The smell of burning sweet grass filled the air as the University of Ottawa community and Aboriginal leaders gathered to celebrate First Nations, Metis and Inuit culture at the second- annual powwow, on Wednesday, September 10 at the Roger Guindon campus.
The powwow, organized by the Faculty of Medicine Aboriginal Program, highlights the program and sensitizes first-year medical students to Aboriginal culture. “Through our program and this event, we hope to educate our non-Aboriginal students and staff members about Aboriginal people and their history, culture and health issues,” says Dr. Jacques Bradwejn, dean of the medicine faculty. “By creating a supportive and encouraging environment, the University of Ottawa is taking a leadership role in serving the health needs of all Aboriginal peoples, both on reserves and in urban communities.”
Cultural sensitivity and Aboriginal health is an area of increased focus in the faculty’s new curriculum and will be integrated over four years into the medical program. The powwow started off the school year on the right note by exposing students to a colourful Aboriginal celebration, including a smudging ceremony, Elder’s prayers, and artistic performances by throat singers and dancers. Students were also invited to partake in Aboriginal culinary specialties.
Speakers included the Honourable James K. Bartleman, former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and a member of the Mnjikaning First Nation, Dr. Marcia Anderson, president, Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada, and Serge Blais, acting director of the University of Ottawa Centre for Continuing Education.
The Aboriginal Program welcomed its first Aboriginal medical students in September 2005. Its goal is to graduate more than 100 new Aboriginal physicians by 2020. To learn more about the program, visit www.medicine.uOttawa.ca/aboriginal/eng/.
