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.

Vanessa Hiratsuka, PhD, MPH
Vanessa Hiratsuka, PhD, MPHSenior Researcher, Southcentral Foundation & Co-director, National Resource Center for Alaska Native Elders (NRC-ANE)
Dr. Vanessa Hiratsuka (Diné/Winnemem Wintu; enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, she/her) is a Senior Researcher at Southcentral Foundation, a tribal health organization in Anchorage, Alaska. She received a bachelor’s degree in human biology from Stanford University, a master’s degree in public health practice from the University of Alaska Anchorage, and a doctoral degree in public health from Walden University. She uses Indigenous Research Methods and her community-engaged research work has spanned regional, national, and international efforts. Her research interests include ethical, social, and legal implications of genomic research and precision medicine among Indigenous populations; evaluation of health interventions in public schools; and Indigenous Elder wellbeing.
Wayne Clark, PhD
Wayne Clark, PhDDirector, Wâpanachakos Indigenous Health Program, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta & Fullbright Scholar, Centre for Indigenous Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Dr. Wayne Inuglak Clark ᐅᐊᐃᓐ ᐃᓄᒡᓚᒃ ᑲᓛᒃ is originally from Churchill, Manitoba and a registered Inuk of the Nunavut Agreement. He is a member of the Voisey family with ties to Tikiraqjuaq ᑎᑭᕋᕐᔪᐊᖅ and Kangiqsualujjuaq ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᔾᔪᐊᖅ. Dr. Clark is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Director of the Wâpanachakos Indigenous Health Program in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta.

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.

Ketil Lenert Hansen, PhD
Ketil Lenert Hansen, PhDProfessor, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway & Professor, Sami University of Applied Science - Sámi Allaskuvla
Ketil Lenert Hansen is an Indigenous (Sámi) epidemiologist and public health professor at UiT The Arctic University of Norway (100%) and Professor II (20%) in Indigenous Pedagogy at Institute of Sámi Teaching Education and Indigenous Journalism Study, Sámi University of Applied Sciences, with over 20 years of mixed methods research experience within the Norwegian Indigenous Sámi people. This work has included research on discrimination, bullying, health inequality, violence, disability, resilience, child welfare, somatic- and mental health among Sámi children, youth and adults. His community engagement work has spanned regional, national, and international efforts. He has also been involved in teaching programs and developed courses in public health for masters and PhD students, taught at several circumpolar summer schools for PhD students in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Lenert Hansen has received several awards for his circumpolar research, including: Jens Peder Hart Hansen Award (2012) and Dissemination prize from the Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT (2018). Today, he serves as a member of the Lancet Commission on Arctic Health: Accelerating Indigenous Health and Well-Being.

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 Crawford, MD, PhD
Allison Crawford, MD, PhDPsychiatrist, Centre for Addictions and Mental Health & Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Dr. Allison Crawford is a psychiatrist at CAMH and the Chief Medical Officer of 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline, Canada’s new 3-digit suicide prevention service (www.9-8-8.ca). She is also Medical Director of Northern Outreach and Virtual Care at CAMH, and Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, at the University of Toronto.

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.

ArnâraK’ Patricia Bloch
ArnâraK’ Patricia BlochPhD Student, National Institute for Public Health & Specialist Consultant, Suicide Prevention, Center for Public Health in Greenland
Arnârak Patricia Bloch is an Indigenous Inuit Greenlandic Ph.D. researcher focused on suicide prevention among Greenlandic youth. Her pioneering project, funded by the Greenland Research Council, examines protective factors that help individuals regain hope after suicide attempts. Arnârak’s research addresses both individual and collective trauma, exploring the impacts of colonization and historical trauma in Greenland.

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.

Krista Stelkia, PhD
Krista Stelkia, PhDAssistant Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University & Director of the Centre for Collaborative Action on Indigenous Health Governance
Dr. Krista Stelkia is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University and inaugural Director of the Centre for Collaborative Action on Indigenous Health Governance. She is Syilx/Tlingit from the Osoyoos Indian Band in the interior of British Columbia, Canada.

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