Jessica Kolopenuk is an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Alberta Health Services Research Chair in Indigenous Health in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.
In this week’s spotlight, Jessica shares how, through Indigenous-led approaches and partnering across disciplines, she is rethinking the meaning of health dichotomies and the research, policy and clinical practices used to address them.
How do you describe your work to people who don’t work in your field?
I study the power and policy implications of genomics (the science of DNA) and their effects on meanings attributed to indigeneity in the areas of identity, health, forensics and ethics. I also co-lead a research and training program that supports Indigenous-led science and science policy. If we understand science and technology as being powerful parts in how societies are governed, then we can leverage them as one way to continue undoing Canada’s colonial past and present and build Indigenous research and training expertise, leadership and governance into the future.
What does the word “innovation” mean to you?
Innovation, like a lot of words related to science and technology (e.g. frontier, discovery, etc.), can have a cringe-factor for Indigenous (and non-Indigenous) researchers who are accustomed to thinking critically about colonial language. But I like to claim the term innovation to describe Indigenous knowledges. Indigenous peoples’ knowledges are ancient and modern — they have a much longer memory than anything we call “western” and are consistently adapted to new and immediate contexts. Indigenous knowledges are intensely innovative and have much to offer science and technology fields, but also social, economic and political ones.
How do you or your team come up with your best ideas?
The best ideas come from the meaningful relationships beyond academia me and my team make. Bonding over different, yet shared experiences, building trust and close connections and seeing each other as whole and complex people creates the relational environment that enables us to build equally meaningful ideas.
Do you have a role model at the U of A? How have they influenced you?
A role model of mine is my partner in co-leading the Indigenous STS Research and Training Program, Dr. Kim TallBear (Faculty of Native Studies). She admirably role models collegiality and Indigenous relationality in the academy. Dr. TallBear treats me as an equal partner. I have learned a lot from her and apply the lessons from her role modelling to my interactions with students and colleagues.
The U of A promises to Lead with Purpose as we build a university for tomorrow. How does your work help you lead with purpose?
The purpose I bring to my work is to build and support Indigenous expertise, leadership, and governance in science, technology, and health fields. I believe in leading together so I’m guided by a team-based ethic. Through an analytic of power, I’m always striving to overcome hierarchies of knowledge and relations in my work and life — this work cannot be done alone.
What’s next for you? Do you have any new projects on the horizon?
I was recently appointed as the AHS Chair in Indigenous Health so I’ve been busy expanding the Indigenous STS program to include The Indigenous Health Research Core and The Indigenous Science, Technology, and Health Network. My objectives are to, 1) critically engage with colonial systems of health and health research and the categories of life, race, sex, gender, indigeneity, and dis/ability that animate them; and 2) productively intervene against such normativities through Indigenous-led approaches to strengthen health outcomes for Indigenous peoples and places.
With an orientation to anti- and decolonial pursuits in research, training, clinical practice and policy making, I’m interested in productively rethinking the meaning of health/disease, health equity/disparity, and the research, policy and clinical practices used to address them. Such an approach is enriched by partnering across disciplines, institutions, sectors, knowledge systems and territories. Thinking with others who have shared commitments invites relational and applied approaches to address challenges facing systems of health and their social, political, economic, environmental and biological determinants.
About Jessica
My spirit name is wâpi-mîkwan (white feather). I am a bear clan Ininiw (Cree) woman and Status Indian registered with Peguis First Nation. I am an assistant professor and the Alberta Health Services (AHS) Research Chair in Indigenous Health in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. Prior to this appointment, I was an assistant professor in the Faculty of Native Studies (FNS) (2018-2022). I continue to hold an adjunct appointment in FNS. I completed my Ph.D. in political science from the University of Victoria in 2020. I am the co-founder and co-lead of the Indigenous Science, Technology, and Society Research and Training Program (Indigenous STS) and the Summer internship for INdigenous Peoples in Genomics Canada (SING Canada). As the AHS Chair in Indigenous Health, I am expanding Indigenous STS to now include the Indigenous Health Research Core — a research and training dry lab situated in FoMD; and the Indigenous Science, Technology, and Health Network, which will bring together academic, public sector, industry, and Indigenous community partners devoted to critically engaging and transforming colonial health systems.
Innovator Spotlight is a series that introduces you to a faculty or staff member whose big ideas are making a big difference.
Do you know someone who’s breaking boundaries at the U of A? (Maybe it’s you!) We’re interested in hearing from people who are creating new solutions to make our world better. We want to feature people working across all disciplines, whether they’re championing bold ways of thinking, driving discovery or translating insights from the lab into the market.
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