Health inequities among Indigenous Peoples in Canada arise from systemic injustices and require culturally responsive, community-led solutions. The Indigenous Clinical Trials Unit, the first of its kind in Canada, enables and uplifts Indigenous-designed and implemented clinical trial research that addresses the unique needs of Indigenous Peoples and communities while strengthening and promoting sovereignty and self-determination in health research innovation. The ICTU marks a significant step toward rectifying colonial impacts on health and empowering Indigenous sovereignty in healthcare.
The ACT Indigenous Health Committee was established in May 2023 to support and advance Objective #10 of the ACT Consortium which seeks to
“Improve the process of involving Indigenous Peoples in trials and establish a process to identify Indigenous Health Priorities and interventions for evaluation.”
To achieve this, the ACT Indigenous Health Committee acknowledges that the under-representation of Indigenous peoples and communities in the present context arises from the complex intersection and ongoing legacies of colonialism that have excluded First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples from priority-setting within clinical trial research.
The ICTU works in close partnership with the Wapanachakos Indigenous Health Program at the University of Alberta, the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat in Manitoba, and the University of Manitoba.
The ICTU is guided by the wisdom of the Grandmother’s Council and is strategically supported by members of the Indigenous Health Committee that has representation from First Nation, Metis, and Inuit health leaders from across what is now Canada.
Partnerships with distinctions-based communities, other rights-holders, and leaders in Indigenous Peoples health continue to evolve and will deepen significantly once the demonstration projects are implemented throughout 2025.