“Dr. Cook has broken down barriers, attained many ‘firsts’ as an Indigenous leader, and been a powerful voice in opposition to racism and colonialism,” said Dr. Peter Nickerson, vice-provost (health sciences) and dean of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. 

“She has courageously called out injustice and done the difficult work of dismantling systems that have mistreated and excluded Indigenous people. She has inspired and mentored countless students and colleagues…. She has truly made a difference.”

Members of the Indigenous, university and health-care communities gathered on March 21 for the celebration in the John Buhler Research Centre Atrium. Speakers paid tribute to Cook’s more than 35 years of advocacy for Indigenous health, education and achievement.

Cook speaks in a quiet voice, Nickerson said, but it’s a voice of determination and impact. “She just tells it like it is,” he said.

Margaret Lavallee, Elder in Residence, said a heartfelt miigwetch (thank you) to Cook, particularly for her belief in Indigenous medical students.

Cook grew up in northern Manitoba in the close-knit community of Matheson Island, which didn’t have running water or electricity. She earned her medical degree at UM in 1987, becoming one of the first Indigenous physicians trained in the province.

Starting her career as a fly-in doctor in northern communities, she bore witness to the racism and inequitable health care experienced by Indigenous people.   

She began teaching at the UM medical college in 1989, received her master’s degree in community health sciences in 2003, and went on to hold the rank of associate professor.

In 2017, Cook played a key role in the creation of Ongomiizwin, the Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. She led Ongomiizwin and concurrently served as vice-dean, Indigenous health of the Rady Faculty.

She also held many influential roles in the Manitoba health-care system, such as serving as provincial lead for Indigenous health at Shared Health.

In 2020, Cook was appointed the inaugural vice-president (Indigenous) of UM. In this groundbreaking role, she led transformative change in the areas of equity, access and participation.

Dr. Mandy Buss, Indigenous health lead for the UM department of family medicine, said she hopes to carry on Cook’s work of creating safe spaces in which Indigenous people can flourish and thrive.

Cathy Merrick, Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, thanked Cook for her profound impact on First Nations in the province.  “[You] broke trails for our people in terms of who we can be,” Merrick said, wishing Cook well in her retirement role as a kokum (grandmother).

Dr. Marcia Anderson and Dr. Catherine Cook

Dr. Marcia Anderson, vice-dean Indigenous health, social justice and anti-racism of the Rady Faculty, expressed gratitude to Cook for planting seeds of Indigenous advancement at UM and laying groundwork for leaders who came after her.

“Dr. Cook used her position to create opportunities for us,” Anderson said. “She’s been a really great example of not just building the path, but also making it wider…. We learn from what she has done, and then try to go a few steps further.”

Cook influenced others to work with humility and humour, Anderson added.

Dr. Shannon McDonald, a 1998 Indigenous medical alum, recalled suffering from impostor syndrome during medical school. “Catherine was the voice who constantly said to me, ‘You belong here. You have important work to do.’”

When Cook spoke at the celebration, she paid tribute to the supportive physicians in UM’s J.A. Hildes Northern Medical Unit (now Ongomiizwin – Health Services), who showed faith in her when she was a new family doctor, assuring her, “You’re very capable…. We know you’ll succeed.”

Cook said none of her accomplishments have been solo efforts.

“I’ve had a great career,” she said. “Every one of you has made a really significant impact on how I’ve been able to do my work.”

Dr. Catherine Cook and Elder Margaret Lavallee each received the Certificate of Merit Award, which promotes, recognizes and rewards faculty committed to medical education in Canadian medical schools.

“These awards are a testament to the important contributions by UM medical educators and learners in promoting Indigenous participation and achievement,” said Dr. Peter Nickerson, vice-provost (health sciences), dean, Max Rady College of Medicine and dean, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. “Their dedication to medicine, equity and access is not only evident in their daily work but is also recognized and affirmed at a national level by these prestigious awards.”

He also congratulated Marissa Murray (medical student), Dr. Melinda Fowler-Woods (resident), and Dr. Amanda Fowler-Woods (graduate student) on receiving the CAME Rising Star – Certificate of Excellence Awards.

The CAME awards will be presented at a virtual award presentation taking place on Thursday, February 29, 2024 from 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm Eastern via Zoom.

Certificate of Merit recipients

The CAME Certificate of Merit Award recognizes senior faculty who have made an exceptional contribution to medical education in Canadian medical schools.

