Vanessa Ambtman Smith
Vanessa Ambtman Smith
Assistant Professor, Department of Geography & Environment and the Indigenous Studies Program
Email: vambtman@uwo.ca
Phone: 519.661.2111 x85103
Tansi! I am Vanessa Ambtman-Smith (Two Thunderbirds/Niizhbinesiik), an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment and the Indigenous Studies Program at Western University. My research explores how Indigenous healing practices can transform colonial healthcare institutions, with particular focus on Traditional Healing Spaces in hospital settings. As a decolonial scholar and Indigenous health researcher, I bring over 25 years of experience working at the intersection of Indigenous health leadership and institutional transformation.
My community-based research employs Indigenous methodologies and the framework of Environmental Repossession to understand how Indigenous knowledge systems can operate effectively within contemporary healthcare settings. I seek to support the reclamation of traditional healing and the creation of ethical spaces to support the delivery of Indigenous wholistic health in healthcare spaces. My vision is to support Indigenous health and wellbeing through research that contributes to meaningful reconciliation and improved health outcomes. I look forward to a day when my children no longer have to fight for their human rights in a hospital.
Research Interests
- Indigenous health geographies; Indigenous traditional healing spaces within a hospital context
Education
- BA from Trent University; Graduate Certificate from Royal Roads University in Leadership; current PhD Candidate at Western, in department of Geography and Environment
Awards
Community Honours
- Indigenous Mentorship Network Ontario Scholarship, 2018 and 2019
Student Scholarships & Honours
- Pierre Elliott Trudeau Doctoral Scholar, 2019–2022
- Vanier Graduate Scholarship, 2020-2023
- Dr. Valio Markkanen Indigenous Graduate Award for Academic Excellence, 2020
Current Teaching
- PhD supervisor is Dr. Chantelle Richmond; I teach IS2218 – Contemporary Indigenous Issues and GEO/IS 2412, a new course on Indigenous Health and Healthcare Environments.
Publications
Books
Ambtman-Smith, V., and Richmond, C.A. 2020. Reimagining Indigenous spaces of healing: institutional environmental repossession. TIJIH, 2020, 1(1), pp.27–36.
Ambtman-Smith, V., Wysocki, K., Bomberry, V., Reitmeier, V., and Nightengale, E. 2022. You can’t just bring people here and then not feed them: A case in support of Indigenous-led training environments. Environment and Planning J, 2(1-2), 56-76
Ambtman-Smith V., Crawford, A., D’Hondt, J., Lindstone, W., Linklater, R., Longboat, D., and Richmond, C.A. 2024. Incorporating First Nations, Inuit, and Métis traditional healing spaces within a hospital context: A place-based study of three unique spaces within Canada’s oldest and largest mental health hospital. IJERPH (forthcoming special issue)
Ambtman-Smith V., Wysocki, K., Bomberry, V., Reitmeier, V., and Nightengale, E. 2022. You can’t just bring people here and then not feed them: A case in support of Indigenous-led training environments. Environment and Planning J, 2(1-2), 56-76
