Chyna Steele
Tansi! My name is Chyna Steele. I am a member of the Bigstone Cree Nation and grew up in Wabasca-Desmarais, which is located on Treaty 8 territory. My mother teaches Cree immersion as an early childhood educator, while my father works in the oilfield. I am the eldest of 6 children and it has been my new found goal to teach my younger siblings about our culture and our People. In 2020, I graduated from UBCO with a BSc in Microbiology. During my time there I established close relationships with many individuals at the Indigenous Student Centre. Being exposed to people from other Nations sparked my passion about learning more about Indigenous People, the beauty of different traditions and the wealth of knowledge that can come from each other. Finding myself within my Indigenous identity has been a beautiful journey that I am excited to continue traveling along.
There are guided principles that Indigenous people follow, The 7 Grandfather Teachings. These include humility, truth, courage, love, respect, wisdom and honesty. Using these guiding principles allows for more meaningful interactions with one another and I think this is important to teach our class. There is so much knowledge that can be translated from Indigenous People and carried over into your everyday life. Also regardless of your background and how open-minded you think you may be, personal biases will arise whether you are aware of them or not. How do we as the next generation of doctors challenge these biases and any stereotypes that may arise with certain populations? This is something I would like to work on with our class, as uncomfortable as these conversations may be. Although I am still reconnecting with my Indigenous identity, I would like to be a resource for anyone wanting to learn more.
For 18 years of my life I was ashamed to acknowledge that I was Indigenous because of the racism I have seen my friends and family endure. For the past 6 years I have been trying to reconnect with my Indigenous identity and learn the culture and traditions. I have been amazed at the strength my People have shown in light of information released about residential schools, our missing children and the TRC calls to action. It is beautiful to see my People come together, form community and provide support to each other regardless of the Nation one is from. I hope I can help strengthen the community my People created and educate the rest of the population about Indigenous Peoples. I think Indigenous People have a lot of valuable information and stories to tell the world but we need to work on providing a safe environment to do so.
To ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion are included in my role I think it is important to acknowledge the perspectives of the student body in regards to Indigenous health. Would they be interested in learning about healing ceremonies, herbal medication, or the health disparities Indigenous people still currently face? I would also want to expand this platform to other minority groups so we, as the next generation of healthcare professionals, understand the diverse populations we will be interacting with. There are many cultural norms that I am completely unaware of and would like to expand my knowledge so everyone feels comfortable. Even within the Indigenous population, each Nation has their own norms that a neighboring Nation may not be aware of. It is all about perspective and allowing yourself to learn more about each other. This does not have to be limited to Indigenous peoples.
There are guided principles that Indigenous people follow, The 7 Grandfather Teachings. These include humility, truth, courage, love, respect, wisdom and honesty. Using these guiding principles allows for more meaningful interactions with one another and I think this is important to teach our class. There is so much knowledge that can be translated from Indigenous People and carried over into your everyday life. Also regardless of your background and how open-minded you think you may be, personal biases will arise whether you are aware of them or not. How do we as the next generation of doctors challenge these biases and any stereotypes that may arise with certain populations? This is something I would like to work on with our class, as uncomfortable as these conversations may be. Although I am still reconnecting with my Indigenous identity, I would like to be a resource for anyone wanting to learn more.
For 18 years of my life I was ashamed to acknowledge that I was Indigenous because of the racism I have seen my friends and family endure. For the past 6 years I have been trying to reconnect with my Indigenous identity and learn the culture and traditions. I have been amazed at the strength my People have shown in light of information released about residential schools, our missing children and the TRC calls to action. It is beautiful to see my People come together, form community and provide support to each other regardless of the Nation one is from. I hope I can help strengthen the community my People created and educate the rest of the population about Indigenous Peoples. I think Indigenous People have a lot of valuable information and stories to tell the world but we need to work on providing a safe environment to do so.
To ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion are included in my role I think it is important to acknowledge the perspectives of the student body in regards to Indigenous health. Would they be interested in learning about healing ceremonies, herbal medication, or the health disparities Indigenous people still currently face? I would also want to expand this platform to other minority groups so we, as the next generation of healthcare professionals, understand the diverse populations we will be interacting with. There are many cultural norms that I am completely unaware of and would like to expand my knowledge so everyone feels comfortable. Even within the Indigenous population, each Nation has their own norms that a neighboring Nation may not be aware of. It is all about perspective and allowing yourself to learn more about each other. This does not have to be limited to Indigenous peoples.
Janaksha Linga-Easwaran
Hey! I’m Janaksha (she/her) and I’m a second generation settler, raised on the traditional and treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation; Mississauga and Chippewa Nations of the Williams Treaty; and, the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee and the Huron Wendat. I play the veena, waste money on coffee, overdress for everything, and I’m trying (ish) to learn the guitar. Student advocacy is my favourite part of school, as students have the best new ideas, and I’ve been fortunate to see the magnitude of change we can create when we work together. I love meeting new people, learning about their backgrounds and creating spaces that celebrate them. I also firmly believe that in order to provide good care, we need to be considerate of the land we work on, the communities we serve, and advocate for health justice and Indigenous health.
Having led anti-oppressive health care and research initiatives at UofT, I was eager to get involved in health justice and indigenous health at Mac (yay!). Being non-Indigenous, my main goal will be to amplify Indigenous voices, and advocate for Indigenous health justice. I aim to do this by decolonizing our curriculum, prioritizing the translation of learner-led ideas into practice, and supporting the success of their initiatives. Silos within advocacy can isolate folks and hinder success, so I will create spaces where students and community organizations can connect to enable knowledge-sharing, equitable resource distribution, and build a strong, supportive community (as this is tough work!). Importantly, we must work towards dismantling barriers to/within medical education by expanding Indigenous outreach and inclusivity initiatives. To support c2026 in being practitioners of anti-oppressive health care, my work on MMSC will be rooted in sustainability, learning, the student & community voice, and most importantly, compassion.
Having led anti-oppressive health care and research initiatives at UofT, I was eager to get involved in health justice and indigenous health at Mac (yay!). Being non-Indigenous, my main goal will be to amplify Indigenous voices, and advocate for Indigenous health justice. I aim to do this by decolonizing our curriculum, prioritizing the translation of learner-led ideas into practice, and supporting the success of their initiatives. Silos within advocacy can isolate folks and hinder success, so I will create spaces where students and community organizations can connect to enable knowledge-sharing, equitable resource distribution, and build a strong, supportive community (as this is tough work!). Importantly, we must work towards dismantling barriers to/within medical education by expanding Indigenous outreach and inclusivity initiatives. To support c2026 in being practitioners of anti-oppressive health care, my work on MMSC will be rooted in sustainability, learning, the student & community voice, and most importantly, compassion.