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What led you into the nursing profession?

My nursing career chose me. It really began with witnessing the poor access to health care for many Indigenous Peoples. The racism and marginalization, the biased uninformed care and the discriminatory treatment that my mother Elma Bourque Bearskin and grandmother Marianne Bearskin from Beaver Lake Cree Nation experienced was traumatizing as a young girl. Bearing witness to these experiences strengthened my compassion for others and as a young girl who had just “aged out¹”, was encouraged by my social worker to consider a more professional role in nursing because “caring for others” was so ingrained in my personal life experiences.


¹ A term used in referenced to foster children who turn 18 years of age and are released from Child welfare system.

How did you get to where you are today?

Hard work and hope was part of our daily lives growing up in poverty, violence, and dispossession from the land, family and language to name a few. A grand narrative many Indigenous Peoples share. I learned to be resilient and stand up to the normative images of what being “Cree/Metis” in Canada meant. The images were of savages-we were considered less than human. However this only pushed me to go against the grain and to be more than what Canadian society was telling me to be.

So my journey through nursing education began. I had the life skills and I knew how to sur-thrive. I have been through every nursing education program offered (Nursing Aide, LPN, RN, BScN, MN and PhD). There were no ‘pathways’ or ‘transition’ year programs back then. Hard work and my love for community and the Peoples are what drove me to do better and to persevere .

My nursing education and experience set in motion a series of events that took me back to those early roots of being and continues to shape how I view the world in relation to nursing practice. It has helped me to become a stronger critical thinker, advocate, educator, and researcher. It prepared me for leadership positions that I would never have imagined I would be in. Ultimately it grounded me in my ways of knowing so that I could apply my own Indigenous nursing lens to nurturing the spiritual, intellectual, mindfulness, and physicality’s of holistic practice and its relevance to Indigenous wellness.

What do you find most challenging in your current role?

Specifically, the challenge for me in education has always been bringing my own Indigenous experience and knowledge into this strong medically evidence based practice, which I am not negating, as it is so important to have this knowledge. But, there was always something missing for me. That something was being able to speak to the experiences of being a Cree/Metis woman - the understanding of our own Indigenous approaches to wellness through language, on the land learning and through our traditional knowledge holders.

My graduate program was all about creating my own learning/educational experience with Indigenous nurses. Today, this recognition remains one of the biggest challenges: Dealing with the sophisticated and subtle forms of discrimination in nursing policy, governance, and leadership. Sometimes it is hard to pinpoint exactly what those are. It is like moving a mountain the policy of assimilations keeps reinventing itself even though we are in a time of Reconciliation and must do better. This work should not fall on the backs of Indigenous Peoples to carry.

When you look at the academic institution, it is built on a euro-centric system. Consequently, our efforts to integrate alternative ways of knowing can sometimes be quite challenging, always having to ask those critical questions, push boundaries, and confront ideologies. While those tensions can be a challenge, they can also be a motivating force to develop our resiliency as an Indigenous Peoples to really counteract the greater narrative about who the Indigenous people of Canada actually are and the challenges we have faced.

What do you find most rewarding in your current role?

The most rewarding aspect of nursing is the Peoples: students, clients, and patients. Seeing that I was able form relationship that helped them to keep motivated, assist them in seeking help or seeing the smile on a face after I offered them care/concern. Whatever capacity it is - holding someone’s hand, carrying their bag, preparing a meal, giving them their pain medications, listening to students, advocating for change - the gift of giving is what makes my heart swell and fills that void I was unable to provide to my own family. It continues to build my excitement for Indigenous nursing practice. The Creation of reciprocal learning opportunities with my non-Indigenous allies continues to fuel innovative programming like TRU’s graduate course Indigenous Health Nursing Leadership, and the development of core Indigenous health course led by Indigenous nurses. The opportunities I see now in nursing education and for other Indigenous students compared to 5 years ago, is what I find so gratifying and uplifting. Our cultural gaze is shifting.

What advice would you give to new nurses or individuals considering nursing as a career?

Never give up hope on catching your dreams. Nursing challenges us to give to another in their most vulnerable state of being. In nursing, as in life there is always hope, inspiration, innovation, as well as morally challenging moments that will define you. But always stay to true to who you are and remember to always ask yourself, what system do you want to feed - a system that continues to perpetuate colonialism and violence or a system that fosters decolonization and love? Form those lifelong connections with your nursing knowledge holders, Elders, mentors, supervisors, colleagues, peers, and students. These relationships are the bedrock that will continue to feed your desire for contributing to the creation of change for Indigenous Peoples. It will help to carry your nursing legacy until your last breath. As Marie Campbell stated “Our lives, our kinships, and our teachings ‘wahkotowin’ are what we need to mend. (personal communication, October 17, 2013).

Nursing is...