Research Day brings the community together to talk about Indigenous health and wellness

Connor Boyd

Dr. Janice Forsyth says she felt inspired listening to the students during Research Day 2025. As the keynote speaker, Forsyth had the opportunity to speak with students one-on-one during a mentorship session.

“Listening to them talk about what they’re wrestling with and what their hopes and dreams are for the future is super inspiring because that wasn’t around when I was coming up,” she says.

The professor from the University of British Columbia presented her work, which combines history and sociology to explore the relationship between sport and culture from Indigenous perspectives. She was joined by other presenters, including Dr. Jon McGavock from the Children’s Hospital Research Institution of Manitoba, Dr. Moneca Sinclaire of Our Data Indigenous, and Sonny Albert, the Director of Parks and Recreation for Norway House Cree Nation, to discuss the year’s theme of Indigenous health and wellness.

“To see a space for that kind of particular interest in Indigenous health and well-being from the point of view of life and culture and nationhood makes my heart sing,” says Forsyth.

Dr. Leisha Strachan, professor and associate dean of research and graduate studies for the faculty, says the theme was chosen to “increase our understanding of Indigenous health and wellness from a research and applied perspective.”

“It was really great to bring these conversations front and centre for Research Day,” said Strachan. “The conversations and connections were fruitful and made more special by the presence of the SPARC and Verna J. Kirkness students.”

The Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation in the Community Certificate (SPARC) program through the faculty helps equip educational leaders to deliver quality physical education and recreation programming throughout communities in Manitoba. Other community members who participated in Research Day included students from the Verna J. Kirkness Education Foundation (VJKF), which brings high school students to campus to learn about research and the supports available on campus

“It’s always exciting to share the same space as young minds and new learners because they often ask the simplest but hardest to answer questions,” she says. “Because at the end of the day, the knowledge isn’t valuable if it isn’t accessible to our communities.”

To tie into the theme of Indigenous health and wellness with learning, Research Day participated had the opportunity to take part in a dreamcatcher workshop led by Penny Folster of Prairie Beadwork Designs. She says dreamcatchers are believed to bless the “sleeping one” with beautiful dreams, harmony and good luck throughout their lives.

Students presented their research during the poster competition which featured undergraduate, master’s and PhD students displaying and discussing their research with judges and community members. Forsyth says smaller knowledge-sharing opportunities, like Research Day and the poster competition, can be even more meaningful than larger conferences.

“I think it’s important, more than ever, for people to come together in real time and in real spaces to talk and actually have those connections face to face,” she says. “This is where people learn to express themselves and share their ideas, and that’s how the world moves forward.”