Dr. Ojistoh Kahnawahere Horn MSc, MD, CCFP

Medical Director of Health, Mohawk Council of Akwesasne Dr. Horn is Kanienkeha:ka. Her mother is from Kahnawake, Qué., and her father is from Akwesasne, which saddles the borders of Ontario, Québec and New York State. She works as a family physician taking care of her people through all stages of the lifecycle. Supervising medical students and family medicine residents during their rural rotations in Akwesasne, she emphasizes the complexities of providing primary care to Indigenous peoples and their communities.

Drawing on both Western and traditional paradigms, working with like-minded physicians across the country, with a focus on the effects of the environment and pollution on health, Dr. Horn promotes the inclusion and support of traditional knowledge and “ways of being” in a framework for providing holistic and primary care to her people.

Dr. Becky Neckoway

Dr. Becky Neckoway is a proud First Nations woman. She is Ojibway on her mother’s side from Eabametoong and Cree on her father’s side from Fox Lake Cree Nation. She has been practicing Family Medicine since 2015, with the majority of her work focusing on the care of Indigenous peoples living in remote First Nation communities, including her mother’s community. In addition to clinical medicine, Dr. Neckoway has been involved in leadership roles, medical education, and Indigenous health advocacy. She is married and lives in Thunder Bay.

Dr. Nel Wieman, MSc, MD, FRCPC

Dr. Nel Wieman is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) in British Columbia, where she has worked for the past 7 years. She is Anishinaabe (Miishipaawitiik First Nation, Treaty 5 Territory) and lives, works and plays on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples – the səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. She completed her medical degree and psychiatry specialty training at McMaster University. Canada’s first female Indigenous psychiatrist, Dr. Wieman has more than 25 years of clinical and senior leadership experience, working with Indigenous (FN/M/I) people both in-community and away from home. Dr. Wieman served as the President of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada (IPAC) from 2016 – 2022.

Dr. Ryan Giroux

Dr. Ryan Giroux is a proud member of the Métis Nation of Alberta. His paternal family is Métis with roots in Fort Chipweyan, Alberta, and he has mixed European heritage on his Mom’s side. He grew up on Treaty 6 and 8 land in Athabasca, Alberta, and now resides in Toronto where he works as General Paediatrician. He works primarily with urban Indigenous families and refugee/newcomer families at St. Michael’s Hospital and the Inner City Health Associates. Ryan is an Indigenous Educator at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, is the Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s PGME Indigenous Health Lead, and is the Co-Chair of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Health Committee for the Canadian Paediatric Society.

Dr. Ashley Blais

Dr. Ashley Blais, Early Morning Song Woman (Weba Kiesap Nawgamo Pinashi Igwe) is her traditional name. Given the name Ashley by her parents, she is a proud Métis woman with ancestral roots in Sainte Laurent and St. Boniface, Manitoba. Ashley is married and a mother to three beautiful daughters. In addition, her family has welcomed her nephew into their home over the past year. For the past 12 years, she has been dedicated to serving as a rural family doctor, providing care through emergency room and hospitalist duties, as well as running clinics in Ste. Rose Du Lac and Ebb and Flow First Nation, Manitoba. She resides and works on Treaty 2 territory, the original lands of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, as well as the homeland of the Métis Nation.

Dr. Elycia Monaghan

Elycia Monaghan is an Innuinaq/Settler first-year psychiatry resident at Dalhousie University. She was born and raised in Hay River, Northwest Territories. Her mother, whose maiden name is Angulalik, was raised in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Elycia’s Inuk name is Ekvana, with her namesake being her grandmother who was a midwife and mother to 11 children with her husband who was an internationally recognized fur trader.

Elycia completed a Diploma in Social Work with Honours and a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing Degree with Distinction while studying at Aurora College in Yellowknife. She then went on to complete her Medical Degree from NOSM University in Thunder Bay. After completing her residency, Elycia will become the first Inuk psychiatrist in Canada. Elycia lives in Halifax, with her husband, Patrick, and their 9-year-old son, Eli. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and cuddling with her cat, Baboo.

