2026 Cascadia Seminar in Medical Anthropology

Keynote Speaker #1: Dr. Gabrielle Legault

Indigenous Wellness in Action: Stories of Land, Culture, Community, and Identity

Abstract:
This keynote examines the inseparable connections between Land, identity, and wellness in Indigenous health, and how these relationships are often overlooked or constrained by colonial health systems. Drawing on community-engaged research with urban Indigenous youth and land-based healing initiatives, I will weave together stories to illustrate how Land functions as both a determinant of health and a site of cultural continuity, resilience, and community connection. Using a “story + theory” approach, I will offer a rethinking of familiar concepts such as place-making, embodiment, and structural violence through Indigenous perspectives that see Land as a living relation. Each story highlights the potential of Indigenous-led, land-based approaches to promote holistic health and identity reclamation, while also examining the policy and structural barriers that impede their implementation. This presentation will invite participants to expand health equity frameworks to include Land as a central analytic category and to consider the ethical and practical implications of supporting Indigenous self-determination in health research, policy, and practice.

Bio: Dr. Gabrielle Legault (she/her) is a Métis scholar whose research centres on Indigenous wellness and identity, with a focus on urban Indigenous, youth-led, and land-based initiatives. Gabrielle is an assistant professor in Indigenous Studies at UBC Okanagan in the department of Community, Culture, and Global Studies located in unceded Syilx Territory. She is committed to promoting Indigenous knowledge systems in health research and fostering collaboration that amplifies Indigenous perspectives in research and education.

Keynote Speaker #2: Dr. Elizabeth F. S. Roberts

Reconsidering Addiction:  An Ecological Approach to Dependency

Abstract:
For decades, Professor Elizabeth Roberts experienced the firsthand suffering wrought by addiction: her sister’s destructive alcoholism and dependency on prescription drugs, her mother’s hoarding, and her own struggles with binge eating. As for many of us, addiction involved self-loathing in the face of her failure at self-control. But during ethnographic fieldwork studying chemical exposure in Mexico City, Robert’s sense of addiction got turned upside down. She witnessed her neighbors, both young and old, defiantly celebrate their compulsive dependencies on alcohol, drugs, and junk food instead of hiding them in shame.  Roberts began to wonder if everything she thought she knew about addiction was wrong. In this Cascadia Seminar keynote, Roberts shares the unexpected research journey that led her to a new understanding of addiction.  Sharing insights from her years in Mexico City as well as from addiction researchers, harm reduction activists, philosophers and anthropologists, Roberts analyzes how our historical disdain for dependency, and larger ecologies, like Drug Wars and NAFTA, fuel so much of the damage of addiction.  Key to Roberts’ reconsideration of addiction is the examination of her Mexico City neighbors’ distinction between addictions that connect and vices that isolate, which she movingly integrates with stories from her own family’s struggles with dependency.

Bio: Elizabeth F. S. Roberts is professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan and the author of In Praise of Addiction: Or How We Can Learn to Love Dependency in a Damaged World. Since 2013, she has participated in collaborative environmental health research in Mexico City.

We invite submissions of abstracts by 11:59pm Pacific on Wednesday, October 15, 2025.

To submit, please email your abstract to CascadiaSeminar2026@gmail.com with ABSTRACT SUBMISSION in the subject line. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by November 15, 2025.

Flash Talks
We invite abstract submissions of 150-250 words for quick research overviews, community notes, or provocations to be presented as 5-minute flash presentations. Flash talks will be organized into thematic sessions by the organizing committee to prompt larger discussions and reflections during the Seminar. Flash talks should be submitted individually.

Author-Meets-Critics Sessions
We invite abstract submissions of 150-250 words for Author-Meets-Critic book review sessions. Books must have been published in 2024 or 2025 and should clearly engage with medical anthropology, global or public health, and/or science and technology studies. Submissions should include the complete book title, publisher, publication date, and the names of 2-3 other Cascadia Seminar attendees who have agreed to provide 5-minutes of comments on the book. Q & A will follow these sessions.

Posters and Installations
We invite abstract submissions for posters and (small) installations. Using a combination of visuals and text, these formats allow the opportunity to present research in a multi-modal way and to speak informally with interested viewers. Posters and installations will be displayed around the Seminar meeting room at the library. Sessions will be organized for poster and installation creators to speak briefly (5-min) about their work.

Posters: Posters present a visual summary of a research project (printed on a single large sheet (A0 or similar)) and contain text, figures, images, and diagrams — all optimized for quick comprehension. Submissions for posters should include a title and abstract of 150-250 words.

