Intersections between biomedicine and traditional knowledge and medicines

What is the role of Western biomedicine and Indigenous traditional knowledge and medicines in supporting health and wellbeing? Some of our Indigenous colleagues participated in a Fireside Chat to discuss this topic as part of a series called Maad’ookiing Mshkiki — Sharing Medicine. This project was designed to address the lack of culturally safe and relevant education materials for Indigenous people about vaccination.

In the latest release, Dr. Karen Hill, Dr. Amy Montour, Elva Jamieson, and Ashley Montour speak about how they use both approaches in their respective practices. Drs. Hill and Montour are Indigenous physicians and DFM faculty members, Elva Jamieson is a traditional medicine practitioner, and Ashley Montour is an Indigenous registered practical nurse. Watch the video on the Maad’ookiing Mshkiki YouTube channel.

To accompany the video, the project team developed materials that provide information on a variety of ways to support immune function, including singing, spending time outdoors and drumming. You can find resources on the virtual hub or download graphics to share on social media. The virtual hub also contains previous fireside chats covering topics such as vaccine hesitancy, what is COVID-19 and how the vaccines work.

We are grateful to our Indigenous colleagues for sharing their knowledge and encourage you to share with your network. Follow @SharingMedicine on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use the hashtag #sharingmedicine.