Students in all programs at MSVU are invited to advance their Indigenous learning journeys by registering for a new course to be offered by the Department of Aging and Family Science this fall (2026).
This Special Topics course called Indigenous Perspectives on Aging and Wellbeing explores Indigenous approaches to aging and wellness across Canadian and global contexts, with a focus on relationality, community knowledge, and land-based practices. It will be taught by Métis sociologist Dr. Kaitlyn Obedzinski Kuryk. Kaitlyn’s PhD research examined the medicalization of private spaces and its impacts on older adults and their caregivers. She has been a Research Assistant and then Postdoctoral Fellow on the Home Care Pathways research project with the Nova Scotia Centre on Aging since 2018. She has also previously taught part-time in Aging and Family Science at MSVU.
Through life-course and social-ecological models, the course will examine holistic understandings of health that integrate physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions. It will consider the effects of colonialism and health inequities while highlighting Indigenous resilience, kinship, and community-led approaches to elder care and well-being. It’s a valuable addition to the department’s course offerings and presents a meaningful learning opportunity for students across degree programs.
The course is open to both undergraduate students and graduate students. The undergraduate course number is AGFS 4481.18 and the graduate course number is GAFS 6650.18.
Pre-requisites for undergraduate students: any 5 units of previous study or permission of the instructor (contact the instructor: Kaitlyn.Kuryk@MSVU.CA).
Register now via myMount (log-in required)
Photo caption: David Chartrand, President of the Manitoba Metis Federation (at left with the mic), speaking to Dr. Kaitlyn Obedzinski Kuryk’s great-aunt Rosalie Dreilich (nee Boucher)
About the instructor
Kaitlyn Obedzinski Kuryk, PhD, is a Métis sociologist and fiddler specializing in caregiving, aging and family caregivers, and Home Care Services. She completed her PhD in 2025 at the University of Manitoba, where her research examined the medicalization of private spaces and its impacts on older adults and their caregivers.
Dr. Obedzinski Kuryk is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Home Care Pathways Project at Mount Saint Vincent University. She began as a Research Assistant on the project in 2018 before transitioning into a Postdoctoral Fellow role. Her work uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to explore care experiences, health policy, and equity in health and wellness. She has teaching experience in the areas of sociology of health and illness, gerontology, social research methods, and feminist and Indigenous perspectives on wellness. At MSVU, she taught Introduction to Aging in both the Fall and Winter semesters (2024-25). Dr. Obedzinski Kuryk’s scholarship is committed to advancing equitable, person-centered health and home care systems.