I engage in research that is collaborative, grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and address needs identified by Indigenous peoples, communities and nations. Below are some of the projects that I am involved in:
Principal Investigator (2021-2026). The Waasegiizhig Nanaandawe’iyewigamig Mino-Bimaadiziwin Project: Cancer Prevention through Traditional Healing. Funded by CIHR/GACD.
Working from the standpoint that settler colonialism is a determinant of Indigenous health, this project seeks to prevent cancer through traditional healer practitioner appointments and seasonal medicine camps in the Kenora area. This project is conducted in partnership with Waasegiizhig Nanaandawe’iyewigamig Health Access Centre (WNHAC).
Principal Investigator (2021-2023). Working Toward Self Determination Together: Indigenous Research and Data Governance in Canada, Ecuador and Mexico. Funded by SSHRC, Connections Grant.
Principal Investigator (2021-2023). Indigenizing Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR): Exploring how post-secondary institutions can recognize Indigenous community-based knowledge during credit and degree-granting processes. Funded by ONCAT.
Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) is a process whereby students may obtain credits for knowledge and skills that they have acquired outside of an accredited institution from formal or informal environments. The two main aspects of PLAR are: 1. identifying prior learning that is equivalent to learning that occurs within an accredited institution; and, 2. Evaluating if prior learning has met the threshold of equivalency. The project, conducted in partnership with Nokiiwin Tribal Council and Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment & Training Services (KKETS) will explore how post-secondary institutions can recognize Indigenous community-based knowledge during credit and degree granting processes, as well as the readiness of institutions to do so
Principal Investigator. (2020-2022). The Indigenous Food Guide Project. Funded by Lakehead University SSHRC Explore Fund: Indigenous Research Capacity Development (IRCD) grant program.
Conducted in partnership with WNHAC this project seeks to support the creation and implementation of an Indigenous food guide that is grounded in Indigenous traditional knowledges.
Co-Principal Investigator. (2019-2024). Educating for Equity: Building Culturally Safe Care through Indigenous Narratives. Funded by CIHR, Project Grant.
This project examines two health service hubs for Indigenous peoples in Ontario: Thunder Bay and London to support the implementation of targeted local strategies of relationship building, health service provider education and policy work that can bring about systemic change to ensure that First Nations, Inuit, Métis peoples have improved access to and experiences with health care services. This project is conducted in partnership with many health service providers and/or Indigenous organizations in Ontario.
Dr. Lana Ray 