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 niizhobinesiik (Two Thunderbirds) and a member of the Thunderbird Clan. I’m of mixed ancestry (Nehiyaw and Métis), and my roots are in the Great Plains (Treaty 6 territory). I’m a wife and a mother to two beautiful children- Carter, 11 and Carolena, 78 As a 60’s scooper and Indigenous adoptee, I was raised within a Dutch and Trinidadian family, living in both Alberta and Manitoba. These diverse influences have shaped who I am today. Through a purposeful journey as a facilitator walking between two worlds, I have worked in the field of Indigenous health for the past 22 years. I seek to be a catalyst for change, and have cultivated a skill set rooted in advocacy, health equity, Indigenous cultural safety and anti-racism, community engagement and leadership. I nurture connections and opportunities to enhance Indigenous inclusion and well-being through many capacities and dimensions, from research to strategic planning and participation in many critical touch points.
I was the first Indigenous woman to be appointed to the London Police Services Board (2017-2019) and served on the Mayor’s Poverty Panel for the City of London. I support ongoing Indigenous planning across Ontario, and have held key roles at a national level, including facilitation in the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and QTIPLGB2S (2018- 2019), and as a member of the Steering Committee to create a national Indigenous Health Policy Framework. In January 2020, I was appointed by the President of Western University to sit on their Anti-Racism Working Group as a graduate student.
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
