January 12, 2022
Following the federal announcement on January 12, 2022, we proudly celebrate that Chloe Crosschild, PhD student at the School of Nursing, received a Canada Graduate Scholarships Doctoral scholarship, one of the Tri-Agency Scholarships and Fellowships announced in January as part of the Science Bundle (the results of this competition were first announced in April 2021). The Honourable Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne made the award announcements on behalf of Innovation, Science & Economic Development (ISED) Canada, Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), Natural Sciences and Research Council (NSERC), and Social Science Research Council (SSRC). Ms. Crosschild joins the ranks of our other successful UBC Nursing applicants from the 2020 competition: Manpreet Thandi, Trevor Goodyear, and Zachary Daly.
I am honored to receive the prestigious and competitive CIHR CGS-Doctoral scholarship. The award has allowed me to move my research forward in meaningful ways and demonstrates Canada’s commitment to advance reconciliation and renew relationships with Indigenous peoples, based on recognition of rights, respect, cooperation and partnership. Receiving this scholarship has provided a platform to advocate for maternal health equity for Indigenous women on a National level. Incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing, specifically Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot) ways of knowing into health research is one way to gain insights on how we can provide culturally safe care for Indigenous women in health care settings.
~ Iitapii'tsaanskiakii, Chloe Crosschild, RN, MN, PhD student
Iitapii’tsaanskiakii (Singing Bird by the Shore Woman) Chloe Crosschild is a member of the Blackfoot Confederacy from the Blood Tribe (Kainai Nation). Chloe holds a Bachelor and Master's degree in Nursing from the University of Lethbridge and is currently completing her PhD in Nursing at UBC under the supervision of Dr. Colleen Varcoe. Chloe’s research background is in Indigenous women’s health, gendered violence, health equity, and racism in health care system. Her Master’s thesis received the Silver Medal of Merit from the University of Lethbridge Graduate studies in 2020 – “Urban Indigenous Mothers’ Experiences with Postnatal Nursing Care in Southern Alberta: A Blackfoot Methodology.”
Chloe is a registered nurse and has worked in community health settings, both on and off reserve as a public health nurse, community health nurse, and community health clinical instructor. Chloe was recently hired as an Assistant Professor at the University of Lethbridge through the Faculty of Health Sciences. Chloe’s doctoral research seeks to enhance the relations between Indigenous women and registered nurses by journeying toward transformative reconciliation to foster maternal health equity. Her research utilizes Siksikaitsitapi (SICK-SUH-GATE-SIT-AH-BEE) (Blackfoot ways of knowing) as an Indigenous research methodology in the uptake of mixed methods to identify strengths-based approaches to nursing care that promote health equity for Indigenous women with the goal of developing culturally safe practices.
