Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

The theme of the research is based on the health disparities of Indigenous peoples that exist even in rich countries like Canada, Finland and Norway. Previous studies have documented that individuals who report experiencing racism have greater rates of illnesses (Williams & Mohammed, 2009). While this body of research has been invaluable in advancing knowledge on health inequities, it still locates the experiences of racism at the individual level. Yet, the health of social groups is likely most strongly affected by structural, rather than individual, phenomena. (Gee and Ford, 2011) The structural forms of racism and their association to health inequities remain under-studied. Residential schools and boarding schools were examples of colonial education systems that were discriminatory and racist by design, whether or not this intent was embedded directly in the policy. These schools existed in attempts to 'civilize' Indigenous people, and produced similar experiences of intergenerational impacts at the individual, family, community and nation level for Indigenous peoples worldwide (Smith, 2009). This study aims to investigate the relationship between structural racism and residential school and boarding school attendance. References Gee, G & Ford, C. (2011). Structural racism and health inequalities. Du Bois Review, 8, 115-132. Smith, A. (2009). Indigenous Peoples and Boarding Schools: A Comparative Study. Prepared for the Secretariat of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, 8th Session. New York, 18-29 May 2009. Williams, D.R. & Mohammed, S.A. (2009) Discrimination and racial disparities in health: evidence and needed research. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, February, 32(1), 20-47.