April 23 - Ethics in Indigenous Research: Closing the Gap in Sweden

Julie Baldwin is the Executive Director of the Center for Community Health and Engaged Research (CHER) and a Regents’ Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Northern Arizona University (NAU).

She was inducted into the National Academy of Medicine in 2023. As a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, she has made a life-long commitment to advocating for health promotion programs for children, adolescents, elders, and families.

Elizabeth Rink is a Professor of Community Health in the Department of Human Development and Community Health, College of Education, Health and Human Development at Montana State University.

Her research addresses mental health, substance use, and reproductive health disparities. She collaborates with Indigenous communities in Montana and the Arctic, focusing on the integration of Indigenous methodologies, mixed-methods approaches, multilevel interventions, and participatory research ethics.

Jon Petter Stoor  (PikkuNilsá Ánde Biehtár) is a Sámi and Swedish clinical psychologist and researcher, born in Giron as part of Laeváš čearru, and Assistant Professor of Indigenous public health at Umeå University. His work bridges the social and medical sciences with a focus on Sámi health in Sweden and Norway, including suicide prevention, youth wellbeing, and population-based health studies.

He is one of the founders of the research group Lávvuo - Research and Education for Sámi health.

Sanna Valkonen is a Sámi scholar from Northern Finland. She is a Professor of Sámi research at the University of Lapland and an Adjunct Professor of research on Sámi society at the Giellagas Institute (University of Oulu).  
She’s specialized in developing the field of social scientific Sámi research, drawing on community-based engagement, and director of the Centre of Excellence for Multibeing Justice in Indigenous Societies, funded by the Research Council of Finland. Her current research focuses on Sámi political thought. 

Christina Storm Mienna is the Director of Várdduo - Centre for Sámi Research and Associate Professor of Odontology at the Faculty of Medicine, Umeå University. Her research interests focus on Indigenous health and wellbeing. She serves as a board member on the Research Committee at Sámi Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Mental Health and Substance Use (SANKS) and the Research ethical committee at Sámi University of Applied Sciences in Norway. 

She represents Sweden in the Arctic Council’s SDWG Arctic Human Health Expert Group (AHHEG) and in IASC Standing Committee on Indigenous Involvement. She is a member of NordForsk working group on guidelines for Indigenous research.

Per Axelsson is an Associate Professor of History at Umeå University. His research and teaching interests primarily focus on Sámi health, medical history, and Indigenous research. He has also published on the history of polio epidemics and the development, role, and identity formation of population statistics in society.  

He is a founding member of GIDA Sápmi, serves as a teacher representative on the University Board at Umeå University and is a scientific member of the Swedish Ethical Review Authority.