Canada’s federal agency for funding health research has announced who will replace the former scientific director who was fired last year after a CBC News investigation called into question his claims about Indigenous ancestry.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) said on Thursday that Dr. Margo Greenwood has been appointed interim scientific director of the Institute of Indigenous Health (IIPH). The institute, one of 13, provides much of the funding in Canada for Indigenous-focused health research.
The organization will be housed at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George, where Greenwood is a professor.
“Holy cow,” Greenwood said during a news conference announcing his appointment, making people laugh.
“I am very honored to have been selected by the IRSC Governing Board … I look forward to fulfilling the commitment set out in the IRSC’s strategic plan and the institute’s operational plan. Self-determination. Commitment. Collaboration with the first nations, Inuit and the people, organizations and communities of the Metis is my first priority to take on this job, “he added.
“There is a lot to do and I am very excited to take on this challenge.”
Greenwood, who said his mother was English and his father was Cree, said he grew up on Treaty 6 lands in central Alberta.
“My indigenous roots are very deep in those lands of Treaty 6,” he told the crowd.
Greenwood’s predecessor, Professor Carrie Bourassa, was removed from the CIHR in November.
That fall, CBC News published an investigation showing that there was no evidence of Bourassa’s public claims to be of Métis, Anishinaabe and Tlingit descent. In his response to the report, Bourassa changed his story and claimed it was Métis because it was adopted by a Metis friend of his grandfather.
The research surprised many academics across the country. The effects were felt especially among those working in indigenous circles, where Bourassa had great power and influence.
In an interview with CBC News after the press conference, Greenwood said her “lived experience” as an Indigenous woman will be an asset in her new role.
“I grew up in a time when it wasn’t always popular to be indigenous. Luckily, those times have changed a lot. Do we need more changes? Of course we do. But I’ve had the advantage of living it. These.” he said.
“These are the questions we ask ourselves about identity, reconciliation … all these big questions that we all face in this country. I have a perspective and experience to contribute.”
Greenwood later explained that she is not Cree. His grandfather was granted the right to law when his grandparents accepted $ 12 in scrip on his behalf.
Greenwood said he had no comment on Bourassa.
“What I’m focused on is the work we have to do,” he said.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research ended the appointment of Carrie Bourassa as the scientific director of the IIPH last November. (Morgan Modjeski / CBC News)