The cool thing about learning medicine as that it isn't just about diseases, physical exams, histories, tests and prescriptions. It is about people. Its about learning about people, what makes them tick and what makes them sick. But I feel like at most schools, all you learn about is what makes them sick. So I guess that makes me pretty lucky because I also get to learn about what makes people tick.
I got to spend 4 weeks for my last module of first year living on an urban reserve in North Western Ontario. It was amazing, eye opening, educational and challenging all at the same time, which is what I was expecting. But what I wasn't expecting was to learn a lot about myself, who I am and who I want to be.
I got to spend one month living with the most amazing Anishinaabe women. She taught me a lot about traditional medicines, traditional way of life, the struggles and hardships that she and her people have been through, and what it means to be a strong women. And during this period of learning I came to understand a lot about myself, and the kind of doctor that I want to be.
I don't know a lot about my ancestry, and a large part of Anishinaabe and other aboriginal culture is about thanking and giving offerings to your ancestors and honouring them and asking for their help. And by honouring your ancestors you also honour the Creator. For me this is a struggle because I don't know who my ancestors are on one side of my family, so I always felt very fake and ingenuine when participating in ceremonies.
But I came to learn during my 4 weeks that the part of me that has always a question mark does not have to be, and that I can take my own journey of discovery to find the part of me that is missing and make it whole again. Instead of merely learning tradition teachings, I thought deeply about them and about my own life and past, and slowly I felt like I had permission to ask my ancestors for help. I wanted for the first time to really be a part of aboriginal culture, which is a part of me that I never took ownership of.
I have carried on some of the traditional practices that I got to participate in such as smudging when I am having a particularly rough time with pain, or just having a tough day. Placing cedar in my shoes to help keep me safe in my journey through medicine and my walk through life. And honouring the ground with saama when I take something from it.
All the teachings that I have learned have given me a deep sense of pride in who I am, and who some of my ancestors are. And while it was merely 4 weeks of learning and living in a new place, I want to try and continue my journey of discovery and exploring my traditions.
After leaving the sweat lodge on my last night, I felt literally like a new person, that a piece of me had been given back and I finally found what my soul was searching for.
I hope that this experience will help me become a compassionate, thoughtful, and knowledgable healer in the future, even if I am becoming a healer in the modern, not traditional sense.
If I wasn't at the school I am at, I would not have had the opportunity to find myself. So Chi Miigwetch to the No Ordinary School of Medicine.
I got to spend 4 weeks for my last module of first year living on an urban reserve in North Western Ontario. It was amazing, eye opening, educational and challenging all at the same time, which is what I was expecting. But what I wasn't expecting was to learn a lot about myself, who I am and who I want to be.
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| I actually made these, even the bead work! |
I got to spend one month living with the most amazing Anishinaabe women. She taught me a lot about traditional medicines, traditional way of life, the struggles and hardships that she and her people have been through, and what it means to be a strong women. And during this period of learning I came to understand a lot about myself, and the kind of doctor that I want to be.
I don't know a lot about my ancestry, and a large part of Anishinaabe and other aboriginal culture is about thanking and giving offerings to your ancestors and honouring them and asking for their help. And by honouring your ancestors you also honour the Creator. For me this is a struggle because I don't know who my ancestors are on one side of my family, so I always felt very fake and ingenuine when participating in ceremonies.
But I came to learn during my 4 weeks that the part of me that has always a question mark does not have to be, and that I can take my own journey of discovery to find the part of me that is missing and make it whole again. Instead of merely learning tradition teachings, I thought deeply about them and about my own life and past, and slowly I felt like I had permission to ask my ancestors for help. I wanted for the first time to really be a part of aboriginal culture, which is a part of me that I never took ownership of.I have carried on some of the traditional practices that I got to participate in such as smudging when I am having a particularly rough time with pain, or just having a tough day. Placing cedar in my shoes to help keep me safe in my journey through medicine and my walk through life. And honouring the ground with saama when I take something from it.
All the teachings that I have learned have given me a deep sense of pride in who I am, and who some of my ancestors are. And while it was merely 4 weeks of learning and living in a new place, I want to try and continue my journey of discovery and exploring my traditions.
After leaving the sweat lodge on my last night, I felt literally like a new person, that a piece of me had been given back and I finally found what my soul was searching for.
I hope that this experience will help me become a compassionate, thoughtful, and knowledgable healer in the future, even if I am becoming a healer in the modern, not traditional sense.
If I wasn't at the school I am at, I would not have had the opportunity to find myself. So Chi Miigwetch to the No Ordinary School of Medicine.
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| OMC! (Oh My Creator) |
