Core to my work is honouring birth as sacred and central to community life.
The purpose of my work is to help restore community-based care to create positive health outcomes for Indigenous moms, children, families and communities. I have worked in a variety of roles on many collaborative projects over the past decade – as a lead researcher, professor, trainer, artist, facilitator, and trainer.
My approach is inclusive, participatory and collaborative. I work with Matriarchal Elders, policy analysts, program officers, academics and health practitioners such as Indigenous midwives. Collaborating across sectors and disciplines from the outset ensures that the knowledge that is created responds to the needs of those who need it.
Convening interdisciplinary research teams is key to success because it brings together multiple perspectives. As we dive into our research questions, we develop a shared understanding that is enriched by our diverse perspectives, training, strengths and gifts. We use mixed methods to research such as digital stories, systemic reviews, data and economic modeling and analysis.
Because we work in a society and institutions that have been colonized, part of our efforts always focus on decolonizing data, research and ways of being together. We address and overcome barriers as they arise.
Jump to:
- IDEA: Indigenous Data Enquiry for Action
- Cowichan: Program Creation, Evaluation & Knowledge Mobilization
- NCIM: Indigenous Midwifery Research Strategy
- First Nations, Métis and Inuit Child Health Strategy
- Rematriating Bison
- I-REST Indigenous Research
- Reclaiming Indigenous Birth
- Honouring Voices and Visions
- Indigenous Maternity Experiences
- Anishinabemowiin Language Revitalization
- Reproductive Justice
- Public Health: Opioid & Acute Toxicity Death
- Indigenous Maternal Wellness Gathering
- EKJUT: Indigenous Maternal Child Health in India
- FNHA: Health Promotion & Disease Prevention
- Secwepemcw Injury Surveillance
- School Presentations & Workshops
IDEA: Indigenous Data Enquiry for Action: data platform
2026 - 2030
- Canadian Foundation Research Excellence Fund
- $125,000,000 Total
- Leason Projects: $3,800,000
Role
- Principal Investigator
This five-year research program establishes a national Indigenous-led infrastructure that reclaims health research, data, and care systems through matriarchal governance, data sovereignty, and relational accountability. It integrates epidemiology, Indigenous data governance, maternal-child health research, and culturally grounded knowledge mobilization into a braided ecosystem designed to transform, not reform, existing institutions.
Through core initiatives. the program generates community-controlled data systems, workforce capacity, and policy-relevant evidence that expose and redesign colonial determinants of maternal and child health. Guided by OCAP®, CARE, and Indigenous Data Sovereignty principles, and evaluated across governance, capacity, knowledge, systems impact, and cultural revitalization domains, the program advances a structural shift toward healthy women, children, families, communities and nations.
Cowichan: Program Creation, Evaluation & Knowledge Mobilization
2026 - 2030
- Canadian Foundation Research Excellence Fund
- $125,000,000 Total
- Leason Projects: $3,800,000
Role
- Principal Investigator
The Quw’utsun Preterm Birth Study is a community-driven, Indigenous-led research initiative grounded in snuw’uy’ulh (relational laws and responsibilities) that aims to reduce preterm birth and strengthen maternal and infant health through culturally anchored, self-determined care systems.
The project integrates community knowledge sharing, capacity building, and health system redesign by engaging Elders, families, and local partners in ongoing dialogue, training Quw’utsun research team members, and rebuilding pathways for healthy births through prenatal programming, midwifery collaboration, and a culturally grounded continuum of care.
Aligned with the Cowichan Tribes Health and Wellness Plan, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the study advances Indigenous health sovereignty by increasing early prenatal care access, strengthening relationships across health systems, and developing routine, community-controlled perinatal data reporting to inform advocacy, funding, and long-term system transformation.
NCIM: Indigenous Midwifery Research Strategy
2026 - 2030
- Canadian Foundation Research Excellence Fund
- $125,000,000 Total
- Leason Projects: $3,800,000
Role
- Principal Investigator
This project establishes the NCIM Institute for Midwifery Research, a national, Indigenous-governed research infrastructure designed to advance Indigenous midwifery and transform maternal–child health systems across Canada. Led by the National Council of Indigenous Midwives in partnership with academic and community collaborators, the initiative builds institutional research capacity by developing governance frameworks, securing Tri-Council eligibility, and creating a coordinated research program grounded in Indigenous data sovereignty and community accountability.
Through interdisciplinary and mixed-methods approaches, the project generates policy-relevant evidence on Indigenous midwifery workforce capacity, health outcomes, and the economic impacts of obstetric evacuation versus community-based care, while simultaneously mobilizing this knowledge through digital platforms, partnerships, and national engagement.
By embedding research within Indigenous governance systems and returning data, authority, and decision-making to communities, this project moves beyond individual studies to create a sustainable, Indigenous-led research institution that supports the return of birth to community and long-term improvements in First Nations, Métis, and Inuit maternal and child health.
