Family Physician
R.P.N, B. Ed. Adult Education, M.D., CCFP
What are the roles and responsibilities in your current position?
Central to my role as a Family Physician has been to teach. I do this through story telling and sharing my own expreiences with my own healing journey paired with my medical knowledge. To be a family physician in my own community is more than “healthcare” it is also about supporting our people to heal from the impacts of colonization through picking up our own identity and original instructions to fully embody our true being. I must do this for myself as well and walk the talk of wholeness and health in all aspects of my own life.
What barriers did you have to overcome to succeed?
A huge barrier I have witnessed in the healing and healthcare for Indigenous people is the mistrust and misperception of the healthcare system. On the other side of the coin are the sterotypes and prejudicial thinking of who Indigenous people are and the ongoing approach to the care of people from an “objective” perspective. The solution, at least one of them, is to recognize that YOU ARE THE MEDICINE. Your relationshp with every person who crosses your path is of utmost importance to their health and yours.
What is your advice for healthcare students?
I believe healthcare is more than a career – it’s a calling. To be a healthcare professional or traditional practitioner is something your higher power has drawn you towards. This responsibility requires first that you do the work of addressing your own health and healing on all levels. Spiritual, mental, emotional, physical and ecological. It will be through your own journey towards becoming a whole and healthy person that you will be most able to help others. YOU ARE THE MEDICINE!
Haudenosaunee Health Services 