In this video, Patricia Makokis and her son, Dr. James Makokis, share their family stories of her hysterectomy and his experience in becoming a doctor trained in Western medicine to help others understand an alternative way of practising holistic wellness. Through the sharing of these stories, they highlight the strength and resiliency within their Cree culture, which allows them to honour their own ways of being, even from inside Western medical institutions. This video relates to chapter 19 of the textbook Determinants of Indigenous Peoples’ Health in Canada: Beyond the Social.

The NCCIH has developed Beyond the Social: Author Interviews, a series of eleven videos featuring interviews with some of the authors and editors of Determinants of Indigenous Peoples’ Health in Canada: Beyond the Social. The videos offer real-world insight and perspective that illuminate key concepts in the book, but they can also be used as stand-alone learning tools for anyone teaching or promoting Indigenous health and well-being. Follow the links below to view the other videos.

Related Links

• Read a transcript of the video (PDF)
• Listen to the video on SoundCloud
• Watch the video on Vimeo
• Read the related web story
• Obtain a copy of the textbook Determinants of Indigenous Peoples’ Health in Canada: Beyond the Social

Video Series

• Introduction - Rethinking Determinants of Indigenous Peoples' Health in Canada, with Sarah de Leeuw and Margo Greenwood
• Chapter 1 - Structural Determinants of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health, with Charlotte Loppie
• Chapter 2 - Two-Eyed Seeing in Medicine, with Albert Marshall
• Chapter 3 - Inuit Knowledge Systems, Elders, and Determinants of Health: Harmony, Balance, and the role of Holistic Thinking, with Shirley Tagalik
• Chapter 7 - Being at the Interface: Early Childhood as a Determinant of Health with Margo Greenwood
• Chapter 9 - Activating Place: Geography as a Determinant of Indigenous Peoples' Health and Well-being, with Sarah de Leeuw
• Chapter 13 - Ascribed Health and Wellness, Achieved Health and Wellness: Shifting the Paradigm, with Madeleine Dion Stout
• Chapter 15 - Reshaping the Politics of Health: A Personal Perspective, with Warner Adam
• Chapter 18 - Knowing Who You Are: Family History and Aboriginal Determinants of Health, with Brenda Macdougall
• Chapter 19 - Practising "the Good Way of Life" from the Hospital Bed to Mother Earth, with Patricia and James Makokis
• Beyond the Social Panel from the NCCAH National Forum "Transforming our Realities" held Dec. 2-3, 2015 in Ottawa, Ontario