Our People. Our Health. Our Way.
Meet our Health Care Heroes!
The Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) launched the Health Care Heroes campaign in 2024 to recognize health care professionals who support First Nation citizens from SCO Nations.
There are many people working in the health care field who work tirelessly to improve the health and well-being of our citizens.
As part of our mandate to transform health care for southern First Nations, SCO is proud to highlight the work of our citizens who have chosen a career in health.
SCO Health Care Heroes
Erin Moar, Lake Manitoba First Nation
We would like to introduce you to another unsung healthcare hero!
Erin Moar has been a health care aide since 2010 and is from Lake Manitoba First Nation. However, her work in the community stretches far beyond her official title.
Over the past 3 years, Erin worked on a dementia project in partnership with the University of Manitoba, researching and documenting the impacts of dementia on the Elders of Lake Manitoba. Her findings from the study will soon be published online.
Now, she has embarked on a similar project regarding heart health and stroke prevention. She is also overseeing 3 other health care aides as part of that project in Pinaymootang and Sagkeeng Anicinabe First Nations, along with Opaskwayak Cree Nation.
Erin is a tireless advocate for her Nation, and today, SCO honours her for going above and beyond when it comes to the health and well-being of the Elders and Knowledge Keepers of Lake Manitoba.
Tannis Letandre, Dauphin River First Nation
Tannis Letandre says working as a primary healthcare provider at Dauphin River First Nation, feels like home.
A registered nurse for 19 years, this Pinaymootang First Nation citizen is a tireless bundle of positivity when it comes to caring for the people of Dauphin River. Her fellow health centre employees say Tannis always goes above and beyond and her dedication was especially evident during the height of the global pandemic.
Dauphin River was hit particularly hard by COVID-19 and Tannis stepped up to provide medical care for the entire community by herself. Along with her nursing duties at the health centre, Tannis also provides home care and public health education to the community.
The Southern Chiefs’ Organization is also working tirelessly to transform and improve health care for all our Nations. We would like to acknowledge Tannis and all the healthcare professionals from our Nations for doing their part.
Susan Dupuis, Swan Lake First Nation
Meet a remarkable and holistic healer from the Swan Lake First Nation: Susan Dupuis is an award-winning Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) based out of the Reactive Massage Clinic in Brandon.
Susan’s career path has always been focused on body work. She actually began as an actor, but knew that she needed to develop more intuition and knowledge when it came to movement. She went on to become a certified yoga instructor and Thai yoga massage practitioner. That all eventually led to her current career as an RMT.
There’s even more to this story: Susan is an intergenerational residential school Survivor, and she has experienced immeasurable loss in her life with the death of a child.
Despite those challenges, she has drawn upon her own resilience and culture to rise up and provide healing to others.
Susan says she looks at every massage session as an individual ceremony.
SCO is justifiably proud of Susan, and we are grateful for her work, and for sharing her story with us. We are also confident this incredible ikwe will serve as inspiration for our citizens entertaining the idea of a career in health care.
Know a Health Care Hero?
Are you or someone you know a health care hero who works in an SCO Nation?
Please fill in the form here to share your story or email us directly at health@scoinc.mb.ca sharing your nominee’s name, health care job, story of why they are a health care hero, and contact information.
SCO Health Transformation will connect with nominees selected to be health care heroes.