bridging medicine systems

Dr. Nicole Redvers endeavors to integrate Indigenous and culturally-appropriate medicine into Western medical practice. If healing our relationship with land is key to revitalize traditional health and wellness, could ecological restoration become a public health strategy for the future?

Dr. Nicole Redvers, ND, MPH, is an assistant professor in the Department of Family & Community Medicine – Indians into Medicine (INMED) at the University of North Dakota’s School of Medicine & Health Sciences. Dr. Redvers was the first licensed practicing naturopathic doctor in North America who is Dene (a member of the Deninu K’ue First Nation Band). After growing up in Canada’s isolated north, she pursued an advanced Western medical education in the Canadian south and has had the privilege of developing relationships with strong elders and medicine people. She has traveled the globe, studying traditional medicine systems in various countries and working with Indigenous patients, helping to bridge the gap between traditional and modern medical systems. In addition, Redvers developed Northern Canada’s only integrative medicine clinic from the ground up. She also co-founded and chairs a non-profit group, the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation (AIWF), whose purpose is to revitalize traditional wellness services in the Canadian north with a focus on the preservation of Traditional Medicines. Her foundation was awarded one million dollars as a Laureate of the 2017 Arctic Inspiration Prize to work with homeless people and those most at risk in the northern part of Canada. Dr. Redvers has been actively involved at the international level promoting the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives in planetary health and sustainable healthcare education (SHE), and currently sits on the advisory board for the American Public Health Association's Center for Climate, Health and Equity Steering Committee in addition to being a senior fellow of Indigenous and Community Health with inVIVO Planetary Health. She is also the author of the trade paperback book titled, ‘The Science of the Sacred: Bridging Global Indigenous Medicine Systems and Modern Scientific Principles’.

The Science of the Sacred: Bridging Global Indigenous Medicine Systems and Modern Scientific Principles by Nicole Redvers | Published by North Atlantic Books on 2019-03-26

Redvers, N., Poelina, A., Schultz, C., Kobei, D. M., Githaiga, C., Perdrisat, M., ... & Blondin, B. S. (2020). Indigenous Natural and First Law in Planetary Health. Challenges, 11(2), 29.

Redvers, N., Yellow Bird, M., Quinn, D., Yunkaporta, T., & Arabena, K. (2020). Molecular decolonization: an Indigenous microcosm perspective of planetary health. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(12), 4586.

International Journal of Indigenous Health https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/ijih/about

First Nations Health Authority https://www.fnha.ca/what-we-do/traditional-healing

Organisation for Noetic Ecology https://noeticecology.org

Jennifer Redvers (Nicole’s sister) thesis examines the cultural concept and role of the Land as healer in Indigenous communities in the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut, and the importance of facilitating modern Land-based programs and activities for integrated health, education, and environmental outcomes (see below):

Redvers, J. M. (2016). Land-based Practice for Indigenous Health and Wellness in Yukon, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.

Or shorter version recently published

Redvers, J. (2020). “The land is a healer”: Perspectives on land-based healing from Indigenous practitioners in northern Canada. International Journal of Indigenous Health, 15(1), 90-107.

EcoHealth Network https://ecohealthglobal.org/ecological-restoration/public-health/

Music on this episode was from the YouTube Audio Library: Bodélé Depression (Mega-Chad Mix) by Jesse Gallagher and Spruce Tree by Ashley Shadow

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