Madeline Yaaka made history when she entered 苹果淫院鈥檚 MDCM program last month. An Inuk hailing from Kangiqsujuaq, in Nunavik, northern Quebec, she was already her community鈥檚 first university grad (graduating last spring with a BSc in Biology from 苹果淫院) and is now the region鈥檚 first medical student. If all goes well, in 2027 she鈥檒l become its first Inuk physician.
Yaaka鈥檚 success is extra special for Alex Allard-Gray, Program Manager for the Indigenous Health Professions Program (IHPP) , who鈥檚 known Yaaka since she participated as a camper and later as a senior camp counsellor in the Eagle Spirit Science Futures Camp, the STEM camp for Indigenous youth run by the IHPP. 鈥淢adeline is a champion for Inuit people and a beacon of hope for youth,鈥 Allard-Gray, himself an Eagle Spirit alum and former Outreach Coordinator who organized the camp, said at May鈥檚 Scarf Ceremony for Indigenous grads.
North and South
We caught up with Yaaka just before she headed back to Montreal for the UGME orientation at the end of August. Speaking from home via Zoom 鈥 鈥淚t鈥檚 quite foggy today, so the Internet is kind of iffy,鈥 she warned 鈥 she reflected on the contrast between the two worlds she lives in.
鈥淚鈥檝e been going for hikes and visiting family and friends and also helping prepare some traditional food that we鈥檝e been harvesting 鈥 beluga, Arctic char and also some caribou,鈥 she says of her summer in Kangiqsujuaq, a village of about 800 people. 鈥淲hen my father was still alive, we鈥檇 go camping almost every weekend and in the summertime we鈥檇 go longer and I used to hunt as well.鈥
She loves being home, but admits there are a few things she misses from Montreal. 鈥淚鈥檝e been craving avocadoes for some reason,鈥 she says with a chuckle. 鈥淔resh produce 鈥 that鈥檚 what I miss a lot. And long showers.鈥 The unattainable avocado is emblematic of some of the basic things that are simply not available in many Northern communities, taken for granted in the South. Other shortages include a stable source of water (brought in by truck), access to health and dental care and a postsecondary-ready high school education. Yaaka experienced all of these first-hand 鈥 she had to move to Ontario to live with her aunt to upgrade her high school credits because the science prerequisites she needed to get into university weren鈥檛 available in Kangiqsujuaq.
Her accomplishments are hard won and she鈥檚 proud of them. She credits her parents 鈥 her mother is a teacher and her father was a noted hunter (he passed away just after Yaaka finished high school) 鈥 with making education a priority and encouraging her to push herself to excel. The pressure to succeed does weigh on her a bit, though, she confesses. 鈥淏ut I know that people from my community are very supportive. Whenever I go back home everybody鈥檚 congratulating me,鈥 she says.
Inspiring journey
The Eagle Spirit camp was another crucial element in her journey. 鈥淚 knew I wanted to be in a profession where I would be helping people, but I wasn鈥檛 quite set on medical school,鈥 she recalls. 鈥淓agle Spirit showed me that this was really what I wanted to do.鈥 She liked that campers got hands-on experience drawing blood and doing CPR on manikins. 鈥淭hey also had presentations by Indigenous medical students and by an Inuk heart surgeon named Donna May Kimmaliardjuk, who shared their stories, which was inspiring.鈥
Yaaka is keen to start her medical training, though a little nervous. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit daunting knowing that I鈥檓 going to be the only Inuk in these classrooms and in these settings, but I鈥檓 used to that feeling,鈥 she says resignedly. Her experience as an Indigenous student at 苹果淫院 has by and large been good, but she has had some distressing encounters with outmoded attitudes and outdated textbooks that either reinforce stereotypes or deny the impact of colonial policies on Indigenous communities. It鈥檚 stressful and lonely to step forward and correct these misperceptions, but Yaaka feels it鈥檚 her duty. 鈥淚 have the tools and the space available to me to speak for people in my community,鈥 she says. 鈥淓ven though I鈥檓 just one person in a class, I hope it can make a difference.鈥
Health sciences futures?
Yaaka is also trying to make a difference back home. The fact that there are few Nunavimmiut in postsecondary education doesn鈥檛 surprise her given the obstacles 鈥 unimaginable to most Quebecers 鈥 students from Nunavik face. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very complex issue,鈥 she says. 鈥淏asic human rights need to be met before we can go on to higher education. We need a bit more time and we need more resources in our communities.鈥
Still, she actively encourages youth in her community to do their best and give higher education a shot. 鈥淚 try to go to the high school, the recreation centre and summer camps, to share my story whenever I get the chance. I tell the students: 鈥業t鈥檚 going to be difficult 鈥 but I know you can do it.鈥 And I hope they鈥檒l see me and think, 鈥極K, this is possible.鈥欌
Outreach is nothing new for Yaaka. During her undergrad, she was involved with First Peoples鈥 House where she reconnected with some fellow former Eagle Spirit campers. There, she joined the Justice Centre and ran a mitten making course for urban Inuit and a parka making course. She also has a part-time gig for the regional radio station back home recording announcements in Inuktitut, her first language.
Yaaka isn鈥檛 sure yet what path she鈥檒l take in medicine. 鈥淚鈥檓 keeping it open at this point, but I know if I would like to come back to my community, I鈥檇 probably have to be a family doctor, or maybe a specialist that would travel around,鈥 she says. 鈥淏ut surgery also sounds really exciting to me because I like to sew and I like to make things.鈥
She鈥檚 quietly confident that everything will work out. 鈥淚 think that growing up in Nunavik really made me adaptable to change and to know that I鈥檓 strong enough to solve whatever problem is ahead of me,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 quite difficult growing up without all these basic services. You have to make it work with what you鈥檝e got. So I think I鈥檒l be ready for the challenge.鈥