Our Research Team at CRISM- Indigenous Engagement Platform
Dr. Robert Henry- Nominated Principal Investigator
IEP Lead, Robert (Bobby) Henry (PhD), is Métis and a citizen of Métis Nation-Saskatchewan. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Indigenous Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. He holds a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Justice and Wellbeing, and leads both the Saskatchewan Network Environments of Indigenous Health Research (SK-NEIHR) and the NEIHR National Coordinating Centre (NEIHR-NCC). His research focus is on the experiences of Indigenous Peoples engaged in street lifestyles through community-engaged research methods that include photovoice and digital storytelling.
Heather Poirier- CRISM-IEP
Heather is a dedicated professional with a strong background in research, public policy, and governance systems, with a particular focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion. As the National Platform Manager for the CRISM Indigenous Engagement Platform, she facilitates connections between health researchers with Indigenous community members and allies, fostering meaningful collaboration in substance matters research.
With a BA Honours and a master’s in political studies, as well as a Certificate of Global Studies, she is passionate about lifelong learning and interdisciplinary approaches to social and political issues. Her professional experience spans the health, wellness, and political advocacy environment. She believes in collaboration, holistic thinking, and advancing policies that create meaningful change.
She identifies as non-Indigenous with familial ancestry. When not managing the IEP network, she enjoys renovating and spending time with her 3 children.
Honourable Elder Jo-Ann Saddleback
Elder Jo-Ann Saddleback brings with her a deep well of knowledge, grace, and compassionate understanding. (nēhiyaw Saddle Lake Cree Nation, Elder/Knowledge Keeper) She has been the Indigenous Elder for the CRISM Prairie Node for 6 years and has worked as a community developer for 30 years, travelling across North America developing/delivering workshops on culture, health, Indigenous research processes, roles and rights of Indigenous women; and training cultural workshops for government and non-government agencies.
The advisory team, as well as the whole CRISM network across Canada, benefits from the knowledge around human connection, empathy, and healing that Elder Jo-Ann embodies in substance use research.
Yvonne Olivier- Thunderbird Partnership Foundation
Yvonne Olivier is the Research Manager for the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation. She is responsible for supervising a research team, planning, coordinating, and directing research projects and assisting in the development of assessment tools and survey processes. She is a proud member of the TsuuT’ina Nation in Alberta. Her mother is from the Siksika Nation in Alberta and her father is Metis (Chipewyan/French) from the Northwest Territories.
Yvonne has spent more than 23 years in the field of First Nations mental health and addictions. She served as Executive Director for a culturally based Indigenous youth treatment centre for 10 years.
Dr. Sharon Acoose- First Nations University
I find balance in all areas of my life through Ceremony.
I have worked at the University since 1999, beginning as an Academic Advisor at the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College at the University of Regina, before our name change to the First Nations University of Canada. Today, I am a Professor with the School of Indigenous Social Work – Saskatoon Campus.
My work and research are rooted in supporting Street People, particularly women and girls involved in prostitution and those impacted by the cycles of violence that arise from living in unhealthy circumstances. I am especially focused on the devastating impacts of drugs and alcohol on Indigenous peoples, and the harm these substances have caused for decades.
My heart and spirit are also with all the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls across Canada.
I strive to live each day as if it were my last.
Chantel Huel- Str8t Up
Chantel Huel is a program manager at STR8 UP and a community-based researcher for the Elizabeth Fry Society in Saskatchewan. She applies her lived experience to her role as a street level researcher for Dr. Robert Henry at the University of Saskatchewan. Chantel is non-Indigenous with familial ties to Cowessess First Nation, and she carries a deep respect for the people.
Chantel's journey has taken her from handcuffs to healing, including over 20 years of lived experience in incarceration, substance use, and a street criminal lifestyle. She is a mother, daughter, a grandmother, and a fierce auntie. Through ceremony and culture, she found her way back to generational healing- reconnecting with herself, her family and the relationships that ground her.
Chantel now walks alongside many as they find their path towards transformation, reconnection, and community.
Daniel Hearn- Hard Knox Talks Podcast
Daniel Hearn is Metis and has over 23 years lived experience with problematic substance use, with 6.5 years of recovery. Daniel is the creator/producer/host of Hard Knox talks, a weekly podcast created to amplify the voices of those with lived experiences dealing with substance
use disorders. Hard Knox Talks is a non-biased platform with the intention to unite like-minded people and organizations to build national networks of advocacy that challenges the stigma of substance use.
Dr. Barb Fornssler- USask School of Public Health
Dr. Fornssler is a white settler living on Treaty 6 territory and the homeland of the Métis, who works as an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Saskatchewan. Barb directs the Graduate Certificate in Substance Use Health and Wellbeing along with the Municipal Leadership in Addressing Substance Use Harms micro-credential at USask. She is also the Knowledge Translation and Exchange Coordinator for the CRISM Prairie Node.
When she’s not in the community or the classroom, Barb enjoys camping adventures alongside her partner and their dogs, a Great Dane named Opal and a Lab named Kal. The family cat, Raziel, prefers to sunbathe at home in the living room window.
Dr. Morgan Kahentonni Phillips- McGill University
Morgan Kahentonni Phillips (Kanien’kehá:ka, Haudenosaunee) holds a PhD from the Dept of Integrated Studies in Education (DISE) at McGill University and is currently a Senior Research Advisor (part-time) in the Dept of Educational & Counselling Psychology at McGill. She is also an Indigenous Research Consultant.
Her research expertise (25 years +) includes Indigenous health and well-being, resilience, community-engaged collaborative/partnership research, Indigenous research methodologies, program evaluation, and decolonizing pedagogy. More recently, Dr. Phillips has been involved in (and still learning about) Indigenous substance use and harm reduction projects as well as gender equity research.