The Haudenosaunee Cycle of Ceremonies with Sarah Konwahahawi Rourke

About the Speaker

Ms. Rourke, a member of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation, leads the Indigenous Health Professional Program (IHPP) in the ongoing implementation and evolution of its long-term action plan to increase the number of Indigenous students in all health-related professional programs. Her work is based on needs and priorities identified by Indigenous communities, in particular within the McGill Réseau Universitaire Intégré de Santé et Services Sociaux.

Ms. Rourke has worked with traditional knowledge holders, teachers and elders, and has extensive expertise in strategic planning, policy development and representing Indigenous communities. She has a Master’s in Educational Leadership from St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY. Last year she completed the Executive Leadership Doctoral Program in Social Justice at St. John Fisher College, Syracuse, NY.

From 2016 to 2018, Ms. Rourke was the Ontario Community Liaison (Community Outreach and Support Services) for the National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls. In this role, she provided trauma-informed support to family members and survivors. She was also responsible for strategic planning of the Community Hearings, statement gathering and expert knowledge-holder hearings.

Since early 2020, Ms. Rourke has been a consultant for Rematriation Magazine and the non-profit Kanenhí:io Iokwaiénthos-Sisterhood Gatherings, part of the Native North American Travelling College (NNATC), a cultural educational institution and organization promoting and preserving Kanien’keha (Mohawk) culture and traditions. From 2014 to 2016, she served as NNATC’s Executive Director, and was responsible for operations, site management and development, partnerships with community organizations and cultural workshops.

Previously, Ms. Rourke held several positions in the Akwesasne community, including Community Educator for an HIV/AIDS Education Program and Junior Policy Analyst for the Nation Building Program, Mohawk Council of Akwesasne. There she gained knowledge about self-governance, Indigenous rights and negotiations with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (now replaced by two departments, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and Indigenous Services Canada) on governance and land jurisdiction.

In 2021, Ms. Rourke was a panellist at the UN Food Systems Summit-Indigenous Youth Global Declaration on Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems. She currently serves on the Akwesasne Cultural Center Board of Directors, and has been an Indigenous Young Women’s Council Youth Mentor/Auntie and Global Indigenous Youth Caucus Mentor for more than 10 years.