Elijah Van Dinther - Director of Indigenous Partnerships - IMDSA

Rabies is 100% fatal once symptoms start. But, its also 100% preventable.

🛑 If you come into ANY contact with a bat (even if it was in the same room as you), seek medical attention IMMEDIATELY. Bats have tiny claws, and you often can't feel or see the scratch.

🛑If you're bitten or scratched by any wild or stray animal, go to the health centre right away!!

Rabies Notice (July 21, 2025)

Boozhoo! My name is Elijah and I’m an Anishinaabe medical student from Kettle and Stony Point, currently heading into my second year. I also sit on the Indigenous Medical and Dental Student Association (IMDSA), as Director of Indigenous Partnerships, Educational & Research Initiatives.

As a personal initiative, I’ve started working on a mini-library—both in-person and online—for Indigenous and non-Indigenous medical students who want to learn more about Indigenous health, history, and culture, but might not know where to start or how to access good resources.

This library will live in a space designated for Indigenous learners, with materials available to sign out. Non-Indigenous students will also be welcome to borrow materials through IMDSA members.

📚 Where you come in:

I’m looking for community-recommended educational resources created by Indigenous authors, artists, or organizations. These could be:

- Books or children’s books
- Traditional medicine teachings
- Language learning materials (including Children's Books!)
- Documents about the Sixties Scoop, Residential Schools, or medical mistrust
- Health resources or directories
- Wellness practices, land-based teachings, or anything else culturally grounded

🌾 I’m starting with resources from these Southwestern Ontario Nations:

1. Chippewas of Nawash
2. Saugeen First Nation
3. Oneida Nation of the Thames
4. Munsee-Delaware Nation
5. Chippewas of the Thames
6. Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point
7. Aamjiwnaang First Nation
8. Moravian of the Thames (Delaware Nation)
9. Bkejwanong Territory (Walpole Island)
10. Caldwell First Nation

From there, I’ll expand to include Métis, Inuit, and other First Nations from across the country.

📝 Submit your suggestion here:

👉 https://forms.gle/TjUtVQYE4WpykrdZ7

If you’d prefer to just drop a title in the comments, feel free to do that too! I’ll be checking the replies regularly and making sure every suggestion gets logged.

🔒 Side Note:
If you’re sharing this post in a private or protected group chat, please send me a DM or add me to the group — I won’t be able to see suggestions made in comments otherwise, and I don’t want to miss anything important.

Chi-miigwetch for helping build something that will support future generations of learners, care providers, and storytellers 💛

Building with the Community - Indigenous Med Ed Library Submissions Chi-miigwetch for contributing to this community-led project. This form is part of a student initiative to build an Indigenous-led mini-library (online + in-person) for use by medical learners. We are collecting resources created by Indigenous authors, artists, and knowledge keepers on topics such a...