It’s an interesting take for medicine to take such a harsh stance on this, when Indigenous MDs, residents and patients literally get physically assaulted (my braid was pulled on Day 1 of residency by an RN), verbally assaulted (called dirty savages) /1 ctvnews.ca/canada/ontario… &patients like Joyce Echaquan literally have to film their deaths on social media while nurses yell at her that she’s only good for sex and other obscenities - & the province of QC won’t even acknowledge systemic racism exists in their health system.
/2cbc.ca/amp/1.6981115

The irony of pretendians and @GCIndigenous - Indian Affairs literally regulates our life from birth to death as Treaty People - we have to register with them, and they determine who is Treaty or non Treaty by very specific rules which are essentially legislating us out /1 of existence. So, when someone prominent like METL is stating they are a “Treaty Indian” for decades, and working in prominent positions like she has, you can be certain that the Govt of Canada 🇨🇦 knew this was false. Why would this be allowed to happen? Pretendians through /2

This is wrong. Giving an okimaw astotin (headdress) to the leader of an institution that enacted Genocide on our Peoples is wrong. I have to say this as the actions of the people (person?) who organized this may confuse others and cause further harm. Genocide is the breaking /1 of many Nehiyaw wiyasiwewina (Cree Laws). We do not correct the violation of our Laws by gifting one of our most sacred items to the person, or institution who committed the violence. What you witnessed today is the male ego in action - the male ego which has been@the detriment/2

I arrived to the Sask ⛺️ at 1am only to find the gate locked. All hotels full, so “camped” in the “WalMart campground” with Priscilla, Queen of the Prairies, our trailer - and survived 😳 A Cree friend said to wear a hat to “blend in.” I’m not sure she meant my 🌸 bucket 🧢 😬 On a more serious note, driving alone on the Sask prairies can be dangerous for Indigenous folkx. I continuously shared my gps location with my family and kept in contact with them. Indigenous Peoples are murdered and assaulted here on our homelands, & we stop only when needed/2

Indigenous doctors were just asked by Alberta Health Services to “volunteer” to provide medical services for the Popes visit in Alberta. The Papal Bull “The Doctrine of Discovery” is the Vatican decree that is the basis for theft of Indigenous Lands, still used by Canada in /1 the phrase “underlying title of the Crown.” It saw us as soulless animals, and therefore used that as justification for Land Theft and Genocide. My entire paternal family went to residential school, operated by the Roman Catholic Church. The reasons Indigenous Nations, /2

Today I visited my Cree patient in the hospital. I’ve worked in the area for the past 6 years. I am the only doctor who works in Kehewin. After visiting, I introduced myself as the patients Family Doctor & as Dr. Makokis from Kehewin, and asked to see the patients chart /1 I was also wearing ⬆️ avocado 🥑 T-shirt & a black jean jacket. Puzzled, they asked if “that was normally allowed.” I said, “well I’m her family doctor, so yes I am allowed to look at her chart.” The hospital staff said she wasn’t familiar & didn’t know me, understandable -so /2

Nohtawiy (my father) attended residential school, as did his parents, & grandparents. This was an act of genocide by the 🇨🇦 govt & run by churches. He lived under the “pass system” where they couldn’t leave the reserve (1895-1951). And our Peoples survived germ warfare, also /1 by the govts. He’s triple vaxxed & says “I trust my son who is a doctor” & says nothing about infringements on his freedom. If anyone could say anything about potential freedom infringements, it could be him, & he does not bc he knows it is for the collective good/health of /2

“Private Property” When I see signs like this, usually in relation to wilderness areas it makes me 🛑& pause. As Indigenous People we never ceased/surrendered our Lands. “Land acknowledgements” acknowledge these are our Lands, but most people stop there. What is the next step? /1 I remember one summer when we were picking medicines alongside the road in a Montana - a 🌱 that is difficult to find. In the distance there was a farmhouse with the old farmer and his two sons watching us. After five minutes, their 🛻 came driving down their dirt driveway /2

Unfortunately this is not a new issue for us. “Pretendians” take up space from authentic Indigenous Peoples. This story exposes many issues, including the love of academy and institutions for including those who are “like them.” Pretendians are “easy to get along with,” /1

https://twitter.com/CBCSask/status/1455301219484848128

they often go along with preset standards and norms because this means advancing oneself (over the collective well-being), meaning systemic and institutional issues go unaddressed. They know how to “play Indian” enough not to get people mad, but garner empathy. They often /3

For the non-believers. A Cree man went to the local town, with a bandaged wrist for care of his wound. The MD did not even look at the wound and rx given for antibiotics. Came to see me, wound not healing. I unwrap the wound, and see his tendons beneath necrotic tissue. /1 I debride wound, call plastics in tertiary care Centre, arrange for transfer. Cree man arrives to the ER, they do labs and send him home. Plastics was expecting him. Comes back a few days later, worse, repeat cycle. Plastics angry at incident, but systemically nothing changed. /2

An opinion piece written for the @globeandmail I also included racism experienced in residency, in what would have been paragraph 4: Racism even affected my medical education. During my first year of medical residency at Victoria General Hospital, /1
theglobeandmail.com/opinion/articl… a nurse assaulted me as I entered a birthing room to deliver a baby. She identified the braid of hair hanging down my back and used it to forcibly prevent me from entering the delivery room. “You don’t belong in there“ she said in a harsh voice, making it clear she believed /2

There are some, not many Indigenous physicians in medical leadership positions across Turtle Island. When it is time to apply to these positions, we are often criticized for not having enough experience. The fact is, we do have enough experience and it just needs to be examined/1 ..from a different lens. We have experience with advocacy from an early age because we have to. I remember at 5 years old going fishing with my grandfather and father on our Trapping lands only to find our nets burned by people who did not understand we have a right to provide /2