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Rose-Alma J. McDonald, a member of the Native American Mohawk tribe, will be on the Western Illinois University campus Wednesday, April 30, to deliver the keynote address for Western's commemoration of Minority Health Month 2014. McDonald will present, "A Native American/First Nations Inter-Nation-al Perspective on Indigenous Health," at 5 p.m. April 30 in Stipes Hall 121.
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Minority Health Month Keynote Speaker April 30: Native American/Bi-National Rose McDonald

April 10, 2014

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MACOMB, IL – Rose-Alma J. McDonald, a member of the Native American Mohawk tribe, will be on the Western Illinois University campus later this month to deliver the keynote address for Western's commemoration of Minority Health Month 2014. This year, the theme for the annual April celebration at Western is "Coming Together for a Healthier You."

McDonald will present, "A Native American/First Nations Inter-Nation-al Perspective on Indigenous Health," at 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 30 in Stipes Hall 121.

According to WIU Department of Health Sciences Interim Chair and Chair of Western's Minority Health Month Planning Committee Lorette Oden, this will be the first time in Western's history the Minority Health Month keynote speaker is Native American. The presentation will give a general overview of indigenous health from a Native American (U.S.) and First Nations (Canadian) perspective.

"It will also be the first time we will have a bi-national speaker," Hal Marchand, associate professor in health sciences and member of the Minority Health Month planning committee, noted. "Dr. McDonald is a Mohawk woman who resides on the only reservation in North America that borders two countries—two Canadian provinces, Ontario and Quebec, and one state, New York, in the U.S."

Speaker Background
McDonald has served for more 35 years as a professional consultant, technical writer, researcher, facilitator and social reformer. She is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and a permanently certified teacher and school administrator. She is respected and well known globally for her advocacy efforts. Through her work, she has represented over 633 First Nations in Canada on national policy issues related to health, education, languages, social development, disability, injury prevention, child care and social security reform. McDonald has represented more than 500 tribes in the U.S. on national policy issues related to education, labor market training and skills acquisition for disadvantaged populations along with economic, community and jurisdictional development. McDonald has also been responsible for presentations and research related to Indigenous issues in Australia, New Zealand, Russia and Malaysia and has been responsible for facilitating collaborative efforts with global partners that include the World Health Organization and United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues.

For more information, contact Marchand at (309) 298-1076 or via email at H-Marchand@wiu.edu.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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