WAIT HOLY FUCK IT GETS BETTER

THERE WAS TRUST IN PLACE BECAUSE A PROMINENT INDIGENOUS SCHOLAR WAS INVOLVED

AND THEN

A decade ago, Bourassa was a professor at First Nations University. She was considered to be a leading Indigenous scholar and a rising star in academia.

In 2013, she partnered with Hardt to submit the ethics application to the University of Regina. The U of R reviews all ethics applications for First Nations University because it is a federated college of the U of R.

“If you’re an Indigenous person, why would you think it would be OK to do research like this?” LaVallee said.

In 2017, shortly after the study concluded, Bourassa was appointed the scientific director of the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), which funds much of the Indigenous health research in the country.

In 2021, a CBC investigation found no evidence to support Bourassa’s claims to Indigenous ancestry. She was immediately suspended from her role at CIHR and was dismissed weeks after the story broke.

THIS STORY HAS EVERYTHING HOLY FUCK