Amplifying Indigenous voice and curriculum within the public health academy – the emergence of Indigenous sovereign leadership in public health education

ABSTRACT

In April 2019, educators from around Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Australia came together to share their experiences of teaching Indigenous public health. The inaugural International Indigenous Public Health Education Leadership Symposium provided an opportunity to (i) discuss the range of challenges of this work, and (ii) to affirm a collective aspiration to strengthen the contribution of public health education to improved Indigenous outcomes. Talking across the borders of individual institutions, distinct cultures and nations enabled a rich conversation about the interface of health and Indigenous education. We explored the twin agendas of decolonisation and indigenisation, meeting the respective needs of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, and how to best mobilise Indigenous public health leadership. This article will outline the discussion that unfolded and that led to the establishment of an inclusive Australia/Aotearoa/South Pacific Indigenous public health education entity and network.

KEYWORDS:

• Indigenous health
• public health
• education
• curriculum
• decolonisation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).