Bio
Randy Jackson is Anishinaabe from Kettle and Stony Point First Nation and has become an expert in HIV in Indigenous communities in Canada. Dissatisfied with existing research, which tended to focus excessively on pathologizing Indigenous people, Jackson works with communities to find a different perspective–one grounded in cultural world views. Jackson continues to study how Indigenous ways of knowing the world can influence lived experiences of HIV. By better understanding the role of culture in the lives of people living with HIV, Jackson reveals parts of the bigger picture of the sociological facets of human health. Jackson teaches courses in Aboriginal Health and Wellness and Community-Based Research methods, which are at the heart of his research. This community-based approach has broad implications and potential, providing new insights into how resilience – not just physical, but also spiritual, emotional and mental – can be grounded in Indigenous knowledge, community and world views. Jackson leads the Feast Centre for Indigenous STBBI Research.