Aboriginal Health, Faculty of Health Science, University of Lethbridge

At present. the Aboriginal Health is included as major or minor in the Bachelor of Health Sciences program but the faculty has the vision to shift away from it. The courses include introduction to Aboriginal health, community health, and traditional aboriginal health concept. The coursework of introduction aboriginal health focuses on aboriginal health issues from the much more holistic approach, meet more elders. This program has a different view apart from western medical health science which mainly focuses biological and biomedical component, however, the indigenous health science highlights four dimensions in health care: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. It also includes contemporary issues include wellness approach, indigenous healing & restoration issue. Western health science- the mainstream practitioners is very dismissive which do invalid indigenous health science but indigenous health science gives importance on knowing healing. Community health program coursework building relationship with the community people at the grassroots level, so this program is a very much bottom-up approach where we see top-down approach in Canada. Students collect the background, indigenous way of knowing, healing and much more broad perspective. Students hold a good understanding of history, holistic ways of the knowledge value of indigenous knowledge. They also focus, besides this, multidisciplinary approach including medical anthropology, native studies, and sociology as well. Another coursework- the traditional health concepts brings Indigenous knowledge holders once a week. Here faculty members work as course coordinator or facilitator. They bring elders, knowledge experts, Meti people and other international first nation people like Ghanaian people. It develops students’ own knowledge other than curriculum through oral tradition. Topics will include the role of culture and identity in health and healing; the collective use of plants and cultural medicines; the relatedness of people, land and health; and the spiritual dimensions of holistic health. The faculty members are also learning indigenous pedagogy, they believe knowledge sources depends on who you are and the relationship between knowledge and that of experience, It is not about someone telling you what you suppose to know, it is about keeping their perspective and you developing own. The vision of this program is getting sallers, they believe they need both sides to know the value of indigenous that would open up the other ways of knowing which can reduce racism in Canada. They believe ‘people’- the knowledge holders will be resources aside from fund to develop their program and to achieve their vision.