Infectious Questions : An Infectious Diseases Public Health Podcast

Episode 9 of the Voice of Sovereignty podcast series highlights key successes in First Nations data sovereignty and governance in the Education and Health sectors. We welcome Michael Staruck, Director of the Education Sector at the Chiefs of Ontario, to discuss his sector’s approach to working with data and how it benefits First Nations education. We also welcome Diane Jacko from the Naandwechge-Gamig Wiikwemkoong Health Centre in Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory (WUT). She shares insights on her community’s work in hea while upholding OCAP principles. Finally, we speak with Michael McCormick, the Information Technology (IT) Supervisor for WUT, about his role in managing the community’s health data. These conversations aim to further inspire First Nations to recognize the power and importance of data.

Through insightful conversations, compelling stories, and thoughtful analysis, the Voices of Sovereignty podcast aims to shed light on the importance of First Nations Data Sovereignty and inspire collective action towards a future where First Nation peoples have full control over their data, their narratives, and their destiny. In this episode, Gordon Peters is joining us to share his experiences working to support First Nations data sovereignty efforts, and what it means to conduct research that incorporates and respects First Nations culture and ways of knowing.

Through insightful conversations, compelling stories, and thoughtful analysis, the Voices of Sovereignty podcast aims to shed light on the importance of First Nations Data Sovereignty and inspire collective action towards a future where First Nation peoples have full control over their data, their narratives, and their destiny. Dr. Jennifer Walker from McMaster University and Dr. Sharmistha Mishra from the University of Toronto joined us for a two-episode feature to talk about the COVID-19 Scenario model. Over the course of these two episodes, we walked through the process of this project from conceptualization to the implementation and application of the model, and what First Nations data sovereignty means for modeling research. In Episode 7, we explored the data used for this project, as well as the more technical aspects of the model and what makes this model unique. We wrapped up this two-episode feature by reflecting on some lessons learned and how we can re-think math modelling in the future.

Through insightful conversations, compelling stories, and thoughtful analysis, the Voices of Sovereignty podcast aims to shed light on the importance of First Nations Data Sovereignty and inspire collective action towards a future where First Nation peoples have full control over their data, their narratives, and their destiny. Dr. Jennifer Walker from McMaster University and Dr. Sharmistha Mishra from the University of Toronto joined us for a two-episode feature to talk about the COVID-19 Scenario model. Over the course of these two episodes, we walked through the process of this project from conceptualization to the implementation and application of the model, and what First Nations data sovereignty means for modeling research. In Episode 6, we went over what mathematical modelling is in the context of infectious diseases and public health decision making. We also discussed how this research project came to be, and the process of getting this model up and running. We will explore the technical aspects of the model and discuss the data that was used in Episode 7 (Part 2).

Through insightful conversations, compelling stories, and thoughtful analysis, the Voices of Sovereignty podcast aims to shed light on the importance of First Nations Data Sovereignty and inspire collective action towards a future where First Nation peoples have full control over their data, their narratives, and their destiny. In episode 5, we will be speaking to Roseanne Sutherland and Thresea Adams from the Chiefs of Ontario about the First Nations Regional Health Survey. Together, we will discuss the importance of the Regional Health survey for the health and well-being of First Nations communities, how the data from the survey is used, and take a closer look at how communities are engaged for this survey.