Shelley Young

Shelley Young is a Mi’kmaq from Eskasoni First Nation, Nova Scotia. She’s a proud mother of two and a Jingle Dress dancer who spends her summers travelling to powwows with her family. Shelley’s also a medical student and serves on the board of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada (IPAC), with a background in community health, pediatric pain research, and clinical social work.

Dr. Jamaica Cass

Dr. Jamaica Cass is a member of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Turtle Clan, and practices Indigenous Health as a primary care physician at Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. She also has a focused practice in Obesity Medicine, for which she is board-certified. Through her community-focused practice, Dr. Cass advocates to reduce gaps in services and address inequities in care for Indigenous patients. At Queen’s University, Dr. Cass serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, where she is the Program Director for the Indigenous Health Enhanced Skills Program and the Director of Indigenous Health. In 2024, she was recognized with the Principal’s Teaching and Learning Award for Indigenous Education at Queen’s. Dr. Cass is deeply involved in shaping medical education. She is the inaugural Director of the Queen’s-Weeneebayko Health Education Partnership, a groundbreaking program to recruit, train and retain Indigenous Peoples in healthcare professions in remote Indigenous communities.  She is committed to creating pathways for Indigenous learners and fostering safe, inclusive spaces for Indigenous patients. Dr. Cass holds a Medical Doctorate from Tulane University and completed her family medicine residency at the University of Calgary. She also has a PhD in breast cancer molecular biology from Queen’s University, where she received recognition through various institutional and international awards. Throughout her academic and professional journey, Dr. Cass has been actively involved in Indigenous mentorship and advocacy. She dedicates her time to supporting Indigenous learners and ensuring culturally safe healthcare for Indigenous communities. In her personal life, Dr. Cass enjoys creating beadwork and has recently begun designing textiles with Indigenous themes. She is a mother, wife, auntie, and daughter, residing on the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe.

Dr. Marlyn Cook

Dr. Marlyn Cook is a proud member of the Misipawistik Cree Nation. The daughter of Dan and Angelique Cook, she is number thirteen of their fourteen children. Dr. Cook is the mother of two beautiful adult children, James and Ashley.

Dr. Cook first graduated as a nurse in 1975. After working within the healthcare system as a nurse, she decided she wanted to become a stronger advocate for health care for First Nations people. She returned to school and in 1987, Dr. Cook graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba and completed her Family Practice Residency Program at the St. Boniface Hospital in 1989 becoming the first First Nation woman to graduate from Medicine in Manitoba.

Dr. Cook has practiced medicine in Pimicikamak Cree Nation, Manitoba; Sioux Lookout, Ontario; Pikangikum First Nation, Ontario; Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, Ontario/Quebec; Moose Factory, Ontario; her home community, Misipawistik Cree Nation; and other First Nations communities. Dr. Cook believes in Traditional Indigenous Medicine and incorporates this with Western practice. Her belief is that healing needs to be focused on all aspects of the person– Body, Mind and Spirit. Marlyn is a sun dancer, a pipe carrier and a sweat lodge keeper. She also acts as a role model for young people and in this capacity, she has traveled extensively throughout Manitoba and Canada encouraging young people to continue to pursue their dreams regardless of obstacles they face. She encourages people to learn their traditional knowledge and language as well as pursuing western education.

Dr. Jae Ford (they/she/nekm), MD, MPH, CCFP, FRCPC

Dr. Jae Ford comes to this work as a proud Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer (2SIQ) lnu with trans experience and mixed Mi’kmaw-European ancestry, with her Mi’kmaw ancestry coming from her mother’s family. Their reconnection to their Mi’kmaw culture, language, and teachings has grounded them in Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing), equity, and relational accountability. They are incredibly grateful to have grown up and been raised by their family in their home territory, Ktaqmkuk in Mi’kma’ki (“land across the water,” or the island of Newfoundland) but now reside in Lekwungen tung’exw (Victoria, BC). She is also a cat mom, an auntie, a mentor, a mentee, a friend, and a partner. She is an early-career physician who recently completed her medical residency training in Public Health and Preventive Medicine (including Family Medicine) at the University of British Columbia. Following graduation, they are honoured and humbled to have started as Medical Officer (Gender and Public Health) with the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) and Interim Site Faculty Lead (Assessment and Evaluation) at UBC’s Indigenous Family Practice site. In addition to these roles, she is providing culturally humble and inclusive sexual and gender health services while building a primary care panel for marginalized genders and sexualities at Island Sexual Health Community Health Centre. They have been fortunate to be part of teams rooted in equity and justice, such as the Unlearning & Undoing White Supremacy and Indigenous-Specific Racism (U&U) Lab, the Two-Spirit Dry Lab (2SDL), the Gender and Sex in Methods and Measurements (GSMM) Toolkit Advisory Committee, and the Bord of Directors (Health Advisory Committee) for Health Initiative for Men (HIM).

