Ndoo bi na na Ning/ Yethiya’táhkwa (We Lift Them Up) Indigenous Health Leadership Program
Ndoo bi na na Ning/ Yethiya’táhkwa (We Lift Them Up) is an innovative, Indigenous-led health leadership program aimed at empowering First Nations, Inuit, and Métis health leaders. The Indigenous Health Learning Lodge introduces Ndoo bi na na Ning/ Yethiya’tah Kwa (We Lift Them Up), a regional initiative led by Indigenous health leaders intending to address the unique challenges faced by Indigenous health care providers and administrators.
Currently in a discovery and pilot phase, We Lift Them Up seeks to empower Indigenous clinical and community practitioners in health leadership roles. The program aims to build and strengthen leadership among Indigenous health professionals in a culturally immersive way, fostering knowledge and skills rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing and being.
The phrase “We lift them up” in English, and translated into the Anishinaabemowin and Mohawk, encapsulates our approach to leadership within Indigenous contexts and values. The name We Lift Them Up evokes our intended goal of collaboratively empowering Indigenous clinical and community practitioners in health leadership roles.
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Anishinaabe Ndoo bi na na Ning |
Mohawk Yethiya’táhkwa |
We Lift Them Up is a concept that is in relation to Indigenous values in how we relate to each other from diverse Indigenous perspectives as leaders. We encourage interested participants to explore the concept of “we lift them up” from within their own understandings and cultural contexts.
About the 2025 Program
The 2025 -2026 program is accepting applications now until December 16th 2025 (extended deadline). For application information for the 2025 program please email ihll@mcmaster.ca by December 16th. For program details for future cohorts, please submit an expression of interest via the form, and you will be contacted by the IHLL.
The Ndoo bi na na Ning/ Yethiya’táhkwa (We Lift Them Up) program runs from January 2025 to January 2026 and includes a 3-day retreat from January 28th-30th on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory followed by a 1-year health leadership mentorship period with an Indigenous community and health systems leader. Mentors and Mentees in this program will be supported to engage in a reciprocal and non-hierarchical “Helper” relationship over the course of the program. Additionally, interactive workshops and other learning opportunities intend to foster a supportive environment for personal and professional growth.
The program will draw on diverse Indigenous ways of knowing and learning methodologies. For example: circle process, land-based learning and traditional teachings from Elders and Knowledge Helpers. This approach provides opportunities for participants to explore the space between their existing role as clinical practitioners, learners and/or leaders and a cultural revitalized role that is grounded in their own expression of Indigeneity. Program leads will be drawn from McMaster health administration, business and policy programs and Indigenous communities.
Through this pilot, the Indigenous Health Learning Lodge seeks to strengthen Indigenous health leadership, promote self-determination in health practices, and create sustainable pathways for future health initiatives with and for Indigenous health leaders.
How to Apply
Those interested in participating as a Mentee in the program are invited to submit an initial expression of interest via the form. The IHLL will reach out via email to those that submit via the form with the full application, for future program cohorts.