Dalla Lana School of Public Health

$6M donation creates two new professorships, expanding Indigenous-​led health research at DLSPH

August 27/2026

DLSPH is the proud home to the new Duke Redbird Professorship in Indigenous Wellness and the Ozhaawashkobinesiik Professorship in Indigenous Health Systems Research. 

By Ishani Nath

Elder Dr. Duke Redbird, a status member of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, is an intellectual and activist. He remembers a time when “the idea that Indigenous people would ever achieve access to higher education didn’t exist.” Now, the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH) is home to two Indigenous health professorships, including one that bears his name.  

Thanks to a generous $6 million donation from Drs. Michael and Amira Dan, two new endowed professorships — the Duke Redbird Professorship in Indigenous Wellness and the Ozhaawashkobinesiik Professorship in Indigenous Health Systems Research — have been established at DLSPH in affiliation with the School’s Waakebiness Institute for Indigenous Health (WIIH).  

“This gift builds on the outstanding work of our Indigenous Health faculty and creates a stronger platform for Indigenous-led scholarship at DLSPH and in public health more broadly,” says DLSPH Dean Adalsteinn (Steini) Brown. 

The new professorships create crucial space for Indigenous perspectives, research and leadership to shape and inform public health.  

“These positions will support research grounded in Indigenous governance and ethics in health,” says Dr. Ethsi (Suzanne) Stewart, director at WIIH. “Across Canada and the world there are very few endowed Indigenous health research professorships, particularly in health systems and wellness. These positions expand the pool of Indigenous scholarship and create space and capacity to lead Indigenous health research worldwide.” 

Building Indigenous-led health scholarship at DLSPH  

The new professorships build on a longstanding partnership between Drs. Michael and Amira Dan and DLSPH. In 2015, Drs. Michael and Amira Dan made a landmark $10 million donation to establish WIIH, the first institute of its kind in the world. 

For Michael, the decision was shaped by a deeper reflection on Canada’s history and his own responsibility to contribute to reconciliation. 

“Having benefited so much from the bounty and the generosity of Canadian society, I felt it necessary to move outside of my comfort zone and take a hard look at who we are as a country,” he says. Through that process, he came to better understand the history of trauma and ongoing systemic discrimination experienced by Indigenous Peoples in Canada. “Looking at what can make Canada a better place, the choice is obvious.” 

The institute carries the name Waakebiness, the spirit name meaning “radiant thunderbird from the south” that was given to Michael by Elders of Lac La Croix First Nation. Over the past decade, WIIH has since become a trailblazing hub of Indigenous-led scholarship, offering Canada’s first Master of Public Health in Indigenous Health (MPH IH) program — a program which has produced more than 100 graduates, the majority of whom now work in community.  

The Dan family’s latest gift builds on that foundation, creating new opportunities for Indigenous scholars to lead research, shape health systems and advance Indigenous wellness. 

The Duke Redbird Professorship in Indigenous Wellness 

Elder Dr. Duke Redbird has been a renowned artist, poet and activist for more than 60 years and was recently recognized with the Order of Canada. He says having this professorship named after him is an “unexpected honour.” 

“My community was subject to residential schools, and it wasn’t until the early ’80s when Indigenous students were finally able to acquire degrees in higher education. It’s a very short history for our people to have that kind of access at all…so in that respect, it’s quite remarkable that at this time in our history, finally, Indigenous lens is being recognized as valuable,” says Elder Redbird.  

The Duke Redbird Professorship in Indigenous Wellness will focus on Indigenous wellness based on Indigenous conceptions of wholism, explains Dr. Stewart, which recognizes the interconnectivity of mental, spiritual physical and emotional wellbeing, as well as connection to the land.  “Indigenous wellness is about recognizing that healing begins with identity and spirituality, and this role is based in research that holds this central for Indigenous health processes and outcomes,” she says. 

She adds that this focus aligns with Elder Redbird’s approach to health, connecting cultural identity, land-based knowledges and healing, and artistic expression to well-being. She notes that Elder Redbird has worked in Canada and internationally to ground education, health care delivery and substance abuse prevention in Indigenous Knowledge and highlight cultural reclamation as a social determinant of health.  

“It is an honor for WIIH, who has worked with Elder Redbird on numerous projects over the years, to show respect for and uphold his contribution and legacy through this professorship and model to the academic community that sacred knowledges and expertise are worthy of celebrating at U of T,” says Dr. Stewart.  

The Ozhaawashkobinesiik Professorship in Indigenous Health Systems Research 

After Drs. Michael and Amira Dan’s 2015 donation established WIIH, Amira received the spirit name Ozhaawashkobinesiik from Anishinaabe Elder Kalvin Ottertail of the Gakijiwanong Anishinaabe Nation in Northwestern Ontario. Ozhaawashkobinesiik means “blue thunderbird woman.” Amira considers the name both an honour and a responsibility to continue working towards reconciliation and support of First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities. 

“I believe that universities have a unique responsibility to contribute to reconciliation through research, teaching, listening and sustained partnerships with First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities,” says Amira. “I hope the Ozhaawashkobinesiik Professorship will stand as a lasting expression of that commitment.” 

Indigenous Peoples in Canada experience significantly worse health outcomes compared to non-Indigenous Canadians. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action highlights the need to identify and close the gaps in these health outcomes. Dr. Stewart emphasizes that addressing these disparities requires a focus on Canada’s health systems — which is a primary aim of this new professorship.   

“The ongoing reality of colonialism, including the legacy of residential schools and discriminatory health policy, is what perpetuates Indigenous ill health and death. No program or research will be able to close a health outcomes gap without changing the systems that created it…that is why this Indigenous health systems are an important area of focus because it addresses root causes, not symptoms,” she says.  

Indigenous leadership and lasting change 

While Indigenous-led health research has grown significantly in recent years, Indigenous scholars remain underrepresented in academia and critical gaps persist in research, policy and health systems designed for First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities. Through their $6 million donation, Drs. Michael and Amira Dan are investing in the Indigenous Peoples, Knowledge and scholarship needed to help close those gaps for generation to come.  

 “These two professorships are just another chapter in in my long-term commitment to Indigenous health, and my wife’s long-term commitment to Indigenous health,” he says. “We’re in it for the long run, and we’re hoping that we can see significant change sooner than later.” 

For Dr. Stewart, the Duke Redbird Professorship in Indigenous Wellness and the Ozhaawashkobinesiik Professorship in Indigenous Health Systems Research represent more than two new academic appointments. They are an opportunity to strengthen Indigenous leadership in research and further establish WIIH as a world leader in shifting policy and practice. “My greatest hope is that we can make structural change in health care, education and research systems to benefit instead of harm First Nations, Inuit and Metis Peoples.”