa

(Assistant Professor of Indigenous Health Studies, Department of Science, First Nations University of Canada)

“Aboriginal Perspectives on Health and Wellness: A Holistic Approach”

Lecture, Reception and Tour.

To view the poster for this event, click here.

For a pdf version of Carrie Bourassa’s lecture, click here.

“We are like trees. Our roots are put down very deep. And we take things from the four directions and we take them into our lives. And if you pull us up by the roots, we are lost.  We have to go back and find those roots, find those beginnings that are strong so that we can live a good life”: Elder Betty McKenna, 2005.

How is health defined from a First Nations’ perspective? Why do Aboriginal people face higher rates of chronic and infectious disease, lower life expectancy, and higher infant mortality rates? How do we address these issues? What might we all learn from traditional First Nations’ philosophies of health and well-being?

Date: Thursday 9 November 2006

Time: 7:00 pm

Place: Darke Hall, 2201 College Avenue

Carrie Bourassa was born and raised in Regina. She pursued both her undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Regina. She earned her BA Honours degree in Political Science in 1995, graduated with her MA in 1999 and is currently pursuing her PhD in Sociology and Social Studies. Her dissertation is entitled “Destruction of the Métis Nation: Health Consequences.”

Carrie has worked in several different capacities in her career including Sessional Instructor with the First Nations University of Canada, Ministerial Assistant, Policy Analyst with the Saskatchewan provincial government and Manager of Employment Equity at the University of Regina.

Currently, Carrie is following her dream of teaching at the post-secondary level – in August 2001, she accepted a faculty position as Assistant Professor in the Department of Science at the First Nations University of Canada, teaching Indigenous Health Studies as well as selected Environmental Health courses including Environmental Health Communications and Administration. Her research interests include the impacts of colonization on the health of First Nations and Métis people; creating culturally competent care in health service delivery; Aboriginal community-based health research methodology; Aboriginal end of life care and Aboriginal women’s health. She is a member of the Assembly of First Nations/First Nations and Inuit Health Branch National First Nations Environmental Contaminants Program Steering Committee. She is also an accredited Aboriginal Cultural Awareness Program facilitator through the First Nations University of Canada and actively involved in volunteering at community centres including the Regina Métis Sports and Culture Centre. In 2004, she was honoured when she was chosen as one of Saskatchewan’s ten Aboriginal Role Models by the Aboriginal Employment Development Program’s Provincial Aboriginal Representative Workforce Council (PARWC).

Carrie is Métis and belongs to the Riel Métis Council of Regina Inc. (RMCR). She resides in Regina with her husband, Chad and her daughter, Victoria.