Installations: Installations are designed to be experienced rather than merely read. Installations involve spatial, often multi-sensory and experiential presentation of ideas or research. They may include physical objects, soundscapes, video loops, interactive components, or even performance elements.  We have room for a few installations. Submissions for installations should include a title and an abstract of 300-350 words. There is a higher word requirement for installation abstracts to accommodate important information about any set-up, spatial, or technical requirements.

Roundtables and Dialogue Sessions
We invite abstract submissions of 150-250 words for roundtables and/or dialogue sessions taking a more conversational format and not requiring formal papers.

Roundtables: Roundtables typically involve participants who each give brief opening remarks after which a moderator poses questions and then the conversation opens up to the audience. The emphasis is on thematic discussion rather than formal presentations. Roundtables work best when participants have overlapping but distinct perspectives on a common issue.

Dialogue sessions: Dialogue sessions typically center on just two (or sometimes three) participants who are in extended conversation with each other, moderated very lightly or not at all. These sessions can be pre-scripted (e.g., each person poses prepared questions to the other) or more spontaneous. The audience role is secondary until the conversation concludes; then Q&A opens. Dialogue sessions feel more intimate and focused, like listening in on a private discussion between two thinkers.

Proposals for roundtables and dialogue sessions should include at least 1 organizer and 2-5 participants, as well as a title and abstract for the roundtable / dialogue session. Individual participants do not need to submit individual paper titles or abstracts. These sessions may be followed by a larger discussion / reflection with all Seminar attendees or organizers may choose to build such dialogue into their session format directly. Please indicate your preference for audience engagement in your abstract submission.

Note: Two New Ways to Participate!

Workshops
This is a special activity that will be held on Thursday afternoon, as a pre-Seminar activity! It will be open to everyone, but advanced registration will be required to keep numbers manageable.

Workshop proposals should focus on a single aspect of a specific topic within the field of medical anthropology and provide opportunities for attendees to gain knowledge, skills, or expertise in an area relevant to their work. Workshop submissions should have at least 1 organizer and a 250-400 words summary/overview that includes: the objectives, format, duration, any spatial or technical requirements, and a statement on the import/timeliness of the topic.

Please note that we only have space/time for one workshop so these submissions will be competitive. Interested workshop organizers are encouraged to reach out to the chairs of the organizing committee (Laura Meek and Susan Erikson) to discuss their ideas in advance. We will prioritize workshops that are place-based, timely, and that speak to this year’s Seminar theme, Multiple Futures: Intergenerational Voices and Global Connections. 

Community Engagement Events

We welcome proposals for community engagement events that foster dialogue between medical anthropologists and local communities and that promote inclusivity. Proposals should clearly outline the event’s goals, format, and relevance to medical anthropological themes. Events may take place on- or off-site and should be designed to be as accessible as possible. Submissions should include at least 1 organizer, the name and contact information for the community group/organization/partner, and a 200-400 words description of the proposed community engagement event.

Please note that we only have space/time for one or two community engagement events at the Seminar so these submissions will be competitive. Interested organizers are encouraged to reach out to the chairs of the organizing committee (Laura Meek and Susan Erikson) to discuss their ideas in advance. We will prioritize community engagement events that are place-based, timely, and that speak to this year’s Seminar theme, Multiple Futures: Intergenerational Voices and Global Connections.

Please submit abstracts no later than 11:59pm Pacific on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, emailed to CascadiaSeminar2026@gmail.com with ABSTRACT SUBMISSION in the subject line. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by November 15, 2025.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Registration is required of all participants—this will help us to keep numbers manageable. To register, please email CascadiaSeminar2026@gmail.com by April 1, 2026 with REGISTRATION in the subject line. Include your name, email address, and institutional affiliation.

We’re committed to hosting an accessible seminar, with an emphasis on in-person networking. Please reach out to us at CascadiaSeminar2026@gmail.com to share any accessibility needs and we will do our best to accommodate.

Presenters:

• Bring your presentation materials on a portable USB drive and a few print copies, including a large-print copy (17-pt. font or larger). Be prepared to make materials available to audience members if needed for accessibility purposes.
• If showing slides, use a high contrast color scheme and sans-serif font.
• If playing video, please include captioning.
• Provide audio description of images, charts, and other visuals used in your presentation.

Additional information about accessibility at the venue will be posted here by 2026.

Directions to/from airport and North Vancouver City Library to be posted here by 2026.

Information about nearby accommodation to be posted here by 2026.