Tansi! I am Vanessa Ambtman-Smith (Two Thunderbirds/Niizhbinesiik), an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment and the Indigenous Studies Program at Western University. My research explores how Indigenous healing practices can transform colonial healthcare institutions, with particular focus on Traditional Healing Spaces in hospital settings. As a decolonial scholar and Indigenous health researcher, I bring over 25 years of experience working at the intersection of Indigenous health leadership and institutional transformation.

My community-based research employs Indigenous methodologies and the framework of Environmental Repossession to understand how Indigenous knowledge systems can operate effectively within contemporary healthcare settings. I seek to support the reclamation of traditional healing and the creation of ethical spaces to support the delivery of Indigenous wholistic health in healthcare spaces. My vision is to support Indigenous health and wellbeing through research that contributes to meaningful reconciliation and improved health outcomes. I look forward to a day when my children no longer have to fight for their human rights in a hospital.