Mobilizing Truth & Action: SHRF Grant Recipients Strengthen Indigenous and Community Projects

Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) is proud to announce new recipients of the 2025-26 Mobilize Truth & Action grant. This funding supports Indigenous and community-driven projects that advance reconciliation, strengthen relationships, and create meaningful action through knowledge sharing.

SHRF invested in 6 projects for 2025-26, each receiving $10,000 to mobilize knowledge in ways that strengthen health, community, and cultural well-being.

About the Mobilize Truth & Action Grant

The Mobilize Grant is designed to increase the sharing of knowledge in ways that are accessible and useful for a range of audiences, helping to inform health practices, programs, and policies.

The Mobilize Truth & Action Grant specifically responds to the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Funding supports projects that share knowledge and stories, highlight Indigenous ways of knowing, create cross-cultural and generational exchanges, and guide culturally responsive health care. Together, these projects contribute to healthier and more connected communities in Saskatchewan.

The Funded Projects

Revitalizing 'From Stilettos to Moccasins'

Colleen Dell, University of Saskatchewan, College of Arts & Science

Sharon Acoose, First Nations University of Canada

$10,000

Project Summary

‘Revitalizing From Stilettos to Moccasins' is a province-wide initiative proposed by the Aboriginal Friendship Centres of Saskatchewan (AFCS), in partnership with Dr. Dell and Dr. Acoose. This new workshop builds on the findings of a 2009 CIHR-funded study that addressed Indigenous women’s substance use and criminal justice involvement through a trauma-informed, culturally grounded approach. That work produced publications and a workshop rooted in Indigenous knowledge and an accompanying song and music video that reached over 35,000 online views and 15,000 DVD distributions, sparking dialogue and reducing stigma. The AFCS now seeks to revitalize that knowledge mobilization workshop to reflect contemporary realities by integrating gender diversity, Two Spirit identities, and more-than-human relations (land and animal). This project aims to empower the workshop participants through cultural reconnection and healing. The revised workshop will be delivered multiple times at all 11 AFCS locations through a train-the-trainer model, advancing TRC Call to Action #36.

Indigenous Saskatchewan Women's Environmental Water Advocacy Keepers: ISKWĒWAK

Cari McIlduff, University of Saskatchewan, College of Medicine

John Bosco Acharibasam, University of Saskatchewan, College of Medicine

$10,000

Project Summary

Ignited by a shared responsibility for land stewardship, a grassroots organizations of Indigenous Peoples is calling for action to advocate for the health of the Saskatchewan River Delta. Our team, under the leadership of community partners from Cumberland House and Star Blanket Cree Nation, has co-created a water advocacy movement in response to the ongoing water crises. The movement, named the Indigenous Saskatchewan Women's Environmental Water Advocacy Keepers (ISKWĒWAK), aims to engage the public in a series of knowledge mobilization events to raise awareness of the water crisis. The project’s objective is to support Cumberland House, a predominantly First Nation and Métis community in Northern Saskatchewan, as research partners to unite with like-minded communities and allies in strengthening a collective voice for water advocacy and protection. Specific objectives include raising awareness of the environmental degradation affecting the Saskatchewan River Delta and its impact on Indigenous communities, creating space for international Indigenous knowledge exchange, developing public-facing knowledge mobilization tools, including visual art and documentary film, and supporting student training and mentorship in Indigenous community-based participatory research and advocacy.

Parenting in the Storm - 2 Day Parenting Workshop for Families Affected by Addiction

Daniel Hearn, Graydan James Foundation Inc.

$10,000

Project Summary

Parenting in the Storm is a two-day, peer-led workshop supporting Indigenous parents in a northern Saskatchewan community who are navigating their relationship with substances, trauma, and family healing. Grounded in lived experience and guided by reconciliation principles, the workshop fosters healthier co-parenting, improved communication, and emotional safety through experiential learning and storytelling. With the presence of Elders, cultural supports, and trauma-informed facilitation, parents reconnect with themselves and their communities while building skills to break cycles and model healing. This initiative upholds Indigenous ways of knowing and responds to TRC Calls to Action around parenting and culturally appropriate healing programs.

Navigating Landscapes of Wellness Alongside Two-Spirit and IndigiQueer Youth at the ta-tawâw Student Success Centre

Michael Dubnewick, University of Regina, Faculty of Kinesiology & Health Studies

$10,000

Project Summary

This application is to support the co-creation of regular wellness programming alongside Indigenous Two-Spirit and IndigiQueer young people at the ta-tawâw Student Success Centre on the University of Regina campus. Specifically, this grant will support the facilitation of youth-led and youth-determined monthly wellness programs that work towards creating culturally safe(r) and relevant wellness engagements for Indigenous Two-Spirit and IndigiQueer on campus.

Building Relationships and Establishing Reciprocity between Saskatchewan Indigenous Communities and the Department of Indigenous Health and Wellness

Janet Tootoosis, University of Saskatchewan, College of Medicine

$10,000

Project Summary

The College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan has established an administrative home for Indigenous Health and Wellness through the development of the Department of Indigenous Health and Wellness. This department will build capacity to effectively respond to the TRC calls to action, specifically those related to health. Addressing the goals of the department will require a community-first perspective. Indigenous voices will lead our work in all areas, including academics, research, policy and administrative duties, and all outcomes will be conducted in a respectful manner that considers aspects of truth and reconciliation. The goals of this project are to achieve authentic community engagement by developing a network of Indigenous community members to provide experience and expertise in the advancement of educational programming in Indigenous Health to ensure the work is grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and doing.

Food Sovereignty as Food Literacy: Activities for School Food Programming

Rachel Engler-Stringer, University of Saskatchewan, College of Medicine

$10,000

Project Summary

In 2024, the Government of Canada launched a National School Food Program and Policy. As school food programs expand with new national funding, they require practical, evidence-based resources. We have created a five-part School Food Program Development Guide, a comprehensive resource to help build sustainable, effective programs.

There is a need for more culturally relevant resources for Indigenous schools and educators. We will develop a supplemental resource that focuses on themes of Indigenous food sovereignty, traditional food knowledge, and land-based learning. This supplement will offer lesson ideas, curriculum connections, and real-world examples to integrate Indigenous perspectives and practices into food literacy education.

The supplement will be freely available and incorporated into the School Food Program Development Guide. We will collaborate with Indigenous organizations to host in-person and virtual knowledge-sharing sessions. We aim to support Indigenous schools in developing food literacy initiatives that reflect their traditions, values, and ways of knowing.