Cancer Stories from the Woodland Cree

The semi-isolated conditions of Northern Saskatchewan
provide challenges for both health care workers and
patients receiving cancer care. Since limited
information exists on the way cancer is perceived and
experienced, the views of cancer, health and illness
among the Woodland Cree were explored. Perceptions of
cancer, health and illness were elicited through 18
personal interviews and two group interviews from
participants. The concepts of health and illness
among the Woodland Cree show that there is a complex
intertwining of Western and traditional belief
systems. Knowledge systems of the Woodland Cree
include the seminal role Elders have within the
communities as teachers and knowledge keepers. Cancer
as experienced by the Woodland Cree reflects the
physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual
aspects of having cancer or having a family member
with cancer, including the challenges of receiving
timely diagnoses and cancer care in isolated northern
communities. Furthermore, the Woodland Cree have the
capacity to pick the best from both the Western and
traditional worlds.