About me
Karen Blondin Hall (she/her/hers) is Sahtúgot’ine and a Délın̨ę beneficiary, born and raised in Yellowknife, NWT. As the Director of Cultural Safety and Anti-Racism at the GNWT’s Department of Health and Social Services, she draws upon over a decade of experience to lead the research, development, and implementation of the NWT health and social services’ (HSS) strategy for embedding cultural safety and anti-racism.
Karen’s early exposure to Indigenous healing practices by her mother, a residential school survivor, laid the foundation for her journey toward racial justice in healthcare, a commitment that gained momentum when she encountered the concept of cultural safety during her undergraduate studies. Karen earned a BSc in Health Promotion from Dalhousie University and an MA in Studies in Policy and Practice from the University of Victoria. Her MA thesis, titled "Developing a Cultural Safety Intervention for Clinicians: Process Evaluation of a Pilot Study in the Northwest Territories," played a pivotal role in shaping the ground-breaking NWT HSS Cultural Safety and Anti-Racism training, now a mandatory component for all HSS staff.
Beyond her work responsibilities, Karen demonstrates an unwavering commitment to enhancing Indigenous health. She currently serves on the Institute of Indigenous People’s Health Advisory Board at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and has contributed to several academic texts including a sociology textbook and chapter in the book "Indigenous Research: Theories, Practices, and Relationships”. Additionally, Karen is an alumna from the Jane Glassco Northern Fellowship, spanning the years 2010 to 2012.