First Nations, Métis and Inuit Child Health Strategy
2026 - 2030
- Canadian Foundation Research Excellence Fund
- $125,000,000 Total
- Leason Projects: $3,800,000
Role
- Principal Investigator
This strategic plan operates as a large-scale, Indigenous-led research program embedded within the One Child Every Child initiative, designed to transform Indigenous maternal and child health through governance, infrastructure, and systems redesign rather than incremental service improvements.
Grounded in matriarchal leadership and Indigenous methodologies, the project establishes an integrated research architecture composed of four interconnected pillars: a National Indigenous Network, a Maternal Child Health Baseline platform, an Indigenous Maternal Child Health Research stream, and a National Indigenous Research Training and Mentorship system. Together, these pillars enable coordinated, longitudinal, and community-driven research that centers Indigenous women, children, families, and Nations as rights-bearing authorities rather than subjects of study. The research program combines interdisciplinary and mixed methods approaches including epidemiology, economic analysis, community-based participatory research, and Indigenous knowledge systems to examine critical issues such as obstetric evacuation, midwifery care models, health outcomes, and system costs.
Governance is a central methodological feature, with the Matriarchal Wisdom and Leadership Circle embedded to guide decision-making, ensure cultural integrity, and actively remove structural barriers to implementation. The plan emphasizes capacity building through Indigenous-led research infrastructure, workforce development, and national partnerships, while establishing rigorous accountability mechanisms through annual workplans, reporting standards, and performance frameworks that align research activities with long-term system transformation.
As a research project, this strategic plan generates both empirical evidence and governance models to support the transition from fragmented, evacuation-based care systems to community-controlled, culturally grounded health systems, ultimately positioning Indigenous maternal and child health as a jurisdictional, economic, and policy priority with measurable outcomes across short-, medium-, and long-term horizons.
Rematriating Bison
2025 - Present
- Indigenous Peoples Resiliency Fund
- $100,000
Role
- Founder & President
The Rematriating Bison Project is an Indigenous women-led, land-based initiative that restores Indigenous food systems to improve maternal and child health, food security, and community well-being.
Grounded in matriarchal governance and cultural resurgence, the project centres the rematriation of bison and traditional foods as a pathway to nourish Indigenous families physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Through a culturally grounded Good Food Box program, featuring bison, traditional foods, and fresh produce, the initiative addresses the disproportionate rates of food insecurity facing Indigenous children and mothers, while rebuilding local food sovereignty, strengthening community capacity, and restoring dignity and autonomy.
More than a food program, it is a systems intervention that reconnects land, culture, and care, positioning Indigenous women and families not as recipients of services, but as leaders and stewards of sustainable, intergenerational health systems.
I-REST Indigenous Research and Education for Systems Transformation
2026 - 2028
- Canadian Innovation Fund (CFI): John Evans Leadership Fund JELF
- $1,124,760
- Space Opening 2028
- Ongoing land-based research facility now and for future generations.
This CFI establishes the FIRST Indigenous Interdisciplinary Land-Based Research (IILBR) facility at the University of Calgary’s Barrier Lake Field Station as a national, state-of-the-art hub for Indigenous-led, land-based, and interdisciplinary research. Led by Drs. Leason, McGregor, and Poitras Pratt, the program integrates Indigenous health, climate and water sustainability, and education through community-driven, nation-based, and decolonized methodologies grounded in Indigenous knowledge systems. The facility will support innovative research, training, and knowledge mobilization by bringing together Elders, communities, scholars, and students in a culturally grounded space equipped for mixed-methods and digital storytelling research. Through its three core themes:
- Indigenous maternal-child health and Data Systems,
- Indigenous climate and planetary health, and
- Indigenous education and storytelling
The research infrastructure aims to transform systemic inequities into strengths, advance reconciliation, and generate impactful, Indigenous-owned knowledge that supports self-determination, strengthens communities, and informs policy and practice in Canada and globally.
Reclaiming Indigenous Birth
2020 - 2025
- CIHR Operating Grant
- $1,224,000
Role
- Principal Investigator
Reclaiming Indigenous Birth is an Indigenous-led research initiative that works to improve maternal and child health outcomes by restoring and advancing Indigenous midwifery as a culturally grounded, community-based model of care. Through interdisciplinary and decolonized research, the project examines the impacts of obstetric evacuation policies and contrasts these with the benefits of Indigenous midwifery rooted in place, culture, and relational care. It integrates multiple methods and produces key outputs, including:
- economic analyses of perinatal care systems and evacuation costs.
- GIS mapping of service access, geography, and jurisdictional barriers.
- perinatal epidemiology to generate Indigenous-specific health indicators and outcomes.
- an Inuit Midwifery Forum to support knowledge exchange and capacity building.
