Making Healthy Connections: A Critical Anti-Racist and Decolonizing Geography of Immigrant and Indigenous Relations in Northern British Columbia

While resources support immigrant well-being in urban settings in southern Canada, little research exists on recent immigrants in northern communities. Moreover, while new research is emerging about the health disparities of Indigenous communities in remote and rural settings, there is very little research that brings the question of immigrant and Indigenous relations together.

To address this gap, this research program will determine factors that influence and support the well-being of recent immigrants in northern BC communities. The project will document, analyze, and provide much needed information about the unique social determinants of health for recent immigrants outside of large urban centres in southern Canada. I will engage recent Filipino immigrants using qualitative research methods and will establish and mobilize a community of experts and highly-trained practitioners to help provide a more nuanced, textured and richer picture of the health needs of northern BC.

Importantly, the research program will not only bring new awareness about the factors influencing health and well-being of Filipino immigrants, it will also explore these factors in relationship to health disparities and innovations of Indigenous northern communities. In sum, this is a project that puts Filipino and Indigenous communities in dialogue to address health disparities.