Glossary

Colonialism

In contrast to colonization, colonialism is the theoretical framework that colonization operates under. This produces narratives including those that subjugate Indigenous peoples to either extinct, primitive, or happily assimilated.

Colonization

Ongoing process of resource and value extraction of Indigenous peoples and their land for the benefit of settlers and settler nation-states.

Community

Commonly used to describe reserves or rural Indigenous communities, this term refers to groups that have formed based on the dispossession of land and displacement resulting from colonization. Community also refers to groups and peoples who may be reclaimed, or disconnected from home territories but organized around common experiences of colonization and its forces of division.

Community-Based Participatory Research

Emphasizes partnering with communities and involving members of the community as equal partners throughout the course of a research project. CBPR centers on the notion of building on the strengths of the community itself and conducting research that mutually benefits both the investigators and the community.

Health Inequity

Arises from social and economic conditions that disadvantage the health of one group of people more than another. Health inequity is a term used to underscore that an equal distribution of resources does not in fact guarantee that all individuals will achieve their full health potential.

Indigenization

Aims to transform and build new systems grounded in Indigenous epistemologies, methodologies, and values in primary health care. It may play out in activities ranging from the engagement of traditional knowledge holders in service delivery to the mobilization of health indicators responsive to Indigenous experiences and priorities.

Indigenous

An umbrella term used to describe the First Nations, Inuit, and Metis groups in Canada. Indigenous is a collective name for the original peoples of North America and their descendants.

Indigenous ethics

A set of principles of engagement that frame how people and communities relate to one another. Indigenous ethics consider how to do things in a “good way” which will help to transform the future.

Peoples

The plural term of Peoples recognizes that there is more than one distinct group that comprises the Indigenous population.

Primary Care

Refers to the first-line clinical services that allow an individual to enter the healthcare system or the “family-doctor-type” of services.

Primary Health Care

A broader approach to health policy and service provisions that includes both the individual level services delivered and the population level functions, primary health care takes a comprehensive approach to understand the factors that impact health.

Reconciliation

Process of forming unity between settlers and Indigenous peoples via relationship development after the truth about social power and history has been mutually appreciated.

Social Determinants of Health

Circumstances and environments along with structures, systems, and institutions that influence the development and maintenance of health.

Sovereignty and Self-Governance

In the context of the hegemonic state, sovereignty for Indigenous peoples includes turning away from dependence on the colonial state and investing subjective and material resources in the authority of Indigenous nations and the ways in which Indigenous peoples see international relationships.

Transdisciplinary Research

A research paradigm characterized by a collaborative, integrated, and holistic approach for enhancing health service delivery. It is a means of transforming current practices and systems to build new ways of knowing and doing.

UNDRIP

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) delineates and defines the rights of Indigenous peoples, including reaffirming cultural identity as the foundation for people’s autonomy and equity.