Supporting health equity and the health system in Indigenous partnerships

Working together to improve health equity and health outcomes for all people within Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) territory is the aim of a Relationship Accord that was signed by NOSM and NAN on March 23, 2021 during the Chiefs Assembly on Health Transformation and Governance. The accord will guide NAN and NOSM as they move forward in supporting health transformation, with the goal of developing mutually supported initiatives that will build capacity and strengthen the health system within NAN territory.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation territory encompasses James Bay Treaty No. 9 and the Ontario portion of Treaty No. 5, a landmass covering two-thirds of the Province of Ontario. NAN represents 49 First Nations with a total population (on- and off-reserve) of 45,000.

The unfortunate deaths of Brian Sinclair and Joyce Echaquan led to changes to NOSM’s MD curriculum. Medical students are learning about systemic racism in Canadian health care, including an overview of the In Plain Sight report, which describes the calls to action for improved cultural safety in health care and efforts to increase Indigenous leadership in health services, regulation, and education.