In the first episode of our series, we speak with Dr. Katharina Maier, an Associate Professor at the University of Winnipeg who has published extensively on issues pertaining to prison violence, prison masculinities, prisoner re-entry, and halfway houses.

Katharina discusses the public health risks and barriers faced by clients of halfway houses and safe injection sites. She elaborates on public health risks for inmates who move from corrections to transitional housing and outlines a role for public health in mitigating precarious housing.

In the second episode of our series, we speak with Dr. Cheryl Forchuk, a University Professor at Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing (Western University); and Scientist and Assistant Director at Lawson Health Research Institute.

Cheryl discusses the public health risks and barriers faced by clients of shelters and mental health facilities. She describes how the lived experiences of shelter clients can reveal significant gaps in public health responses, which can inform more effective collaborations and best-practices for shelters.

In the third episode of our series, we speak with Jeannette Waegemakers Schiff, an Emerita Professor at the University of Calgary, and a founder of the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and the Canadian Homeless Research Network.

Jeannette describes the housing first program model, and how housing programs can address gaps in health and social services for individuals without homes. She discusses the differences between rural and urban homelessness, and how public health policies and programs can be responsive to the unique needs of rural communities.

Through insightful conversations, compelling stories, and thoughtful analysis, the Voices of Sovereignty podcast aims to shed light on the importance of First Nations Data Sovereignty and inspire collective action towards a future where First Nation peoples have full control over their data, their narratives, and their destiny.

In episode 3 of this podcast series, we will be speaking to Dr. Maggie Walter from the University of Tasmania, joining us to talk about REAL mijidootjik. Mijidootgik is an Anishnaabemowin word that means a person who knowingly commits wrongs. In studies involving First Nations communities, researchers can be REAL mijidootgik as a result of racism (R), a lack of proper engagement (E), approval, accountability (A), and leadership (L). In our conversation with Maggie, we will expand on how REAL mijidootgik in research results in lasting harm for First Nations communities, and how to conduct REAL research; that is, research that acknowledges and works against systemic racism, properly engages First Nations communities, is based on approval and accountability, and grounded in First Nations leadership, governance and control.