In the run-off election for Cree Health Board chairperson held November 27, Jeannie Pelletier won over incumbent Bertie Wapachee. As none of the five candidates received more than 50% of ballots cast November 12, a second round of voting was held for the top two candidates in the first round.
Advance run-off polling was held in Cree communities November 21 with travelling polls November 25 at traditional camps near communities along with Eleanore Mine, Osisko (Windfall), KM 381 of the Billy Diamond Highway, Troilus Mining Camps and Quebec City’s embassy office.
Among the 2,578 ballots received November 12, Wapachee received 902 votes (35%), while Pelletier had 705 (27.3%). Not advancing to the second round are George Diamond (18.2%), Emma Virginia Wabano (10.7%) and Sherry Ann Spencer (8.7%).
While the final list of candidates was released October 23, the Nation had already gone to print featuring interviews with only Wapachee and Diamond, being unaware of others who intended to run. The candidates were discouraged from campaigning prior to this release, though this is not required under election bylaws. Some suggested an inherent conflict of interest because Returning Officer John Henry Wapachee is the brother of the incumbent chairperson, although no election discrepancies were observed.
“It seems like there are no rules even though I was trying to follow them,” said Pelletier. “I was even told I couldn’t go to the local radio stations because we have to be fair to all the others and they hadn’t submitted their recordings.”
Pelletier’s candidacy came from the same desire to help her people when she went south in 1989 at age 17 to pursue a career as an emergency nurse, getting an initial posting at Montreal’s Royal Victoria Hospital.
“But it’s not easy going back to your community working in ‘emerg’,” Pelletier noted. “The people you face are close family members; it’s not the same as people you don’t know. For two years I did that and felt it was hard. It took a toll on my family too.”
Pivoting to prevention and primary care, Pelletier began a nursing degree at the University of Ottawa. While in the city, she worked six weeks in outreach nursing at the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health, which offered sharing circles and innovative approaches to Indigenous healing.
Stepping into a management role after 14 years in community health, Pelletier advocated for reintroducing Cree midwifery in Chisasibi. She became the director of Chisasibi’s Community Miyupimaatisiiun Centre (CMC) and introduced the team-based Nisk model of care after researching solutions for more positive working environments.
“I went to the Southcentral Foundation in Alaska and was sold,” Pelletier recalled. “It was like being at Woodstock – that’s how we started the pilot project with 300 clients and the results were staggering. After a few visits, people really improved.”
With people tired of repeating their story to a revolving parade of doctors and nurses, the Nisk model gives more access to family doctors with one phone number to call or text questions to. Given a “blank canvas” to transform the family centre, Pelletier worked with architects and healthcare providers to develop a more responsive approach.
“You know the open concept of a teepee?” asked Pelletier. “The communication is open; everybody shares the responsibility and they get to know each other at a different level. The name of the training is Nitutaamh, Cree for ‘all my relations,’ meaning we’re all here for a common purpose.”
If elected, Pelletier hopes to expand this primary care availability throughout Eeyou Istchee, listening to community needs and inspiring change within the system. She wants to improve accessibility to health services, decentralizing resources and simplifying navigation for people seeking specific care.
“The main reason why I ran was to promote transparency,” Pelletier asserted. “We need to create spaces where community members can observe Board of Directors meetings. We’ve grown so fast and so big, people don’t actually know what we offer.”
Further studies at McGill University and UQAT influenced her understanding of human resources, which she believes should encourage a healthier work-life balance. To staff the many facilities under construction, she believes concepts such as a four-day work week would help draw younger people to healthcare careers.
Pelletier recently led an initiative on youth violence, working to understand and address hardships experienced in communities today. She supports expanded land-based healing with services at family cabins as one way of confronting residential school trauma.
“We have to appreciate the distinctness of our worldview and traditions,” said Pelletier. “There’s a part of our processes we still need to Indigenize. There’s a lot of focus on Montreal but they need to come back to the community, where the needs are.”
The three pillars of her campaign platform are “reclaiming our path, restoring our health and rewriting our story.” Priorities include “operationalizing sacred teachings” as guiding principles for the board, integrating Cree cultural advisors and ensuring orientation training features Eeyou/Eenou customs and worldview.
With 28 years of experience at the health board and her community’s council, Pelletier suggested that her wide network would help grassroots voices transform the organization. She’s a big supporter of traditional healers, believing the growing Nishiiyuu department can offer alternative medicines unavailable in CMCs.
“Our most important resource are the people, not the buildings,” Pelletier argued in support of her efforts to improve working conditions and staff retention.
“I hope people start to understand how they have power over their health,” said Pelletier. “Considering inequalities that exist, I hope to close this gap to achieve Miyupimaatisiiun and demystify this concept.”