DATA: THE GRANDMOTHER PERSPECTIVE Dr. Danièle Behn Smith, Deputy Provincial Health Officer, Indigenous Health, Province of BC
“First Nations governments are section describes what constitutes “Indigenous population health not wanting to operate with the data.” The second section Big Brother mentality that we’ve focuses on how Indigenous population health data is created all been groomed into believing and governed. The final section describes how these data inform in relation to what data does actions that help achieve our to us—it’s more like we want Indigenous population health vision. to come from the grandmother perspective. We need to know What Constitutes because we care.” Indigenous Population (Gwen Phillips, Ktunaxa Health Data? Nation, as cited British Indigenous population health Columbia Office of the Human data differs from population health data about Indigenous Rights Commissioner, 2020, peoples because it actively p. 14) disrupts the status quo, Achieving our shared goal of healthy, vibrant Indigenous peoples requires Indigenous population health data (IPHD) that tells the stories of where we are and where we need to go. Indigenous population health data requires a paradigm shift away from conventional population health data about Indigenous peoples. This section of the Indigenous public health vision has three sections. The first
illuminates Indigenous peoples’ strengths, and honours distinct First Nations, Inuit, and Métis populations.
Indigenous population health data disrupts White supremacy in population health reporting by aligning and privileging Indigenous epistemologies and perspectives of wellness. It includes a holistic definition of “data.” Hierarchies of evidence are respectfully rejected. Different forms of evidence, including
quantitative statistics, lived experience, and ancestral landbased teachings, are attributed equal value. IPHD is distinctionsbased and reflects the experiences of diverse and distinct First Nations, Inuit, and Métis populations. It represents the whole of community data, that is, data that follow Indigenous kinship lines rather than colonial definitions of Indigeneity. IPHD is also strengths-based; it illuminates the deepest roots of Indigenous peoples’ wellness. It shines a light on the components of our lives, histories, stories, and lived experiences that make us uniquely and distinctly First Nations, Inuit, and/or Métis. It pays attention to, and gives respectful space to, our cultures, languages, lands, Nations, and self-determination. Finally, IPHD is relational. It contextualizes quantitative data and accurately describes deficit findings not as a way to gauge the extent to which Indigenous peoples are inherently deficient but rather as a measure of persistent systemic racism negatively impacting Indigenous peoples’ health.
Visioning the Future: First Nations, Inuit, & Métis Population and Public Health
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