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Waniska Indigenous Centre
The Waniska Indigenous Centre is an Indigenous led research centre on focused on HIV, Hepatitis C and other sexually transmitted and blood borne infections (STBBI) in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Waniska launched on June 21, 2021 and is based out of Pewaseskwan at the University of Saskatchewan. Waniska partners with various organizations not only within Saskatchewan and Manitoba, but also across Canada.
Waniska (ᐊᐧᓂᐢᑲ) is a Cree and Saulteaux word that means wake up, arise. It’s a concept filled with optimism for the new day, which we greet with renewed energy and passion. It’s a verb, reflecting that as Indigenous people, our knowledge is action-oriented. Waniska describes the Saskatchewan Health Authority Patient/Family Advisory Committee for HIV/AIDS, and is a tribute to people with lived experience of HIV. To carry on this tradition, Waniska is the name of the Saskatchewan/Manitoba Centre for HIV/HCV/STBBI Research.
More information, including to sign up for a newsletter, can be found on Waniska’s website at www.waniskacentre.ca
You can also follow Waniska on social media @waniskacentre
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Most of our team lives and works on Treaty 6 territory and the Homeland of the Métis. The original peoples of these lands are the Cree, Saulteaux, Dene, Dakota, Lakota, Nakota, and Métis. Others are based in Vancouver, on the unceded lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples. We encourage everyone, wherever they are, to learn about the Indigenous people of the lands on which they live and work. We seek to become engaged allies together. In the spirit of truth and reconciliation, we respect the self-determination of First Nations, Métis and Inuit – in their cultures, languages and their pursuit of wellness.
© 2023 Pewaseskwan (the Indigenous Wellness Research Group) | Office of the Cameco Chair in Indigenous Health and Wellness, University of Saskatchewan.