Assistant Professor Dr. Julia Schmidt recently took a trip to Haida Gwaii to meet with her partners in the BC Consensus project.
The mandate of the BC Consensus project is to gather, in a good faith effort, the perspectives, ideas, and values of healthcare providers, community stakeholders, and individuals/families including Indigenous groups and marginalized groups with lived experience of the intersections of brain injury, mental health, and addictions.
When participants from Haida Gwaii could not join the final Consensus Building Day on June 24, 2024, due to a cluster of toxic drug poisonings in their community, it left a gap in the research, but more importantly, a heaviness in the hearts of the study’s team. “We were honoured when The Haida Gwaii Society for Community Peace later invited us to bring Consensus Building Day to their lands”, says Cole Kennedy, PhD Graduate Student Research Lead for the initiative.
“Our time on Haida Gwaii as part of the BC Consensus work was deeply meaningful and transformative,” says Janelle Breese Biagioni, Co-Principal Investigator, BC Consensus on Brain Injury. “It was a profound experience to be invited onto the lands of the Haida Nation to listen, learn, and walk alongside community members in shaping a more compassionate and inclusive response to brain injury, mental health, and addictions.”
People with lived experience from the Haida Nation, UVic and UBC researchers, social workers, health care providers, and Elders met in in Masset, April 9 and 10 for knowledge sharing and knowledge co-production. The discussions and surveys will be reflected in the final report of the BC Consensus on Brain Injury.
“We had the opportunity to share our unique concerns of being a rural and Indigenous community,” says Kym Edinborough-Capuska, Director, Haida Gwaii Society for Community Peace. She cites the lack of travel supports as an issue affecting the community, especially those with brain injuries. “Some people go away for medical appointments and don’t come home—lost to the streets of Vancouver or other locations—because they aren’t provided with a return ticket. All flights off island need to be return,” she says.
One of the key findings of the three-year BC Consensus relates to the negative impact of stigma within health and social systems. This issue was underscored in Haida Gwaii. “One of the most moving insights gained during our conversations in Haida Gwaii related to the pervasive nature of discrimination in the health care system, a problem disproportionately affecting First Nations” says Dr. Mauricio Garcia-Barrera, Principal Investigator, BC Consensus on Brain Injury.
Haida Elder Sphenia Jones, a survivor of residential school and intimate partner violence related brain injury, lent her voice to the need for programs to prevent abuse in her community. “The only way we can all heal is by sharing what happened to us in our lives”, she says.
“We heard many stories of hardship and resiliency,” says Dr. Julia Schmidt, Co-Investigator, BC Consensus on Brain Injury. “We appreciate building relationships and sharing knowledge, and the opportunity to explore the beauty in the land and within the people,” says Dr. Schmidt.
Learn more:
BC Consensus on Brain Injury:
https://bcconsensusonbraininjury.com
Contact:
Janelle Breese Biagioni
Email: janelle@traumaticlifelosses.com
Phone: 250-812-2962
Photo Credits: Dr. Julia Schmidt