Mathieu Morin-Robertson, a Pekuakamulnuatsh from Mashteuiatsh, is an Indigenous navigator at Médecins du Monde Canada. He has been engaged in various local and international projects, promoting a culturally safer and more respectful approach to health and intervention for Indigenous peoples through his experience with elders and collaboration with other communities.

In Canada, Indigenous peoples are overrepresented among the homeless population, especially in urban areas, due to the legacy of colonialism, including land dispossession, residential schools, systemic racism, and forced assimilation policies. The intergenerational trauma from these practices has led to their marginalization in various domains, including healthcare access. In Montreal, Indigenous individuals experiencing homelessness face specific barriers, such as the lack of culturally appropriate services, discrimination, stigma, complicating their access to safe and appropriate care.
This presentation will focus on the Indigenous navigation project of Médecins du Monde Canada in Montreal, designed to reduce healthcare barriers for Indigenous individuals experiencing homelessness and to create a safer, more suitable environment for their realities.
By adopting a holistic and culturally appropriate approach to health, navigation reinforces harm reduction (HR) by considering the various challenges faced by Indigenous communities. Navigators leverage their experiential knowledge to transform the colonial models through alternative practices that better meet the needs of these communities, focusing on real needs observed on the ground.
Inspired by Indigenous community practices, the initiative fosters collaboration between navigators, healthcare providers, and community organizations. Navigators build trusting relationships by addressing individuals’ physical health, experiences, and social and emotional well-being, contributing create support networks, improving care access, and raising awareness within the healthcare system about Indigenous realities, fostering a more inclusive environment.
A key partnership with a doctor from the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal has established safe care corridors for substance users often excluded from mainstream services. This model combines medical knowledge with Indigenous experiential wisdom, fostering trust between patients and healthcare staff.
Despite progress, applying harm reduction in Indigenous contexts remains challenging due to negative perceptions around substance use. The project emphasizes the need for humility, adaptability, and respect for individual rhythms, requiring continuous engagement and sensitivity to the community's realities.