Northern Constellations 2021

Dr. Horton is a general internist and former Associate Dean who serves in multiple leadership positions at University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine in Winnipeg, including Director of the college’s and Faculty of Health Sciences programs in Physician and Learner Wellness, Director of the Alan Klass Health Humanities Program, and Associate Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine. She spent 16 years attending on clinical teaching units, and now focuses her clinical work on caring for patients living with addiction.

She has won numerous awards at the UGME and PGME level for mentorship, professionalism, and teaching. In 2020, the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) and the Gold Foundation for Humanistic Healthcare, Canada, awarded Dr. Horton the prestigious AFMC–Gold Humanism Award and Lecture. This joint award was created to emphasize, reinforce and elevate the ideals of humanism and patient-centered care within the healthcare community in Canada.

Dr. Horton’s writing appears frequently in the L.A. Times, The Globe and Mail, Maclean’s Magazine, and by invitation in the Canadian Medical Association Journal and on Medscape. She is the host of the novel series “Arts Medicine Life” at the National Art Centre in Ottawa, Canada, where she brings influential thought leaders to the stage to discuss the intersection of medicine, the humanities, and compassion in clinical care. She has also trained extensively in teaching Mindful Practice at the University of Rochester and completed Chief Wellness Officer training at Stanford University. She is leading the development of new physician wellness programming for Joule and the Canadian Medical Association.

Her first full-length book, We Are All Perfectly Fine: A Memoir of Love, Medicine, and Healing, will be published in February 2021 by HarperCollins Canada in February 2021. Follow Dr. Horton on Twitter @jillianhortonMD.

Dr. Stanley Vollant is an Innu from Pessamit and from an early age was introduced to traditional Indigenous teachings from his maternal grandfather. Following medical training and surgical residency, he became the first Indigenous surgeon in Quebec. He is presently practicing general surgery at Notre Dame Hospital in Montreal.

Dr. Vollant’s appointments include Director of the Indigenous Program, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa and Coordinator of the Indigenous component, Faculty of Medicine at the Université de Montréal. He has been Chair of the Quebec Medical Association and Executive Council Member of the Canadian Medical Association. He has been awarded numerous distinctions including Knight of the National Order of Quebec (2014), Governor General of Canada’s Aboriginal Role Model Award (2016), Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec’s Medal for Exceptional Merit (2017) and the First Peoples (Innu Nation) Medal (2019).

During a pilgrimage to Compostela, Spain, Dr. Vollant felt called to travel the road of his ancestors to various Indigenous communities. In the fall of 2010, he set off on a long walk throughout Quebec to promote healthy lifestyle habits among Indigenous youth. This project became a great movement called Innu Meshkenu, which means “the Innu way.” Dr. Vollant walked over 6,000 kilometres with other Indigenous people joining the walk inspire young people to believe in their potential.

Dr. Vollant created Puamun Meshkenu in 2016 to follow in the spirit of the Innu Meshkenu. With numerous programs to encourage school attendance and healthy lifestyles, the organization is growing according to the holistic approach of Indigenous cultures. For more than 30 years, Dr. Vollant has taken interest in First Nations health and, with increasing commitment, in the overall well-being of Indigenous people in Canada.

For more information on Puamun Meshkenu: https://www.puamun.com/