Health systems across Canada have committed to supporting First Nations, Inuit, and Métis data sovereignty — but many struggle to turn that commitment into everyday practice. Uncertainty about Indigenous data governance has produced a 'freezing effect,' where Indigenous data go uncollected, under-analyzed, or unreported, leaving inequities invisible. This webinar offers a practical path forward. Drawing on a published article and the experience of Providence Health Care in British Columbia, Harmony Johnson walks through what Indigenous data sovereignty means, the rights frameworks it rests on (OCAP®, CARE, UNDRIP), and how Indigenous-led governance structures, data stewardship, and stronger self-identification processes can enable the ethical use of Indigenous health data to monitor inequities and improve care.
If your organization has committed to reconciliation but you're unsure how to actually work with Indigenous data without getting it wrong — this session is for you. Most health systems are stuck: they want to do right by Indigenous communities, so they avoid the data altogether, and inequities stay hidden as a result. In 45 minutes, you'll see how one major health organization moved past that paralysis — the governance framework they built, the data stewardship and access processes that make ethical use possible, and the real results, including a suite of cultural safety indicators now backed by six years of data. You'll leave with a concrete sense of what 'good' looks like and the first steps your own organization can take. Whether you're a leader, an analyst, a clinician, or a program lead, you'll walk away able to turn principle into practice.
Featured Speaker:
Harmony Johnson, MHA, is the Vice President of Indigenous Wellness & Reconciliation at Providence Health Care. She is of Tla’amin First Nation (Coast Salish) ancestry and was raised in Tla’amin territory, where most of her family resides. She also operates a consulting business providing strategy and advisory services in Indigenous health, governance, and human rights, as well as teaches on these same matters. She has served in senior roles with the In Plain Sight review in BC health care, and with the First Nations Health Authority, First Nations Summit, and First Nations Forestry Council. Harmony is the co-author of a number of publications, including print and digital books about her grandmother’s life history and Tla’amin teachings. She has a BA from Simon Fraser University and an MHA from the University of British Columbia. In her position as Vice-President, Indigenous Wellness and Reconciliation, Harmony leads an Indigenous leadership perspective across the work of Providence Health Care, develops strategy and policy direction that promotes reconciliation and addresses anti-Indigenous racism and discrimination, and facilitates system transformation through initiatives, programs, and research.
Moderator:
Dr. Ewan Affleck, CM, has worked and lived in northern Canada since 1992, where he continues to provide part time clinical service. He is currently serving as the Senior Medical Advisor - Health Informatics, College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta, Strategic Advisor - Clinical and Informatics at the Canadian Institute for Health Information and helped found Networked Health a pan-Canadian collective focused on optimizing health data design and use. He is the past Chief Medical Information Officer of the Northwest Territories, has served on many national health systems expert groups including as co-chair of the national Virtual Care Task Force, and a member of the Expert Working Group of the pan-Canadian Health Data Strategy. He was the Executive Producer and co-writer of The Unforgotten (2021), an award-winning film about inequities in health service for Indigenous people living in Canada. In 2013, he was appointed to the Order of Canada for his contribution to northern health care.
Fees:
CCHL Members: FREE
Non-members: $40
