CNF Indigenous Award

I am Mi’kmaq from the West Coast of Newfoundland. My community connection is stronger through my father’s side whose father comes from Flat Bay, NL. Healers and strong L’nu people within my family helped guide me towards a career in nursing. My Great Grammy was a traditional healer and delivered hundreds of babies along the West coast of the island. Her story and resiliency grounded in her traditional knowledge fascinated me and influenced my decision to want to be a nurse. I graduated from the Bachelor of Nursing program at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Western Regional School of Nursing (WRSON), Grenfell Campus in 2004 becoming the first person in my family to attend and graduate University. I am an Assistant Professor with Memorial University’s Faculty of Nursing and cross appointed to Grenfell Campus’s School of Arts and Social Science in Interdisciplinary Humanities. I am also a PhD Candidate in the PhD of Nursing Program at the University of Alberta and my dissertation is focused on co-examining what “heart” means to Mi’kmaw women from the West Coast of Newfoundland. This research is using an Indigenous research methodology grounded in Mi’kmaq community worldview, through an community based approach and Storyworks.