Foundation chooses Greenwood for education, but her work contributes mightily to health

Dr. Margo Greenwood was presented Nov. 23 to the House of Commons in the Canadian Parliament as one of the 14 recipients of this year’s National Aboriginal Achievement Awards.

The list of recipients was released by the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation that same day.
“We are thrilled for her,” reads a statement from the National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health. Greenwood is the academic lead at the centre. She also directs a number of other research institutes, including the Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs, UNBC Task Force on Substance Abuse; and Aboriginal ActNow BC, a B.C. government-funded collaborative†health promotion initiative.

Greenwood is an Indigenous scholar of Cree ancestry with more than 20 years’ experience in the field of early childhood education, and is the foundation’s choice for an achievement award in the Education category, though her work crosses over into health.

She is engaged in post-secondary education intended to better the health and well-being of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children, families and communities.
Greenwood has been an expert advisor on more than 35 occasions and with such groups as the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF’s international committee for the development of the Indigenous Children’s Digest, the government of Canada’s Senate Subcommittee on Population Health, and the Office of the Children’s Advocate of BC.
She led the development of, and was a contributing author to, UNICEF Canada’s report “Leaving No Child Behind.” She has served on more than 50 provincial, national and international advisory committees and working groups.

In 2002, she was awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Metal for her lifetime work for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in Canada.

Greenwood was recognized for her outstanding career achievements as an educator and as a “remarkable Canadian” for her dedication and commitment to the health and well-being of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in Canada.

Dr. Malcolm King, Scientific Director of the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples Health, said Greenwood’s career and contributions are distinguished for crossing over the fields of education and health.

“These are inseparable aspects of our very existence when it comes to Aboriginal well-being. Margo sees these realities, and her many contributions attest to this. Research and education are, at base, extensions of how she lives her life.”

The significance of Greenwood’s work at the National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health is also being celebrated.

“We are delighted for Margo and celebrate the national leadership†role she plays†at our university. Her inspirational work links policy, research and practice to address the profound inequities in health and well-being in the Aboriginal peoples in Canada,” said Dr. George Iwama, president of the University of Northern B.C., which hosts the centre. “The impact of the work she does with her team and network is truly remarkable.”

The centre supports First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in realizing their public health goals and reducing the health inequities that currently exist for Aboriginal populations in Canada. Established in 2005, the centre uses a coordinated, holistic and comprehensive approach to the inclusion of Aboriginal peoples in the public health system, guided by a respect for Indigenous knowledge and for cultural, geographic and historical diversity.