The Indigenous Health Initiative (formerly the Aboriginal Health Initiative) emerged as a response to the anticipated document, A Special Obligation; Report of the Presidential Task Force on Aboriginal Initiatives. In October 2008, Memorial’s Faculty of Medicine began a project supported by the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nation Chiefs’ Secretariat entitled Making Memorial’s Faculty of Medicine a Better Place for Aboriginal Students. The objective of the project was to make the Faculty of Medicine more inclusionary for students from various First Nations/Inuit/Métis communities, by focusing on two key areas: (a) Developing pathway programs and services designed to recruit more Indigenous learners into the Faculty of Medicine; and (b) Helping the Faculty of Medicine become a more enriching place for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaners. This involves advancing the understanding of Indigenous health and developing spaces for Indigenous knowledge, practices, and gatherings. Since 2010, the initiative has been funded entirely as a core program of the Faculty of Medicine.

The mandate of the Indigenous Health Initiative is to:

• Support the development, and facilitate the delivery of, curriculum content in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education to raise awareness and ensure learners meet expected competencies relating to Indigenous health
• Enhance understanding and respect for Indigenous ways of being, learning and doing
• Promote skills for culturally responsive research and practice
• Develop and implement policies and specific programs to increase entry of learners from Indigenous communities to the undergraduate and postgraduate medical programs
• Support the development and maintenance of respectful partnerships with Indigenous communities in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and beyond

The Indigenous Health Initiative is directed by an advisory committee comprised of members from the Indigenous communities, students, key staff, and faculty.