Dr. Keleigh James

Dr. Keleigh James is a bilingual (French/English) family physician whose career has spanned both rural and urban settings, with a particular focus on caring for equity-seeking patient populations. She’s had a variety of clinical experience, including work with Indigenous patients in northern Manitoba through Ongomiizwin Health Services and with Francophone patients in minority‑language contexts. Other clinical work has included HIV primary care and MAID assessment and provision. She completed her medical degree and Bilingual Family Medicine residency at the University of Manitoba, followed by a Master’s in Medical Education from the University of Dundee. Across her career, Dr. James has held diverse academic roles at the University of Manitoba and the University of Ottawa, contributing to curriculum development and learner support. Her educational experience extends to continuing professional development, and she has designed and delivered education related to patient safety, practice improvement, and physician wellness.

Dr. James currently works as Special Advisor in Physician Support and Wellness at the Canadian Medical Protective Association, where her work addresses the impacts of medico‑legal distress on physicians. She brings a deep understanding of legal and regulatory processes, paired with a relational, trauma‑informed approach rooted in psychological safety and belonging. A certified yoga teacher with training in contemplative and somatic practices, Dr. James believes that physician well‑being and connection are essential to sustaining meaningful clinical practice. She is grounded in the understanding that compassion (toward patients, communities, and oneself) is foundational to high‑quality, safer healthcare, particularly in contexts shaped by historical and ongoing inequities.

Karenna’onwe Dr. Karen Hill

Karenna’onwe (Gaw-law-naw-oo-way)– Dr. Karen Hill is a Mohawk woman and practicing physician from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. She is a Daughter, Sister, Mother Auntie, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother. She completed medical school in 2003 and Family Medicine Residency in 2005 – both from McMaster University. Her passion is to see Traditional Indigenous Knowledge return to the centre of life and healthcare for Indigenous people across Canada. This vision led her to co-create a collaborative practice at Six Nations called Juddah’s Place with her friend and colleague Dr. Elva Jamieson.

In 2015 Karen became the first recipient of the Thomas Dignan award for Indigenous Health conferred by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. In the same year she also received The College of Family Physicians Excellence Award for leading the way in Indigenous collaborative care in primary practice. Also, in 2016 she was honored by McMaster University with a Community Impact Award.

Karen continues to practice consultative medicine at Six Nations and is the Clinical Lead for the Indigenous Medicine Service at the Brantford General Hospital. Karen is also an Assistant Professor and Faculty Lead for Indigenous Health with the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University. She has completed 4 years apprenticeship (really 9 years) in Traditional Indigenous Medicine and continues this learning along with Mohawk language classes as lifelong commitments.

Dr. Stefon Irvine

Stefon Irvine (he/him) is a registered member of Chemawawin Cree Nation, with maternal ties to Ukraine and the Manitoba Métis Federation, and mixed settler heritage on his paternal side. Born and raised in northern Manitoba, he grew up off-reserve in Lynn Lake and Leaf Rapids before later moving to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. He is a PGY-2 Family Medicine resident in Manitoba’s Remote and Northern stream. Prior to medicine, he worked as a registered psychiatric nurse in youth addiction and chemical detox. His transition to medicine was driven by the difference in professional autonomy medicine provides to advocate more forcefully for health system reform and decolonization, despite systemic resistance. His interests include Indigenous health equity, health system reform, and community-led healthcare in the North. He is beginning an additional year of training in Obstetrical Surgical Skills, with the goal of restoring Indigenous community-based birthing and join the growing team of people advancing full-scope, culturally safe care in northern communities.