In her new role at Peterborough Public Health (PPH), Samantha Roan says she hopes to help the health unit “build a more equitable, inclusive, and respectful future that holds space for the truth, where reconciliation is not an end goal but rather a win on the journey towards decolonization.”
Roan was recently hired by PPH as its first-ever Indigenous health manager.
Dr. Thomas Piggott, PPH CEO and medical officer of health, shared with kawarthaNOW his thoughts on the new position and his hopes for its impact on the community.
“It is a very exciting time for PPH to have Samantha join our team and help us shape this new role,” Dr. Piggott said. “PPH has committed, through our strategic plan, to allyship with Indigenous peoples. As part of that, the Indigenous Health Advisory Circle directed staff to investigate models of Indigenous engagement last year.”
“Through this, we realized PPH had the opportunity to do things differently to unlearn colonized approaches and relearn a more Indigenous way of working,” he added. “This role really allows PPH to prioritize this work, rather than asking staff to do it off the side of their desk, and to provide leadership to support all our staff in becoming better allies to Indigenous people.”
Hallie Atter, director of health promotion, told kawarthaNOW the creation of Roan’s role was an evolution in the relationship PPH has established with both First Nations and the urban Indigenous communities in the local area, through its long history of working with them.
PPH is committed to the principles of truth and reconciliation and to acting upon the 2015 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, she noted. The health unit’s mandate through the Ontario Public Health Standards requires all boards of health to establish relationships with Indigenous partners.
“Through the release our 2022-2025 strategic plan, PPH further committed to practising active allyship for Indigenous self-determination and health equity within the health and social system,” Atter said.
“As a result of this further commitment, the board of health for PPH dedicated resources to further build our relationships with Indigenous communities and continue to promote health equity. These resources led to the creation of this new Indigenous health manager position, as an opportunity to further our work around allyship and Indigenous self-determination.”
Her hope for Roan’s role is fostering meaningful engagement with Indigenous communities.
“Meaningful engagement with Indigenous communities is essential to addressing health inequities,” Atter explained. “Samantha has great experience with Indigenous engagement, and we look forward to her leadership to guide PPH’s reconciliation, decolonization, and Indigenization journey, both internally and as part of a larger public health sector.”
“This role allows for Indigenous engagement to be a sole focus and priority, as well as to provide leadership for other staff at PPH who are working with Indigenous communities and groups.”
As for Roan, she said she is “thrilled” to be joining PPH and stepping into the new role.
“While colonization has often been taught as something historical, it is important to understand that this is ongoing and Indigenous peoples continue to face colonization’s impacts every single day,” Roan said.
“I think it is important to come to terms with the fact that so many of our systems, inclusive of public health, have been weaponized by colonial ideals and colonization, so I am excited that PPH has taken the one of the first steps in its reconciliation journey by creating this role.”
Roan said she is looking forward to working with community partners, as well as Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations — the two Indigenous communities within the health unit’s purview — and PPH staff.
Atter said it’s important for Indigenous populations to be engaged, participate in, and have ownership of decision-making and priority-setting around public health issues.
Roan’s role will help ensure “that our approaches and programming reflect the diverse perspectives and needs of Indigenous communities with an end goal of protecting and promoting the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples,” Atter said.
“Through the creation of this role, we hope that we are better able to support Indigenous self-determination in all our work and ensure that we are continuously working towards the most active forms of allyship.”
Roan has a bachelor’s degree in American Indian/Native American Studies and a master’s degree in public health (specializing in policy and management with an interest in Indigenous health and Indigenous health equity), both from the University of Alberta, and is a Ph.D. student at Trent University’s Chanie Wenjack School of Indigenous Studies.
