Dec 6, 2023
Among Cree people, it’s said that a community functions like a living organism. Each component is vital, working in tandem to make it operate as nature intended.
Cut off one part, and the entire unit will run off balance.
Correcting imbalanced social systems that are numb to the nuances of society’s participants — at times lacking sensitive and respectful treatment while trying to heal people — is an arduous task.
Physician Janet Tootoosis has brought this assignment into her dossier of care and attention in her new five-year term as vice-dean of the Department of Indigenous Health at the University of Saskatchewan.
Dr. Tootoosis, who hails from Poundmaker Cree Nation and runs a practice in North Battleford, was appointed to the role initially as interim vice-dean in June 2022. Her mandate includes key consultations with the university’s governance office, provost office, and vice-president academic office. The Department of Indigenous Health and Wellness received University Council approval in April and was officially welcomed in October.