Dr. Catherine Cook

Dr. Catherine Cook
In her role as the inaugural vice-president (Indigenous) at the University of Manitoba, Dr. Catherine Cook oversaw Indigenous senior leadership projects which are integral to expanding Indigenous representation in classrooms and in leadership, creating supports and structures for Indigenous success, and advancing reconciliation at UM. She previously served as vice-dean (Indigenous health) at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

Elder Margaret Lavallee

Elder Margaret Lavallee

Margaret Lavallee is the Elder-in-Residence at Ongomiizwin – Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. She is dedicated to expanding knowledge and providing cultural and spiritual guidance to students. Upon receiving her honorary degree by UM in 2022, she said her dream is to have more Indigenous students entering health-care professions.

Rising Star — Certificate of Excellence recipients

The CAME Rising Star — Certificate of Excellence Award recognizes learners who have demonstrated a commitment to medical education that has had a positive impact on the health professions education community.

Marissa Murray

Marissa Murray

Third-year medical student Marissa Murray holds a unique gift with her ability to teach those around her. Her commitment to uplifting her peers in combination with her remarkable way of knowledge sharing makes Marissa a champion of Indigenous learner success.

Dr. Melinda Fowler-Woods

Dr. Melinda Fowler-Woods

Dr. Melinda Fowler-Woods’ commitment to working with traditional medicines alongside western medicine goes beyond her own knowledge and practice, as she also values creating space for future Indigenous physicians to learn about traditional medicines as well.  

Dr. Amanda Fowler-Woods

Dr. Amanda Fowler-Woods

A recent PhD graduate, Dr. Amanda Fowler-Woods’ research work leads with the utmost respect for Indigenous peoples, Indigenous communities, and Indigenous health and is recognized as a valuable contribution to the health of Indigenous peoples.

That’s the future foreseen by Ovide Mercredi in his passionate keynote address at a Rady Faculty of Health Sciences gala on Jan. 24.

“The authority over health will be with our people, under their own governance systems and structures,” the Indigenous rights advocate told the audience of 400.

“Are you ready for that? It’s coming,” said the UM-educated lawyer and former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

“The idea is to bring the power back to the people.… When you give people their human right to make decisions for themselves, they will make the right decisions.”

The gala at the Fairmont Winnipeg marked the 50th anniversary of the U of M’s northern medical unit, which is now called Ongomiizwin – Health Services.

The celebration honoured the many Elders, health professionals, staff, and government and community partners who have collaborated to provide health care in Indigenous communities in northern Manitoba and Nunavut.

Guests shared a dinner featuring northern-caught pickerel and wild rice and enjoyed performances by a First Nations drummer and “live painter,” Inuit throat singers and Métis musicians and dancers.      

Mercredi, former chief of his home community of Misipawistik Cree Nation in Manitoba, received an honorary doctorate from the U of M in 2018. He currently works for Nishnawbe Aski Nation in Ontario in the area of health transformation.

He said Indigenous people want to be cared for by Indigenous professionals. “U of M has graduated many doctors of Indigenous background, but we need more.”

Sounding the central theme of the evening, Mercredi called on non-Indigenous health professionals to work in partnership with Indigenous communities as they move toward health-care self-determination.  

The U of M launched the northern unit in 1969 as an outreach program to provide medical services to a few isolated communities in northern Manitoba and what is now Nunavut.

Speakers noted that the unit’s visionary founder, Dr. J.A. (Jack) Hildes, was committed to partnering with communities and to a “triad” model to facilitate clinical services, health professional education and research in the North.

“The idea that a university could use its resources for a non-traditional, service-based approach was novel,” recalled Dr. Brian Postl, dean of the Rady Faculty, who has been involved with the health unit for 47 years.

The concept was rooted in recognizing local needs and social injustice while delivering quality care, Postl said. “It was all based on community engagement.”

Levinia Brown, an Inuit Elder and former deputy premier of Nunavut, is a former nurse who recalled being hired by Hildes in the early 1970s in Churchill, Man. She spoke of the importance of health-care providers being part of the community. “When you had retention of nurses and doctors, the community seemed to do well health-wise,” she said.

Over the decades, as the program expanded and was named the J. A. Hildes Northern Medical Unit, thousands of U of M-affiliated doctors, students and researchers gained experience in the North. The university emerged as a global leader in the field of Indigenous and circumpolar health care.

In 2017, the medical unit joined with U of M units responsible for Indigenous health education and Indigenous health research to form the three-branch Ongomiizwin, the Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. “Ongomiizwin” is an Anishinaabe word meaning “Clearing a path for generations to come.”

