The grounds outside Roger Guindon Hall recently became a classroom of a different kind as members of the Faculty of Medicine community gathered for a ‘Medicine Walk’ led by Indigenous Elders and knowledge keepers.
The outdoor gathering offered learners, faculty and staff an opportunity to learn more about Indigenous experiences and the Algonquin Anishinabeg understanding of the relationship between health, people and the land.
Sharing knowledge, learning from tragedy
With smoke rising gently from burning sage in an abalone shell, attendees used their hands to draw the smoke toward themselves in a traditional Indigenous practice known as smudging. Dozens of participants were gathered nearby a dedicated Indigenous Garden that opened on the campus of the uOttawa Faculty of Medicine in September 2024.
Four other Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Elders then shared some knowledge about medicines found in nature, as well as the painful impact that residential schools had on them, and the intergenerational loss of Indigenous knowledge that followed. The visiting Elders were among the roughly 150,000 Indigenous children in Canada who were taken from their communities and sent to residential schools.
Elder Jackie Cote shared stark recollections of her years in the residential school system, where she said abuses of all kinds were routine. Referred to as a number rather than their name, they were forbidden to speak their languages, and Indigenous ways of knowing were deliberately stamped out.
From painful memories comes a lesson about healing
Yet amid those searing experiences, Cote held on to an important teaching: the healing power of a smile.
“Here’s the medicine I’m going to pass on: a smile,” Cote said with a wide grin. “Even if you are having a hard time – smile. It’s cheap! It doesn’t cost anything, but that’s medicine for everybody.”
The Elders encouraged learners at the Faculty to consider how something as simple as a smile can help defuse tension and build strong connections with patients. While a smile won't change a diagnosis, it communicates warmth and compassion. It can say: I see you. I am here with you. You matter.
Jackie Cote reminded medical learners that everyone was once an innocent baby, regardless of struggles they face today, and encouraged them to see every patient without judgment. She also stressed that titles may differ, but we are all equal as human beings.
Elder Frank Cote, a knowledge keeper and one of two siblings of Jackie Cote who helped lead the Medicine Walk, spoke about the importance of those moments of connection for patients who may be deeply anxious or uncertain about what lies ahead.
Speaking from personal experience, he said a warm interaction with a health-care professional can be deeply meaningful and calming, while a cold encounter can colour a patient’s entire experience of the health-care system.
In the butterfly garden outside Roger Guindon Hall, he emphasized the importance of compassion and respectful relationships in health care. His son, Dr. Wesley Cote, is a family physician from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg who attended the University of Ottawa for his undergraduate studies before completing his medical training at McGill.
“Let’s work together. We’ve got to share this Earth. We have to give the next generation someplace to survive and live,” he said.
Seeing health, healing and community in new ways
For attendees, the experience offered a broader way to think about health and healing.
The land itself became part of the learning as participants were encouraged to observe their surroundings and listen to the teachings and experiences shared by the Kitigan Zibi Elders and knowledge keepers, which also included Elders Eddie Cote and David Decontie, who spent years at the Kenora and Point Bleue residential schools beginning when he was just three years old.
At the uOttawa Faculty of Medicine, connecting Indigenous knowledge with medical education and “culturally safe care” is an important part of preparing future health-care professionals. Understanding that health can be profoundly shaped by culture, community, history and relationships deepens perspectives on patient care and understanding of patients’ experiences.
The visiting Elders made clear that the enduring effects of experiences such as residential schools and systemic discrimination extend across generations, influencing health, family relationships, and community well-being. They explained that recognizing these lasting impacts is essential to understanding the experiences of Indigenous Peoples and providing culturally safe, trauma-informed care.
Medical learners also learned about the importance of making space for Indigenous healing practices within hospitals, emphasizing that culturally grounded interventions can have a powerful impact on the well-being and healing of patients.
By bringing Indigenous knowledge, land-based learning and medical education together, the Medicine Walk encouraged the broad Faculty of Medicine community to recognize that some of the most important lessons in medicine can begin simply by taking the time to listen with humility.
