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NIC Elder in Residence charts new nursing curriculum
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D
r. Evelyn Voyageur’s list of accomplishments is only surpassed by her devotion to her career, her calling and her culture.
Those elements are intrinsically entwined. In fact, it was her concern for her own people that initially led Voyageur down the nursing path. Voyageur grew up in the residential school system, which limited her education beyond Grade 8. “In those days, you were not encouraged to seek education,” she explained. “Once you reached Grade 8, you were booted out of the residential school.” She returned to school years later, as a young mother of three children, to pursue a career in nursing. She started as a licensed practical nurse in 1979, but was not done learning. She went on to earn a master’s degree, and ultimately, a PhD in mental health. “When I started working with my people, I did not understand them,” she said. “There was so much disfunction. I had been raised by a caring, loving, very hard-working family. But I would go and live in other places, and I would find that lacking… nobody was ready to look after their children. Nobody was prepared. I had to find out what the difference was between them and my family. I found out that it came down to residential schools. Almost none of my family was part of that system, but the people I worked with, they had
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