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- Winnipeg Free Press
Cook first Indigenous woman inducted to Winnipeg Citizens Hall of Fame
Among a row of largely male faces, Dr. Catherine Cook's stands out.
Her newly unveiled bust had drawn a crowd of celebrators on Wednesday — and unlike the area's other statues, hers didn't yet have a plaque bearing her name and significance.
The event marked another 'first' set by Cook, a former colleague noted. 'She has now opened the door to the hall of fame,' said Melanie MacKinnon.
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Dr. Catherine Cook has become the first Indigenous woman inducted to the Winnipeg Citizens Hall of Fame.
Cook has become the first Indigenous woman inducted to the Winnipeg Citizens Hall of Fame. Her likeness — clad with glasses and a feather piece — joined 50 others along a strip in Assiniboine Park Wednesday.
'It's an incredible honour,' MacKinnon said.
She's worked with Cook at various organizations, including Ongomiizwin, the University of Manitoba's Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing.
Cook spearheaded the facility's creation; it opened in 2017 and is Canada's largest Indigenous education and health unit.
Ongomiizwin now deploys more than 300 clinicians to Manitoba First Nations communities and Nunavut. Its research and education branch supports roughly 500 Indigenous health professional students annually, said MacKinnon, the facility's executive director.
'(Cook) has trained, personally, hundreds of physicians,' MacKinnon estimated.
'And with all of her mentees, collaboratively, thousands and thousands of health professionals.'
MacKinnon is one of Cook's mentees. Cook assumed the leadership role while MacKinnon was finishing her undergraduate degree in nursing.
The junior health-care practitioner said she learned many things from Cook, but perhaps the most important was relationships.
'We don't do this work by ourselves,' MacKinnon said. 'There's heavy lifting that sometimes requires discernment in what we choose to carry and, sometimes, what we need to put down for our own health and well-being.'
Cook promoted health equity, anti-racism and Indigenous inclusion in health-care systems.
When creating Ongomiizwin, she was the University of Manitoba's vice-dean of Indigenous health. She later became the post-secondary's inaugural vice-president (Indigenous).
Decades earlier, she'd become one of the first Indigenous students to graduate with a medicine degree in Manitoba.
Cook travelled through the province's northern and remote communities as a family physician. She transitioned to management, including as provincial lead of Indigenous health at Shared Health. She helped develop the Indigenous Partnership Strategic Framework — a guide for Shared Health to follow.
Gabrielle Piché / free press
Dr. Catherine Cook's bust at Winnipeg Citizens Hall of Fame.
'She's been very unselfish, she's been very humble,' said Cliff King, chair of the hall of fame's selection committee.
Cook declined to address media Wednesday, electing MacKinnon to speak for her.
The Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board's selection committee accepts Hall of Fame nominations and picks inductees based on their community contributions. Cook stood out as a 'pioneer' in Indigenous medicine, King said.
'I aspire to be like her, to enact change like that on a massive scale,' added Michael Froese, president of the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board. 'That was really inspiring to me, to just see that she wanted to make change en masse, and then she went out and did it — and is still doing it.'
Cook retired from the U of M in 2023, after a three-decade career with the institution.
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Her list of awards is lengthy. The College of Family Physicians of Canada, Health Canada, Doctors Manitoba, the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada and the provincial government are among the entities that have bestowed accolades on her.
In 2023, she received the prestigious Vanier Medal from the Institute of Public Administration of Canada.
Madeleine Vrignon created Cook's bust. The local artist has made several Citizens hall pieces in the past, including Sinclair's.
The Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board founded the Citizens Hall of Fame in 1986.
Gabrielle PichéReporter
Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.
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