Topic of discussion: Reciprocity holds different meanings and is shaped by culture, experience, relationships, and context. To engage in reciprocity means practicing an everyday ethic of considering how our actions and thoughts contribute to the wellness of the people, communities, nations, non-human kin, and lands we engage with today, and those who may feel the impacts of our influence for generations to come. Reciprocity also requires questioning assumptions about who is considered the learner and who is considered the holder of expertise. Novelty: Reciprocity has the potential to transform the ways we conduct research and provide care in psychology. Given the Indigenous Peoples Section's focus on reciprocity, this conversation circle will offer an opportunity to gather to deepen and extend this dialogue by weaving our perspectives together. Purpose: In this circle, we will weave our understandings of reciprocity together to develop a fuller sense of how reciprocity can strengthen psychological research and care in Indigenous communities and beyond. Through story-sharing, we will explore the importance of reciprocity and the risks that arise when it is absent; consider ways to enact everyday reciprocity; and reflect on how reciprocity extends to our non-human kin. Attendees will be invited to share their perspectives. Relevance: This conversation circle will foster ongoing reflection on how the discipline of psychology can nurture an ethic of reciprocity to strengthen research and clinical practice with Indigenous communities in Canada.
Christopher Mushquash, HBSc., M.A., Ph.D., LL.D. (h.c.), FRSC, C.Psych. (Ontario), is Anishinawbe (Ojibway), and a member of Pawgwasheeng (Pays Plat First Nation). He began his academic career at Lakehead University in September 2011 and is a Full Professor in the Department of Psychology, and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, Clinical Psychologist at Dilico Anishinabek Family Care, Vice President Research at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, Chief Scientist and Chief Operating Officer at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute, and Director of the Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research at Lakehead University. Dr. Mushquash was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in November 2025. He is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Mental Health and Addiction, with expertise in rural and northern clinical practice and the development of culturally appropriate interventions for mental health and addiction difficulties in First Nations children, adolescents, and adults. Dr. Mushquash previously served as the chair of the CIHR Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health Institute Advisory Board. During the COVID-19 emergency, he was appointed to the Ontario COVID-19 Science Table and Co-Chaired the Mental Health Working Group. In December 2022, he was named to the Ontario Public Health Emergencies Science Advisory Committee. Through these, and other appointments, he champions at national, provincial, regional, and local levels, culturally and contextually-appropriate mental health and addiction services for First Nations peoples, and rural and northern communities. He has 120 peer-reviewed articles, 6 peer-reviewed book chapters, and 62 other reports, articles, commentaries, and non-peer-reviewed publications. In 2023, Dr. Mushquash received the Canada Gairdner Momentum Prize and the Indspire Award in Health.
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