Capital Current introduces people who have had an impact on the city.
Who is she?
Building a positive Indigenous identity has taken a lot of work, but Jennifer San says it has been the healing she needed to build a successful and rewarding life.
San is the Indigenous Women’s Safety Table (IWST) coordinator. The IWST is a branch of the Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition (OAC), whose aim is to create an equitable and safer Ottawa for the urban Indigenous community.
The 2021 census says the Indigenous community in Ottawa numbers about 26,395 (or 2.6 per cent of the population).
What’s her background?
San’s mother is from Caldwell First Nation and her father is Cambodian. She attributes much of her understanding of healing and wellness to navigating this identity.
“I am the product of two different genocides,” says San, referring to the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia and the colonial genocide of Indigenous people in Canada.
“I understand the effects of intergenerational trauma firsthand and have had to break down barriers without the confidence or motivation of someone with a positive identity.”
Jennifer San, Indigenous Women’s Safety Table coordinator
Her personal journey inspired her to complete her B.Sc. in neuroscience and mental health at Carleton University. San says the program has given her the skills and perspective needed to promote mental healing.
Combined with her work at the OAC, she says these experiences have allowed her the expertise to work directly with the community, amplify voices from within it and explore her own passion for Indigenous culture and wellbeing in Ottawa.
What is she known for in Ottawa?
San has been with the OAC since 2022. She has worked on several projects and community events. One of them is the Violence Against Women Inuit Shelter (VAW). The goal is to create an accessible and culturally informed shelter for Inuit women and children in need.
The OAC says that about 300 Indigenous women were turned away from shelters in Ottawa in 2024, underlining the urgent need for support for the community.
Construction of a site in Ottawa’s Hunt Club neighbourhood was recently celebrated with a ground-cleansing ceremony with opening next year with 30 beds. San is working with the OAC to help ensure the shelter is successful.
What’s something people don’t know about her?
Before completing her degree at Carleton, Jennifer San attended Laurentian University where she studied behavioural neuroscience with a minor in Indigenous health and wellbeing.
