May 5, 2025

Tannyce Cook is an Indigenous woman whose father is from Misipawistik Cree Nation in Grand Rapids and mother is Métis from Matheson Island, both in Manitoba. In honour of Indigenous Nurses Day in Manitoba, which is observed on May 12, Cook took the time to share her journey as a nurse working with First Nations communities across the province. Her story sheds light on the individual and systemic racism Indigenous people in Canada face on a regular basis while also showing the vital role Indigenous nurses like her can play in their communities, providing health care rooted in deep kindness and relationality. 

In her 20s, Tannyce Cook worked primarily in structural steel refining, but life put her on a very different career path in her early 30s. When both of her young sons required surgery around this time, she took on the role of caregiver during their recovery. Her mother pointed out how good Cook is at caring for others and encouraged her to consider becoming a nurse. After some contemplation, Cook applied and was admitted to nursing school.  

“That was actually one of the roughest things that I had to go through as a First Nations woman,” Cook says. “There was 14 of us Indigenous students [out of 200] at the beginning of our nursing school, and by the end, there was two of us that finished.” 

She recalls a time that a student was overheard in a common space saying, “I f___ing hate Indians” and complaining about “drunk Indians” on the streets of her hometown. Although someone heard these comments and filed a complaint with the school, the student only received a letter of reprimand from the dean.  

While that student went on to graduate and become a nurse, Cook says that some of her Indigenous peers left the program because of the individual and systemic racism they experienced. 

Cook’s response was different. “I think that [experience] really lit a fire in me to start teaching non-Indigenous people about even simple things, like the [socioeconomic] components of health.”

Building a career focused on care and connection 

Since graduating from nursing school in 2011, Cook has been travelling to First Nations communities across Manitoba to conduct diabetes and kidney health screening tests, including as a nurse for the Can-SOLVE CKD Network’s Kidney Check program. She says her position as an Indigenous nurse can make it easier to connect with patients, especially since many Indigenous people have tight knit social networks or share similar experiences with kidney disease and diabetes.  

“I think when [Indigenous] people see an Indigenous nurse sitting across from them, they feel more comfortable, more willing to share their experiences, and listen to your advice as well,” says Cook. 

But she emphasizes that, regardless of a nurse’s background, providing health care is “all about having respect for the people and meeting them where they’re at and keeping that communication open and respectful. That goes a really long way in improving the health of our people.” 

Cook’s approach to nursing involves seeing all patients as one of her own family members. Thinking back to her time completing rotations in nursing school, she remembers seeing an elderly First Nations woman being treated poorly because she had lice. The other nurses would only enter the room with excessive personal protection gear and left the woman alone and isolated for extended periods of time. Cook thought to herself, “This could be anyone’s kokum (Cree word for grandmother).” Although she was not permitted to treat the patient’s lice, Cook spent an hour combing the woman’s hair and braiding it, while keeping her company.  

“I think that Indigenous nurses are so very important to our health care system, just because of the way that we inherently care about each other,” Cook says. “There are a lot of challenges, but I would encourage [Indigenous nurses] to keep fighting the fight and keep doing what’s good for people.” 

Health care providers who are interested in enhancing their knowledge and awareness of racial biases, the impact of colonization on Indigenous health, and ways to foster culturally safe health care and research are encouraged to explore the resources in Can-SOLVE CKD’s Learning Pathway.