- urban case studies examining Indigenous birthing experiences in city contexts; and (
- digital stories that center Indigenous voices, experiences, and knowledge.
Together, these outputs inform policy, strengthen community-based care models, and support First Nations, Métis, and Inuit families in accessing safe, culturally relevant perinatal care closer to home.
Honouring Voices and Visions
2021 - 2024
- CIHR Gender/Wellness Grant
- $500,000
Role
- Principal Investigator
Honouring Voices and Visions is an Indigenous-led research project that examines the sexual, reproductive, and maternal-child health and wellness of incarcerated Indigenous women and gender-diverse people in federal prisons designated for women in Canada.
The project aims to address the significant overrepresentation and disproportionate health inequities within the correctional system. Using a decolonized, interdisciplinary approach, the project integrates quantitative data analysis (including collaborations with Correctional Services Canada and ATIP requests) with qualitative, arts-based, and Indigenous methodologies to center lived experiences and expose systemic barriers to care.
By documenting health outcomes, institutional conditions, and the impacts of colonialism, racism, and gendered power structures, the project generates critical evidence and community-informed insights to inform policy, improve health services, and advance more just, culturally grounded approaches to maternal and reproductive care for Indigenous women and their children.
Indigenous Maternity Experiences
2019 - 2021
- SSHRC: New Frontiers
- $273,611
- CIHR New Investigators Award
- $112,500
Role
- Principal Investigator
The Indigenous Maternity Experiences Survey (IMES) is a national, Indigenous-led research initiative designed to address persistent maternal and child health inequities by creating a culturally grounded, population-level survey that centers the voices, experiences, and knowledge systems of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit women.
Responding to the exclusion of Indigenous women from previous national surveys, the project uses community-based, decolonized, and interdisciplinary methods by integrating Indigenous methodologies, population health survey design, critical medical anthropology, and gender-based analysis to co-develop a trauma-informed and contextually relevant survey.
Through engagement with Indigenous women, Elders, and communities across Canada, the project identifies strengths, gaps, and priorities in prenatal, birth, and postpartum experiences, generating disaggregated, policy-relevant data to inform maternal-child health programs, improve service delivery, and advance equity, self-determination, and culturally appropriate care systems.
Anishinabemowiin Language Revitalization
2011 - 2012
- Yale/ Cambridge: Firebird Foundation
- Saulteaux Language Documentation Project
- $10,000
2026 - 2027
- Canada Council of the Arts
- Aamo-binashee: Hummingbird- Anishinaabemowiin Community Based Arts
- $100,000
Role
- Principal Investigator
This research project advances Indigenous and Anishinaabemowin art, culture and language revitalization and resurgence as a celebration of love, light and colour.
This project examines how language reclamation operates across families, education systems, digital platforms, and land-based practices restore intergenerational transmission and everyday use. It mobilizes creative outputs such as children’s literature, storytelling, and visual art, alongside policy analysis and infrastructure development to confront colonial disruptions and rebuild linguistic ecosystems. By centering Indigenous jurisdiction over language, the project contributes to a broader movement that links language revitalization to health, identity, and self-determination, generating evidence and models that support sustained, community-controlled resurgence.
Reproductive Justice
2011 - 2012
- Yale/ Cambridge: Firebird Foundation
- Saulteaux Language Documentation Project
- $10,000
Role
- Principal Investigator
Reproductive justice, as advanced through my research program, is foundational to restoring the rights, health, and sovereignty of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit persons by centering bodily autonomy, informed consent, and matriarchal governance over reproduction and care. This work positions reproductive health not as an individual or clinical issue, but as a structural site where colonial policies, institutional practices, and health systems have historically, and continue to regulate and constrain Indigenous women’s bodies. By naming and interrogating these patterns, this research exposes reproductive harm as systemic rather than incidental, requiring transformation at the level of governance, law, and accountability. Reproductive justice is therefore not only about preventing harm, but about reclaiming authority, restoring decision-making power, and ensuring that Indigenous women can define and lead the conditions of birth, family, and community continuity. This work is critical to advancing Indigenous rights, addressing persistent health inequities, and reshaping systems so that they are accountable to the lives, dignity, and futures of Indigenous women and their communities.
Public Health Agency of Canada: Opioid & Acute Toxicity Death
The national study of opioid and illegal substance–related overdose deaths in Canada highlights a rapidly escalating public health crisis characterized by rising mortality driven largely by an increasingly toxic and unpredictable drug supply, particularly involving fentanyl and other potent synthetic opioids.
The report shows that overdose deaths occur across diverse populations and regions but disproportionately affect males and individuals in mid-adulthood, with many deaths involving multiple substances such as opioids combined with stimulants or benzodiazepines.
