麻豆社

Courtney Pennell is creating the change she once needed鈥攂ridging worlds with care, culture, and courage.

When Courtney Pennell stepped into her new role with as Mi鈥檏maq Indigenous Nurse Education Specialist, it wasn鈥檛 just a career move鈥攊t was a full-circle moment. A registered nurse with nearly a decade of experience, a mother, a researcher, and a proud member of Wasoqopa鈥檘 First Nation, Pennell carries with her a fierce dedication to supporting Indigenous nursing students across Kjipuktuk and beyond.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have these types of supports when I was going through the program鈥� I know how different it would have been.鈥�

Beyond the classroom

Pennell鈥檚 role is far-reaching. She supports Indigenous nursing students from recruitment to graduation, helping them navigate everything from academic resources and funding to cultural support and research opportunities. It鈥檚 a wholistic model guided by the medicine wheel鈥攎ental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being.

鈥淚n Western or colonized institutions, we only think about mental and physical鈥攐ur roles deliver that wraparound support, so students are held in all aspects of who they are.鈥�

She helps students apply for bursaries and scholarships, connects them with tutors or emergency financial assistance, facilitates peer gatherings, and ensures that cultural needs鈥攕uch as ceremony or Indigenous holidays鈥攁re respected and accommodated.

鈥淚 advocate alongside students so they can be their best selves. Our ancestors were deprived of these opportunities鈥攚e鈥檙e reclaiming them.鈥�

Bridging systems with Etuaptmumk

A central philosophy guiding Pennell鈥檚 work is Etuaptmumk, or Two-Eyed Seeing鈥攂ringing together Indigenous ways of knowing with Western knowledge systems (the gift of multiple perspectives). As someone who grew up in urban Halifax and reconnected with her Mi鈥檏maw identity through the Native Friendship Centre, Pennell understands how isolating academia can feel for Indigenous students.

鈥淲hen they come from community, it鈥檚 a culture shock鈥� We鈥檙e helping them not only stay in the program, but to thrive in it.鈥�

She is also involved in decolonizing nursing curriculum鈥攔estructuring courses to reflect Indigenous worldviews, stories, and strengths, not just trauma.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important people see themselves reflected in a meaningful and strengths-based way. Otherwise, it perpetuates harm on students who are already vulnerable.鈥�

From hospital halls to healing research

Before joining 罢补箩颈办别颈尘扫办, Pennell spent nearly ten years as a nurse and later as the first Indigenous Health Consultant at IWK Health. It was during this time that she found her calling in Indigenous research.

鈥淚 was asked to do a healing dance at a summit, and that鈥檚 where I met Dr. Margot Latimer鈥攕he recruited me on the spot.鈥� Dr. Latimer is a Professor in the School of Nursing and is cross-appointed in the Department of Medicine, 麻豆社. She is the CIHR Nursing Chair in Indigenous Health Research for NS and holds a scientific appointment at IWK Health where she co-leads the Aboriginal Children鈥檚 Hurt and Healing Initiative (ACHH).

Working with the Centre for Pediatric Pain Research and the Aboriginal Children鈥檚 Hurt and Healing Initiative, Pennell co-developed new tools to help Indigenous children express pain in culturally safe ways. As she explains, 鈥淚n Mi鈥檏maw, there鈥檚 no direct word for pain鈥濃�攁 powerful example of why Western scales don鈥檛 always work.

鈥淚f you can鈥檛 even express pain in your language, how are you supposed to explain it using Western tools?鈥�

Her research isn鈥檛 just academic鈥攊t鈥檚 deeply personal, a continuation of her lifelong mission to challenge discrimination and address health inequities in Indigenous communities.

Driven by love, grounded in legacy

At the heart of Pennell鈥檚 work is her son, now eight, who has grown up alongside her career and studies. She鈥檚 currently completing her Master of Nursing at 麻豆社, writing a thesis on cultural safety in healthcare delivery for Indigenous patients and families.

As a single mother navigating co-parenting and academia, Pennell says it鈥檚 her connection to culture, community, and her son that fuels her through the most difficult days.

鈥淲atching him grow and still flourish through all our transitions鈥攊t keeps me grounded. He makes it easy to work extra hard to give us a good life.鈥�

Her employer鈥檚 willingness to welcome her son at meetings and community events speaks volumes to the kind of work culture she鈥檚 helping create鈥攐ne where Indigenous families, values, and futures are honored.

A future worth fighting for

Courtney Pennell is not just helping students earn degrees鈥攕he鈥檚 helping them heal, reconnect, and take their place in a healthcare system that has long overlooked them. She鈥檚 proof that creating change from the inside out is not only possible鈥攊t鈥檚 essential.

鈥淲e, as a nation, need to do better. As healthcare providers, we have a duty to create safe spaces. And as Indigenous peoples, we鈥檙e reclaiming what was taken鈥攁nd making space for our brilliance to thrive.鈥