Keynotes
Featuring insights from global experts on Indigenous and Circumpolar health and equity.
PHOTO CREDIT: Bird’s Eye Inc.
Join us in welcoming the following keynote speakers at the International Congress for Circumpolar Health. These renowned experts bring a wealth of knowledge in Indigenous health, mental health, and public health and community-based research, offering vital insights into the unique challenges and opportunities for improving health and well-being in Circumpolar and Indigenous communities.


His research addresses Inuit health services utilization trends, Inuit data sovereignty, and Indigenous medical education. Dr. Clark’s lectures cover Indigenous experiences in healthcare, Indian Hospitals, Indigenous Traditional Knowledge, and intergenerational trauma. Dr. Clark is a principal investigator for the Accelerating Clinical Trials Consortium, which expands Canada’s clinical trials network, emphasizing Indigenous participation in trials.
He is the former Director of Indigenous Health Services at the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, serving from 2013 to 2020. Dr. Clark is a board member for the Canadian Society for Circumpolar Health and a member of the International Arctic Science Committee Standing Committee on Indigenous Involvement. He lives and works on Treaty No. 6 Territory in Edmonton, Alberta.

Lenert Hansen says, “As an Indigenous (Sámi) professor of public health the Community Dimensions of Health for indigenous people in the Arctic are very important to me and close to my heart. My ancestors lived a nomadic lifestyle in the northern part of Scandinavia for hundreds of years. They were predominantly reindeer herders and, several of my family member still continue this tradition today, on the biggest island in Norway, Hinnøya (Linnasuolu, North Sámi language).”

Allison is a scientific advisor to the Sustainable Development Working Group of the Arctic Council and leads the University of Toronto’s membership in the UArctic. In 2021-2022 she held Fulbright Research Chair in Public Health at the Centre for Indigenous Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Her research focuses on ensuring access to mental health, suicide prevention and life promotion, and equity and cultural safety in digital health.

Her ongoing Ph.D. includes fieldwork across rural and urban Greenland, investigating how nature, ancestral knowledge, and holistic approaches promote mental resilience. In her keynote at the International Congress for Circumpolar Health, Arnârak will share her personal journey, from growing up in a Greenlandic settlement to overcoming challenges as a young single mother in a non-Indigenous system. She aims to inspire other young Inuit pursuing academic success.
In addition to her research, Arnârak has trained over 600 frontline workers in suicide prevention and received the prestigious Nordentoft Award in 2023. She is a proud mother of two, balancing Inuit and Norwegian cultures at home, and is affiliated with the University of Southern Denmark, the University of Greenland, and the Inuit Circumpolar Council.

Dr. Stelkia is an interdisciplinary Indigenous health researcher whose research primarily investigates the structural determinants of Indigenous peoples’ health and wellbeing. Dr. Stelkia’s research has critically explored Indigenous health research ethics, structural racism and health, Indigenizing health and wellness indicators in public health reporting, Indigenous mentorship and connection to land as a determinant of health.
She is the Nominated Principal Investigator for the British Columbia Network Environment for Indigenous Health Research (BC NEIHR), one of nine Indigenous-led networks across Canada supporting research leadership among Indigenous communities, collectives and organizations.
ICCH18 Keynote Speakers:
- Vanessa Hiratsuka, PhD, MPH
- Wayne Clark, PhD
Ketil Lenert Hansen, PhD
- Allison Crawford, MD, PhD
ArnâraK’ Patricia Bloch, PhD Student
Krista Stelkia, PhD