Dalla Lana School of Public Health

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Abstract: The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) is a health and wellness partner to First Nations people and communities in BC. We have engaged in partnered research to help us create and improve health and mental health services so that they are person-centered, trauma-informed and culturally safe. In some instances, we have used research to advocate for and require improved cultural safety in services. We also benefit from the sharing of traditional knowledges and guidance in our two-eyed approach to mental health service development and delivery. Specific examples will be shared in this presentation, demonstrating the FNHA’s leadership in this area – thought-provoking wise practices that have the potential to improve these services and ultimately lead to improved mental and wholistic wellness for First Nations people in BC.

Speaker bio: Dr. Nel Wieman is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) in British Columbia, where she has worked since 2018. She is Anishinaabe (Miishipaawitiik First Nation, Treaty 5 Territory) and lives, works and plays on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples – the səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations.

Dr. Wieman completed her medical degree and psychiatry specialty training at McMaster University. Canada’s first female Indigenous psychiatrist, Dr. Wieman has more than 25 years of clinical and senior leadership experience, working with Indigenous (FN/M/I) people both in-community and away from home. Her previous activities include co-directing an Indigenous health research program in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto and the National Network for Indigenous Mental Health Research, being Deputy Chair of Health Canada’s Research Ethics Board, and serving on CIHR’s Governing Council. She has also worked and taught in many academic settings, has chaired national advisory groups within Indigenous Services Canada – Health Canada, and has served as a Director on many boards, including the Indspire Foundation and Pacific Blue Cross. Dr. Wieman served as the President of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada (IPAC) from 2016-2022. She was one of the six Indigenous physician founders of the National Consortium on Indigenous Medical Education (NCIME). She was appointed to the BC Provincial Task Team charged with beginning implementation of the recommendations arising from the “In Plain Sight” report. At FNHA, she co-leads the public health response to the Toxic Drug Crisis.