In a time when Manitoba and Canada are in a physician shortage crisis, northern Manitoba has some promising potential in the works. Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) member Jacqueline Smith is about to enter medical school and focus on becoming a physician. This has been a lifelong dream for her and thanks to the assistance of some Indigenous programs, she can move forward and achieve that goal.
“I wanted to become a doctor from a young age but didn’t see myself represented in that field as an Indigenous person, specifically as an Indigenous woman,” said Smith. “A lack of representation discouraged me from going after that goal and I internalized the feeling of not being smart enough or that that job was not meant for people like me.