Indigenous medical students shine Down Under

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This article was published 15/12/2024 (410 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

More than 10 Indigenous medical students and physicians represented Manitoba on an international stage at a recent Indigenous-led congress in Australia.

About 750 Indigenous health-care students and professionals spent four days in Adelaide networking and discussing scientific advances at the 11th biennial Pacific Region Indigenous Doctors Congress, which ended Dec. 6.

Hosted by the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association, this year’s theme was Our Language, Our Culture, Our Health.

Dr. Sheila Peters, who presented at the event, mentored four of the Indigenous medical students — Alanah Levandosky, Maizy North, Mikayla Barbosa and Naomi Peters — who were chosen to give oral presentations.

“I cried watching these beautiful young Indigenous warrior women presenting at an international conference when they are only in medical school,” Peters said. “I love our people, and I love our learners.”

Peters said she has had many mentors throughout her career, whether they knew it or not. She specifically mentioned doctors Marlyn Cook, Catherine Cook, Barry Lavallee, Judith Bartlett, Lorne Clearsky and Yvette Emerson.

Peters said she believes these leaders in the health-care field paved the way for not only herself but the next generation of Indigenous doctors.

“I think about how we got here… It’s all about the fact that Manitoba has incredible Indigenous leadership,” Peters said.

She also credits the Max Rady College of Medicine and the access program at University of Manitoba for their support for Indigenous students.

“The reason I am a physician is because of the access program,” Peters said. “There is not a chance I had the emotional, financial, or social supports to get into medical school without that program.”

Levandosky, 28, said Peters encouraged her to submit her abstract, and she did so on a whim, thinking it was unlikely she would be selected.

In July, she got a message at around 5 a.m. that said she was invited to give an oral presentation.

“I was in such shock. I shook my husband awake, then immediately texted my parents and Dr. Peters,” she said.

Levandosky said her highlight was listening to a panel of elders from a remote community share stories about traditional healing they had witnessed and learned out in the bush and how they were able to apply that.

Barbosa, 27, is a first-generation medical student at the Max Rady College of Medicine. She gave a presentation on the work she did at Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin with Peters to improve harm reduction and prenatal care in Manitoba’s northern Indigenous communities.

Barbosa won the first-place prize in the Quick and the Deadly talks at the conference, one of the presentation categories.

“When you see your name and the title of your work on the program next to physicians that you have been looking up to for years… It really is just an incredible feeling to see that and think, ‘I can do this. I belong here too,’” Barbosa said.

She said while there is still a long road ahead, the traditional ways of being and knowing are starting to be valued and used in health care.

One afternoon, when multiple Manitobans presented within minutes of each other, Barbosa said she and some others ran back and forth across the convention centre to make sure they wouldn’t miss each other’s presentations.

“How lucky are we that we are literally out of breath and sweaty from running around to see all the Manitobans present today? How lucky are we to have those numbers and representation?” she said.

Barbosa and Peters said there are stories of colonialism all over the planet.

“We heard repeated stories, despite culture. It doesn’t matter if it was the Taiwanese speaking or the Australians or Canadians, colonialism reached every part of the world.

“They really tried to get rid of us, but they haven’t, and they won’t,” Peters said.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca