Join us in the Dunker Family Lounge (REN 1303) to hear Dr. Elizabeth Cooper speak on the change-inducing impact of shifting research focus and emphasizing participant-led, strengths-based work. Refreshments will be provided and there will be a chance to meet with her following the presentation.
Presentation Topic:
When people talk about health and wellbeing, the focus is often on challenges. We look at what has gone wrong, rather than what is working well. This is especially true within Indigenous research where rates of suicide, chronic disease, incarceration, poverty and other negatives are unfortunate realities highlighted daily by politicians, activists and media. A focus on detriments without exploring resilience gives little space for meaningful transformations to occur.
Within this presentation Dr. Cooper will discuss how her work across the lifespan with Indigenous communities in Canada, and internationally is breaking down barriers to how we understand health priorities while creating a platform for change. When placed in the hands of communities, research can become a platform for self-determination, capacity building and policy change while improving the health and wellbeing of individuals, families and communities. She will discuss how by using participant led, Indigenous, participatory research approaches it is possible to begin to envision tangible ways to achieve a different reality that truly meets the current needs of the people and communities that she has worked with.
About the Presenter:
Dr. Elizabeth Cooper is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of the Fraser Valley in British Colombia. She is of Swedish-Sāmi, Polish and British settler decent and holds a PhD in Community Health Sciences with a focus on Indigenous wellness from the University of Manitoba. Dr. Cooper is interested in international Indigenous community-based research, with a focus on Canadian experiences. She has worked with Indigenous women and children across Canada, New Zealand, India and Kenya. Her current interests involve addressing intergenerational colonial trauma through the use of Indigenous participatory research with children and families.