Featuring Janelle Brown-Walkus from the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Haíɫzaqv, and Kwakwaka'wakw First Nations

 Join us in learning, as we work towards the TRC Call to Action 23i, aiming to increase the number of Indigenous professionals in the healthcare field, it is essential to reflect on how we can support and uplift our future healthcare professionals.

In this session, Janelle will share her experiences as a student in science, research, and dentistry. She will discuss ways to encourage, support, and promote Indigenous youth to pursue healthcare careers, emphasizing the importance of providing opportunities and opening doors for them. Additionally, she will open up a conversation about distinguishing between uplifting and tokenization and navigating the grey zones between the two.

Janelle Brown-Walkus (she/her) is from the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Haíɫzaqv, and Kwakwaka'wakw First Nations. She strives to improve dental care for First Nations and Indigenous communities - both as a future oral healthcare provider and a public health researcher/advocate. Janelle completed her Masters of Science in Dentistry at the University of Toronto, where she worked with a First Nations community to create a framework of quality preventive oral health care. She also worked with the First Nations Information Governance Center (FNIGC) as a statistical analyst and student researcher, where she learned to embrace the power of data and data sovereignty. Currently, Janelle is a McCall MacBain scholar at McGill University, where she is entering her second year of Dental school - taking the final step towards being a dentist for her communities. 

September 20th, 2023 6:00-8:00 pm PST