Northern Award

 Weyt-kp xwexwéytep, Katie Xyemetkwe Ignace ren skewekst.

Hello, my name is Katie Ignace and I am an Indigenous woman of Secwepemc ancestry. I grew up on the Skeetchestn Indian Reserve with 6 sisters, 3 brothers, and many nieces and nephews where we learned the Secwepemc language and culture from our parents and elders. I am currently entering my 4th and final year of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at Thompson Rivers University.

I have always had a passion for working with and helping mothers and young children, with a specific focus on indigenous populations. When I was 19, my sister was having a home birth with the help of a midwife and doula, and I was able to be a support person for her. I was able to watch how the midwife and doula worked together, what their care involves, and how much support and consideration they provide in such a vulnerable, exciting, and overwhelming time. Ever since then, I knew that I wanted to enter the perinatal nursing specialty and help families during this important time like they did so that I could help provide a safe space for holistic perinatal care. I am currently taking courses through the British Columbia Institute of Technology so that I can one day earn my Perinatal Nursing Specialty and achieve my career goal of working on a Maternity and Labour and Delivery ward as well as in perinatal indigenous community care.