Ongomiizwin – Health Services continues to serve and work collaboratively with 30 communities in Manitoba and Nunavut.

Melanie MacKinnon (L) and Dr. Marcia Anderson (R) honoured their mentor, Dr. Catherine Cook, with a traditional star blanket.

Three key figures in the leadership of Ongomiizwin took the stage to conclude the gala: Melanie MacKinnon, a Cree nurse who is the newly appointed head of Ongomiizwin; Dr. Marcia Anderson, a Cree-Anishinaabe physician who is now vice-dean, Indigenous health of the Rady Faculty; and Dr. Catherine Cook, an influential Métis physician who previously led Ongomiizwin and has recently been appointed the U of M’s inaugural vice-president (Indigenous).  

“The University of Manitoba has a significant role in relation to the development of an Indigenous health workforce,” MacKinnon said in a U of M video that was created to mark the 50th anniversary. “Other universities … are watching what we’re doing.”

MacKinnon and Anderson presented a star blanket to their mentor, Cook. “We really wanted to honour all the paths she cleared for us,” Anderson said.

Cook said with gratitude that starting her career with the northern unit gave her the foundation for everything she has achieved.

“Everybody talks about the future of health care … and how it’s time that we had equity for Indigenous people,” Cook said. “I’m convinced that this is the time.”

The gala raised more than $50,000 for the 50th anniversary legacy fund established by Ongomiizwin – Health Services. The fund, which is still accepting donations, will support opportunities for Indigenous people to enter careers in the health sciences. 

View a photo gallery of the Ongomiizwin – Health Services 50th Anniversary Gala.

About 80 people attended the noon-hour session at the Frederic Gaspard Theatre on the Bannatyne campus. Representatives of the College of Nursing, located on the Fort Garry campus, attended via webcast.

Dr. Brian Postl, dean, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences and vice-provost (health sciences), began by outlining the decentralized budget model that the university will implement on April 1. Moving to current priorities, Postl pointed to interprofessional collaboration across the faculty’s five colleges (Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Rehabilitation Sciences) as a strong focus.

“We are working hard to establish a new (faculty) chair to promote interprofessional education and innovation,” he said.

Postl said the Rady Faculty’s planned Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing is nearing approval by the U of M Senate and, it is hoped, will be launched in the coming months. He went on to summarize the five-year strategic framework for the Rady Faculty, encouraging all stakeholders to read the plan in draft form and send feedback to fhscomm@umanitoba.ca.

Dr. Sara Israels, vice-dean, academic affairs, reported on the Rady Faculty’s new Office of Educational and Faculty Development and on the transition to a faculty-wide process for promotion and tenure. She also noted the establishment of an awards committee that spans the five colleges. “We need to nominate more people in our faculty for external awards,” she said.

Dr. Jeff Sisler, vice-dean, continuing competency and assessment, spoke about the recent creation of a new web platform which features online registration, learning and event management for high-quality continuing professional development programs. Sisler noted that a faculty-wide working group on internationally educated health professionals is exploring “the work we need to do around helping new Canadians enter practice in their chosen professions.”

Dr. Christine Ateah, vice-dean, education, reported on topics including the new interprofessional collaborative care (IPCC) curriculum for all Rady Faculty students. First-year students are now assigned to small faculty-wide cohorts that complete certain assignments as a team. In response to a question about interprofessional clinical practice opportunities, Ateah said the scheduling of the five colleges poses a challenge, but there is strong potential for student-led learning.

Dr. Catherine Cook, vice-dean, Indigenous health, gave an update on the Rady Faculty’s draft Truth and Reconciliation Commission Action Plan. Among the key themes of the nearly finalized plan are honouring traditional knowledge systems and ensuring support, mentorship and retention of Indigenous students. Of the latter, Cook said, “We do have a faculty-wide working group . . . and it’s our hope to address any gaps and build on strengths.”

Dr. Kevin Coombs, assistant dean, research, spoke on behalf of Dr. Peter Nickerson, vice-dean, research. From a funding perspective, Coombs said, there is a growing emphasis on collaborative health research conducted by teams and clusters. Coombs presented graphs showing positive results, such as the fact that the Rady Faculty’s research funding increased by 16 per cent in the past year. “Keep up the good work,” he said.

View the full PowerPoint presentation for the Town Hall.

Watch the one-hour webcast of the Town Hall.