We are honored to welcome Professor Naomi Adelson as a CASCA Emeritus Member in 2024!

Dr. Adelson is a professor of medical anthropology and, since 2018, has served as associate vice-president for research and innovation at Toronto Metropolitan University. This honor recognizes the excellence of her research and her significant contributions to our association and to the field of anthropology in Canada.

The impact of Ms. Adelson’s expertise and professional activities is impressive and far-reaching, as are her theoretical and practical contributions to medical anthropology and cultural psychiatry in Canada and around the world. Her research focuses primarily on health and well-being, specifically on analyzing the political, cultural, and social contexts of Indigenous health in Canada. Her research career has been built around three priorities: a deep commitment to understanding the concepts of health and health equity among Indigenous peoples and First Nations; the promotion of the field of medical anthropology; and the conduct of highly engaged, collaborative, and ethical qualitative research.

Ms. Adelson is grateful for the collaborative research relationship she has maintained for three decades with members of the Whapmagoostui community of the Eeyou Istchee Cree First Nation (Nunavik, Quebec). More recently, in consultation and collaboration with Cree community leaders and the Cree Health and Social Services Board of James Bay (CCSSSBJ), she has digitized her original research interviews, translations, and other related documents and images with the aim of transferring full ownership and management of these materials to the community.

Ms. Adelson played a major role at CASCA, of which she was a member for most of her academic career, which began in 1993. Thanks to her efforts and advocacy, CASCA’s email list was hosted by York University for twenty years, and our website became the voice and information portal for our association and its members to the public. She also contributed to our annual conferences, serving as book fair and publicity coordinator in 1993–1994 and as publicity coordinator in 1995–1996. Most recently, she served on the local organizing committee for the 2023 AAA/CASCA Conference held in Toronto.

CASCA invites all its members to join the CASCA Executive Committee in celebrating Ms. Adelson’s appointment as a CASCA Member Emeritus!