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N'doo'owe Binesi Featured on Indigenous Medicine Stories Podcast
On March 10, 2025, St. Joseph’s Care Group was featured in an episode of the Indigenous Medicine Stories: Anishinaabe mshkiki nwii-dbaaddaan podcast, where staff, leaders and Elders chatted about N’doo’owe Binesi, SJCG’s Indigenous Health Division, and the significance of traditional healing in modern healthcare.
Hosted by Dr. Darrel Manitowabi, Associate Professor at Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, the two part podcast episode featured a member of Ogichidaa Onaakonigewin (Elders Council), Nanaandawe’ewin Traditional Healing Program, and Vice President of N’doo’owe Binesi.
The episode offered a unique and powerful opportunity to learn about the deeply rooted traditions of Indigenous healing and its growing integration within the healthcare system, while also reinforcing the pivotal role of Elders and knowledge keepers in shaping the future of healthcare.
Throughout the episode, listeners heard from Paul Francis Jr., Vice President of N’doo’owe Binesi, Reena Larabee, Traditional Healing Manager of Nanaandawe’ewin Traditional Healing Program, and Elder Aaron Therriault, of Ogichidaa Onaakonigewin. The group shared their wisdom, stories and perspectives on the importance of Indigenous healing practices, leadership and governance in the wellness of Indigenous peoples and communities.
Listen here:
About the podcast: Indigenous Medicine Stories Podcast is a collaboration between AMS Healthcare and the Jason A. Hannah Chair in the History of Indigenous Health and Indigenous Traditional Medicine at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University. Indigenous Medicine Stories aims to educate health professionals and the public about Indigenous healing. The podcast will highlight the lived experiences of Indigenous Knowledge holders, healers, and Elders and help professionals who practice Indigenous healing.
Responding to Unmet Needs: 125 Years of Care in the Community
Two important health care milestones for Thunder Bay occurred in 2009 - the 125th anniversary of St. Joseph's General Hospital and the 30th anniversary of St. Joseph's Heritage.
Both institutions owe their origins and strengths to their founders, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie. The Sisters are a Catholic order dedicated to service in the community in the fields of health care, education and social work in general.
St. Joseph's General Hospital, founded in 1884, was the first of its kind in Northwestern Ontario and has undergone many transformations throughout its long history. St. Joseph's Heritage opened in 1979, and is an integrated care system that includes a long-term care home, an adult day program, supportive housing units and a community centre.
St. Joseph's Care Group was created in 1997 when these two institutions merged to become one. The history of St. Joseph's Care Group and most notably, the role transformation of St. Joseph's General Hospital, is told here by Peter Raffo. This story develops in the context of the significant changes that were taking place in the provision of health care in the province of Ontario.
- Responding to Unmet Needs: 125 Years of Care in the Community (1884-2009) (Downloadable)
- Read Online
Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital 1934-2004, From Institution to Community - A Transformation of Psychiatric Hospital Services
Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital 1934-2004, From Institution to Community - A Transformation of Psychiatric Hospital Services, tells the story of the origins and development of psychiatric care for the people of Northwestern Ontario, from 1934 to the present day. It is a narrative of change, of a remarkable transformation. In the 1930s, people with mental illness were, more likely than not, shut away in huge psychiatric institutions. Care for patients was custodial because of the lack of effective intervention. Today, they are increasingly integrated into the community, in decent housing, and with appropriate support systems, medial and social, available to them.
In Northwestern Ontario, this transformation has been mirrored through the history of what was once called the Ontario Hospital Fort William (later Port Arthur), then Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital, which is now a part of St. Joseph's Care Group.
The huge complex on Algoma Street once housed over one thousand patients. Its staff numbered nearly seven hundred. It was a 'village' that protected its residents from the outside world. Today, most of those who once would have lived within its walls are to be found out in the community, no less cared-for, but no longer shut away.
Tracing the history of this transformation, and relating it to politics of the Lakehead, as well as to changes in medical and psychiatric practice, Peter Raffo tells a story, not only of a local institution, but also of the provision of mental health care to the people of Ontario as a whole.
- From Institution to Community - A Transformation of Psychiatric Hospital Services (Downloadable)
- Read Online
Breaking Up With ED
St. Joseph's Care Group and Raija Begall partnered together to produce the book "Breaking Up With ED" which chronicled Raija's thoughts and emotions as she struggled to overcome a serious eating disorder ("ED"). The book was written to help increase teens' knowledge of eating disorders but anyone can benefit from reading though this powerful resource.
-- Updated: March 12, 2025 --