It also emphasizes that most deaths are accidental and preventable, often linked to broader structural factors including limited access to harm reduction services, stigma, and gaps in treatment and support systems. Overall, the study underscores the urgent need for coordinated public health responses focused on surveillance, harm reduction, treatment access, and addressing the social and systemic drivers of substance-related harms in Canada.
Indigenous Maternal Wellness Gathering
2018 - 2021
- CIHR Planning Grant
- $20,000
- CIHR New Investigator
- $112,500
This Indigenous Maternal Child Health Planning and Dissemination project advances a coordinated, Indigenous-led approach to strengthening maternal and child health systems through research integration, knowledge mobilization, and strategic engagement across communities, policymakers, and health systems.
Grounded in Indigenous methodologies and relational accountability, the project brings together diverse streams of evidence, including epidemiology, community-based research, and lived experience to inform culturally relevant policies and practices. It prioritizes the dissemination of knowledge through accessible, community-centered formats alongside academic outputs, ensuring that findings translate into meaningful system change.
By aligning research, partnerships, and communication strategies, the project supports the development of equitable, culturally grounded maternal-child health systems that reflect Indigenous priorities, strengthen capacity, and improve outcomes for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit families.
EKJUT: International Indigenous Maternal Child Health in India
My internship with the Canadian International Development Agency from 2006-2008, working alongside the Gandhi Peace Foundation and Ekjut, fundamentally shaped my passion for Indigenous maternal and child wellness and my commitment to the rights of women and children.
Living and working in village contexts, I witnessed how Gandhian principles of non-violent protest were lived as everyday practices of resistance and resurgence, grounded in dignity, collective action, and community strength. It was here that I learned community-based, participatory action research (CBR) not as theory, but as research in action: training local women and community members as researchers, ensuring they were paid a local working wage, and supporting them to generate and mobilize knowledge within their own communities. I saw firsthand how this approach builds capacity, strengthens trust, and produces more meaningful, accountable outcomes. Through this work, I came to understand that health is deeply relational and inseparable from governance, access, and justice.
These experiences connected local realities to international human rights frameworks including the rights of women, children, and Indigenous Peoples and made clear that inequities in maternal and child health are structurally produced.
This internship became the foundation of my work, shaping how I understand health as a matter of sovereignty, accountability, and human rights, and guiding my ongoing commitment to advancing Indigenous-led approaches to care and governance.
First Nations Health Authority: Health Promotion & Disease Prevention
First Nations Health Authority’s (FNHA) health promotion and tobacco prevention is grounded in a holistic, Indigenous-led population health approach that centers community, culture, and self-determination. The “Respecting Tobacco” strategy reframes tobacco by distinguishing sacred, traditional use from harmful commercial use, while addressing the disproportionately high rates of smoking among First Nations communities through upstream, community-driven solutions.
Built on four interconnected pillars including promotion, prevention, protection, and promise, the approach advances wellness across physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions by supporting culturally relevant education, youth engagement, cessation supports, and harm reduction strategies, while also addressing the broader social determinants of health such as trauma, poverty, and colonization.
Health promotion efforts focus on empowering individuals and Nations to take control over their health through community-based programming, capacity building, and policy development, while tobacco prevention prioritizes reducing uptake among youth and pregnant women, supporting cessation, and protecting families from second- and third-hand smoke exposure . At its core, FNHA’s approach is not just about reducing tobacco use, but about restoring balance, reclaiming cultural practices, and supporting healthy, self-determined First Nations children, families, and communities for future generations.
Secwepemcw Injury Surveillance
The Secwepmcw Injury Surveillance program is a community-driven initiative that collects and analyzes data on injuries within Secwepemc communities to inform targeted prevention strategies and improve overall safety and wellness.
The program systematically tracks how, where, and why injuries occur through community reporting, ensuring inclusive, comprehensive and confidential data collection.
This information is used to generate annual reports that identify key risk patterns and guide the development of culturally relevant prevention programs such as falls prevention, child safety initiatives, and community education while also building local capacity through data collection, analysis, training, and knowledge mobilization across participating First Nations communities.
School Presentations & Workshops
This Indigenous Language Revitalization initiative centers on connecting youth (ages 10+) to language, identity, and storytelling through culturally grounded, creative practice. Rooted in principles of Indigenous resurgence and relational knowledge, the one-hour workshop engages students in three interconnected approaches to storytelling: written expression, visual creation, and digital design. Students first explore how to craft stories through written communication, strengthening their voice and confidence in expressing lived experience and cultural knowledge. They then translate story into art, using images, symbols, and creative forms to communicate meaning beyond words, reflecting Indigenous traditions of visual storytelling. Finally, students learn to bring their stories to life digitally using Canva, developing accessible skills to share their narratives in contemporary formats. This work supports sharing, teaching, learning and language revitalization as active practice by empowering youth to carry, create, and circulate Indigenous knowledge across generations and platforms.