Philip Matoush recently celebrated 25 years working as a medical transport driver with Wiichihiituwin, Cree Patient Services, providing a familiar face for Crees travelling to Montreal for healthcare appointments.
“Helping others as a CPS driver has had a big impact on my life,” Matoush told the Nation. “They appreciate the communication; I can talk with them in Cree. It helps them. I find it rewarding after I finish my day.”
Matoush moved Montreal about 28 years ago to support his wife Sharon Pepabano during her college studies. CPS was much smaller when he started working as a driver, with patients staying at boarding homes scattered throughout the city.
In 2016, the Cree Health Board began working with the Espresso Hotel to centralize lodging in a more culturally safe, comfortable environment that is close to healthcare centres. The facility now welcomes about 20,000 patients and their caregivers annually for medical care and treatment not available in Eeyou Istchee.
With all Espresso rooms now reserved for Cree patients, the hotel offers nurses, Indigenous catering and kitchens for cooking, a spiritual space and an activity room. Former CHB executive director Daniel St-Amour said that ongoing renovations aim to make Espresso “a place of healing, connection and belonging.”
While the Espresso has added security features, risks remain for patients walking around its downtown location. On the morning of April 25, 58-year-old Peter Gull from Waswanipi was mugged near the hotel. Matoush said the perpetrator even tried to take the pump Gull was wearing for chemotherapy treatments.
Over the years, Matoush has served as a compassionate guide for Cree patients navigating health complications far from home. It’s not always easy calming down patients who are frustrated or angry. Sometimes he feels he has three jobs: “social worker, psychologist and driver.”
“Patients have come up to me crying that they have cancer that’s spreading and can’t even tell their family yet,” said Matoush. “They tell me stuff I don’t tell anyone – it’s devastating. All I do is hug them and try to comfort them. I tell them your family has to know. They come to me because they’re more comfortable talking to a Cree person.”
As the senior CPS driver and the only Cree now driving full-time, Matoush said services would improve with more Crees on the team. Patients have increasingly expressed frustration that many drivers don’t understand their needs.
After hearing from many patients craving traditional food roasted over the fire, Matoush and Pepabano started a bush camp in 2020 at Camping D’Aoust in Hudson, about 40 km from downtown Montreal. With a group of volunteers, they organized cookouts with Cree patients that were an immediate hit.
Cree communities and organizations raised funds for a teepee and cooking supplies that enabled the project to grow. In 2022, the couple accepted Bob Patton’s offer to relocate the teepee to his family’s property on the Mohawk reserve of Kahnawake and the project quickly expanded.
The CHB and other entities helped fund the installation of two “modern teepees” as the site became a hub for cultural workshops, healing activities and numerous community programs. Unfortunately, the partnership ended three years ago.
“It didn’t work out with the project due to funding and the location so now I am at Camp D’Aoust where it all started,” Matoush explained. “I don’t want this to be a big project like last time or look for funding anymore. Still, I want to bring people together. Me and my wife Sharon love cooking traditional food and sharing with other people.”
While the project in Kahnawake became the Mohawk Cultural Community Homestead and continued to promote traditional skills, food sovereignty and cultural education, last year’s funding cuts have forced it to adapt. Matoush estimated that about $50,000 had been invested by various entities.
Although it hasn’t always been easy living so far from his ancestral hunting grounds in Mistissini, Matoush said “living in the city paid off” by giving his children a good education. His son started at Concordia University this year, where his daughter will soon graduate with a double major.
Learning from his previous experience, Matoush wants to slowly rebuild the teepee project with family and friends. In late May, he announced the first annual “sigabon snaugfest” with attendees encouraged to bring their own goose to Camping D’Aoust.
“The owner was happy to hear my voice,” Matoush said. “He said, ‘Come over, you guys can do whatever you want.’ I told him I just want to cook wild meat like we do back home and get away from the city. It’s so nice over there – like being in the bush.”