11 Dr. James Makokis

Dr. James Makokis

Time period: Modern

Subject: Biology, Careers in STEM (Healthcare)

Biography:

James Makokis (he/his) is a Nehiyô (Plains Cree) Family Physician from the Saddle Lake Cree Nation in northeastern Alberta. His mother, Patricia Makokis, used to be the president of Blue Quills University, the first First Nations-owned and -operated university in Canada. James is an Indigenous two-spirit person who wanted to be a doctor since he was four. He graduated with his medical degree from the University of Ottawa in 2010 and completed the University of British Columbia’s Aboriginal Family Medicine Residency Training program in 2012.

Dr. Makokis says on his website that he believes, “that power should be shared, especially with those who have been disempowered.  His philosophy of leadership is based on Nehiyô iyintiw wiyasiwewina (Cree Natural Laws) including kisewatisiwin (kindness), kwayask itatisiwin (honesty), sohkeyitamowin (strength/determination), and pahkwenamatowin (sharing) as taught to him by his Elders.”

Dr. James Makokis married his husband Anthony Johnson, a Navajo artist and two-spirit, and together they won the Amazing Race Canada in 2019, while promoting LGBTQ+2S rights, Indigenous visibility, and Indigenous issues (such as missing and murdered Indigenous women and ongoing water crises).

Summary of their contributions:

As an adult, one of his colleagues encouraged James to focus on trans healthcare, because there was a need for informed physicians to help transitioning patients. Now, James’ practice involves combining Cree and Western medical practices to help transgender people from Indigenous and other communities, and patients come from around the world to receive his care. He received his master’s degree in public health from the University of Toronto in 2006, before continuing onto medical school.

Dr. Makokis is currently an Associate Clinical Professor in the University of Alberta’s Family Medicine Department, the Medical Director of the Shkaabe Makwa Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), and is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

Dr. Makokis is a trailblazer in Indigenous medicine and is one of five experts selected to present to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs on the issue of pandemics and Indigenous Peoples during the COVID-19 crisis.

His platform for his medical beliefs include brave advocacy for his colleagues and his patients, encouraging the wellbeing of physicians, and embracing equity, diversity, and inclusion across the medical profession.

Integration with the BC Secondary Science Curriculum:

Talking about James is a great way to learn more about career paths in science, and learn what people are able to accomplish in order to give back to the communities we come from. Dr. Makokis would be well-incorporated in discussions during units in Grade 9 or 10 Science, Grade 11 Life Sciences, and Grade 12 Anatomy and Physiology, as well as while discussing medical ethics and ethical science practices. In Grade 9 Science, Dr. Makokis might be fitted for sexual health and sexual reproduction lessons as transgender conversations might arise naturally. In Grade 10, teachers might bring up mental health in genetics units, as it is a common discussion that some mental illnesses are correlated to genetic markers. Both of these topics in Grade 9 and 10 also come up in Life Sciences 11. In Anatomy and Physiology 12, we might talk about some of his work when discussing holistic approaches to health, and with lifestyle factors and their effect on health (i.e. water quality in Indigenous communities).

References:

https://www.sfu.ca/wwest/WWEST_blog/7-indigenous-people-in-stem-you-should-know.html

https://drjamesmakokis.squarespace.com/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/cree-educator-vincent-steinhauer-dies-1.5039722