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Topic

na'minipti'nit ᓇ'ᒥᓂᑉᑎ'ᓂᑦ: Discovering and honoring Inuit Research Method

Social Dimensions of Health

Date & location

• Thursday, August 27, 2026
• 10:00 A.M.
• Virtual Defence

Examining Committee

Supervisory Committee

• Dr. Sarah Wright Cardinal, School of Public Health and Social Policy, ������Ƶ (Supervisor)
• Dr. Simon Carroll, School of Public Health and Social Policy, ������Ƶ (Co-Supervisor)
• Dr. Leanne Kelly, School of Nursing, ������Ƶ (Outside Member)

External Examiner

• Dr. Craig Phillips, School of Nursing, University of Ottawa

Chair of Oral Examination

• Dr. Georgia Sitara, Department of History, ������Ƶ

Abstract

This dissertation is an Indigenous autoethnographic journey that traces my path as an Inuk scholar working to articulate an Inuit-specific approach to community-led health research. Rooted in my own experiences, relationships, and responsibilities, this work explores what it means to conduct research that is guided by Inuit knowledge, values, and ways of being. Through storytelling and reflection, I consider how our histories, our kinship systems and our deep connection to the land shape how we understand health and define and carry out research.

In sharing my story, I examine how colonial research practices have often fragmented Inuit voices by being extractive or privileging western science (Kovach, 2009; Smith. 2012; Wilson, 2008). Reclaiming our own approaches to knowledge creation can restore balance and wellbeing within our communities. Drawing on Inuit aatuqangit and community collaboration, I describe processes that honour collective consent and the understanding that knowledge is something lived, felt, and shared.

This dissertation is both personal narrative and academic statement. It invites readers to witness how Inuit ways of knowing can transform health research into a process of healing and empowerment. By situating myself within the research, I acknowledge that my work is inseparable from the people, places and ancestors who guide me. This study offers an Inuit framework for health research that begins with using Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (“that which Inuit have always known to be true”) as guiding principles for professional competency and ends with trust and reliance on Inuit ways of knowing. An approach where wellness is defined not only by the absence of illness but the presence of connection, identity and self-determination.