Inuvik’s Crystal Lennie appointed to national health council

Inuvik’s Crystal Lennie appointed to national health council

Lennie is one of 16 members overseeing health research funding agency

Growing up in Inuvik, Crystal Lennie dreamed of becoming a medical doctor. Though she never went to medical school, Lennie is helping advance health care in her community and across the country as a new appointee of a national health council.

Lennie is one of 16 members of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Governing Council — a decision-making body that oversees Canada’s health research funding agency. She said she was excited to learn about her appointment last month.

“I am very much focused on getting the data that's within our communities and hoping that that data will then direct policy change, such as food security, homelessness, housing, anything that will make the quality of life better for northerners and Indigenous people,” Lennie said.

Once a high school dropout, Lennie decided to go back to school after watching her friends graduate. She then knocked off three grades of high school in a single year, got a business diploma and eventually a masters degree in public health and health promotion.

She has experience with other national committees and councils like Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami’s National Inuit Committee on Health, the Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada and the Inuit Public Health Task Group where she served as co-chair. She has also contributed to other national Indigenous health initiatives and community-led research.

Lennie said she wants more Indigenous communities to lead research processes and use the findings to advance their own priorities and goals.

She also said she wants to see more recognition for community members that help collect research data.

“We get a lot of students and researchers and they're able to collect the data. But I would like to see more recognition to the local knowledge and the Indigenous knowledge that's provided.”

In a news release announcing Lennie’s appointment, Canada’s Health Minister Marjorie Michel said Lennie brings "a valuable perspective based on her community health and advocacy work for the people of the North." Michel said Lennie will help ensure health research in Canada reflects the needs of the people and communities it serves.

In an email, a spokesperson with CIHR said that Lennie's appointment "adds important northern and Inuit perspectives to CIHR’s Governing Council and contributes to the diversity of experience represented on the Council."

Lennie said she hopes that her appointment inspires young people in the North to pursue health care.

“You can also be that game changer on national platforms,” she said.

Natalie Pressman is a senior writer with CBC North based in Yellowknife. Reach her at: natalie.pressman@cbc.ca.