Gathering Wisdom for a Shared Journey XIII

Taylor Behn-Tsakoza, is Dene from the Fort Nelson First Nation and Dunne Zaa from Prophet River First Nation in BC Treaty 8 territory. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education from Mount Royal University and is currently pursuing a masters in Indigenous Land Based Education at the University of Saskatchewan.

Taylor has dedicated her young academic and professional career to advancing Indigenous rights, title and treaty rights through youth participation in decision making and policy development. From the United Nations to the Senate of Canada to local governments Taylor is passionate about elevating youth voices at all levels of influence. From 2020 to 2023 Taylor served as the Female Youth Representative for the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations and was Co-Chair of the Assembly of First Nations National Youth Council for a term. As an intergenerational survivor and advocate, her biggest honour was being selected as the Youth Representative for the First Nations delegation that met with Pope Francis at the Vatican to discuss Indian Residential Schools.

Currently, Taylor works for her Nations owned renewable energy, Tu Deh-Kah Geothermal, as the Community Liaison and serves as Councillor for her Nation. In addition to her pivotal roles in community, Taylor actively contributes as a Youth Advisor on the Indigenous Advisory Council on Agriculture and Food and the Ministers Advisory Council on Indigenous Women for the province of British Columbia.

Donald Warne, MD, MPH, (Oglala Lakota) serves as the Co-Director of the Center for Indigenous Health and as a tenured, Full-Professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD where he also serves as the Provost Fellow for Indigenous Health Policy.

Through his leadership the Center for Indigenous Health opened up a new site location in Rapid City South Dakota where he also serves as the Senior Policy Advisor to the Great Plains Tribal Leader’s Health Board. Dr. Warne is a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe from Pine Ridge, SD and comes from a long line of traditional healers and medicine men. He received his MD from Stanford University School of Medicine in 1995 and his MPH from Harvard School of Public Health in 2002.

Named Maclean’s top Healthcare Innovator of 2023, Dr. Alika Lafontaine has been at the epicentre of healthcare system change for almost two decades. He is the first Indigenous physician and the youngest doctor to lead the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) in its 156-year history, and the first Indigenous physician to be listed on The Medical Post’s 50 Most Powerful Doctors. As an experienced health leader, Lafontaine speaks eloquently and passionately on the politics of healthcare, implementing and scaling equity, effective advocacy, and redesigning health systems.

Working at the intersection of advocacy and implementation, Lafontaine has held both provincial and national medical leadership positions. From 2013-2017, he co-led the Indigenous Health Alliance, growing it into one of the most ambitious Indigenous health transformation projects in Canadian history. At its peak, the Alliance represented more than 150 First Nations and successfully advocated for $68 million in funding. In 2017, the Alliance was recognized by the Public Policy Forum, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau presenting Lafontaine with the inaugural Emerging Indigenous Leader award.

Grounded in a mixed Indigenous ancestry of Metis, Oji-Cree and Pacific Islander, Lafontaine completed his medical degree and anesthesia fellowship training at the University of Saskatchewan before moving to northern Alberta where he has spent most of his clinical career. He was named one of Canada’s “Top 40 Under 40” and is the youngest recipient of an Indpsire Award.