Shey Eagle Bear and Elder Leonard Saddleback during the eagle feather ceremony
Five graduates from the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry connected with their cultural roots as they celebrated their newly-gained degrees at the Indigenous health graduation and awards ceremony June 9.
Each year, Elders present graduates with traditional symbols of honour to celebrate their convocation. Métis Elder Alvena Strasburg presented Allan Pickard, Jill Loutitt, Cayla Gilbert and Megan Parish with sashes while First Nations Elder Leonard Saddleback presented Shey Eagle Bear with an eagle feather.
"When you go to school, it's just like a tree," Elder Saddleback said at the ceremony. "You're there for a purpose. You're there for the highest spirits. You're there for the old people and the children. You're always there for that."
The Darcy Tailfeathers Memorial Award was also awarded to Adam Mildenberger (MD '16) and Kristin Keith (MD '15). The award is named for Darcy Tailfeathers, the first Aboriginal student to study medicine at the University of Alberta. He died in a car accident during his third year of study.
This year's event included appearances from the Honourable David Quest, MLA for Strathcona-Sherwood Park; Fraser Brenneis, vice-dean of education; Randy MacDonald (MD '00), keynote speaker and graduate of the Indigenous Health Initiatives (IHI) Program; Amanda Woodward, traditional flutist; and Adrian Lachance, who closed the ceremony with an honour song.
"I want to congratulate you for dreaming big and having the courage and commitment that it takes to follow your passion and make your dream a reality," Quest said in his opening remarks. "You should be proud of your achievements and celebrate your success in the company of your family and your friends who supported you."
Near the end of the ceremony, Pickard, a former carpenter, called upon his fellow graduates to have pride in their heritage and to promote social equality and health as they move forward in their careers. "We need to be proud Indigenous physicians, connected to each other and the communities we serve, and we need to always remember what a privilege it is to be where we're from and to be doctors on this bright road ahead."
The annual event is hosted by the Indigenous Health Initiatives Program, which is dedicated to correcting the underrepresentation of Indigenous physicians in Canada. More than 100 Aboriginal and Métis students have graduates from programs in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry since the program was founded in 1988.