Nurses profile: Jocelyn Bruyere

Aboriginal Nurse, The,  Apr 2000  by Hart-Wasekeesikaw, Fjola

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In 1977, when I began my involvement with the Registered Nurses of Canadian Indian Ancestry, now known as the Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada (ANAC) I met Jocelyn Bruyere. First Nations were promoting control of education, health care and social services at the `local' community level. Jocelyn is a Cree-speaking woman from the Opasquayak First Nation in northern Manitoba. I came to know and respect Jocelyn's understanding of the `big picture' in Aboriginal health and nursing. I have asked her a few times over the years to tell me how both she and Jean Goodwill co-founded the national organization of Aboriginal nurses in 1975. I thought a record of the circumstances around these events would be significant in the years to follow. Jocelyn has always confined her comments to the sequence of events that took place immediately before the first general assembly of the Registered Nurses of Canadian Indian Ancestry (RNCIA) in 1975. Now I have the privilege of presenting a brief portrayal of Jocelyn Bruyere and her achievements in nursing.

A significant part of knowing about Jocelyn's influence in organizing Aboriginal nurses nationally, is to understand the political milieu and her involvement in First Nations self government issues leading up to the establishment of RNCIA. Ms. Bruyere had graduated with

her Baccalaureate in Science of Nursing from the University of Saskatchewan in the same year that the Aboriginal - rights movement was launched (Weaver, 1981). In response to the 1969 White Paper on Indian Policy, First Nations across Canada spoke out angrily to the federal government proposal to make Indians `equal' to other Canadians. Terminating the Indian Act would end First Nations' separate legal distinction. The Manitoba Indian Brotherhood (MIP) the political organization of Manitoba's First Nations set out to address the inequalities facing First Nations. To articulate these, Jocelyn Bruyere, as Director of Consultations and Negotiations at MIB worked with the Chiefs of Manitoba in developing the landmark position paper, "Wahbung, Our tomorrows." By the time ANAC was launched into the 1980s, Jocelyn had been secretary-treasurer, assistant research director on treaty and Aboriginal rights research and executive-director at MIB. Ms. Bruyere provided leadership both within the MIB and the membership of ANAC.

With her knowledge of Aboriginal health issues and experience in organizing groups, Jocelyn Bruyere was influential in the activities in which the Manitoba - based ANAL membership participated. She founded the Manitoba Indian Nurses Association (MINA) in 1975. The Manitoba base ANAL membership pursued ways to influence the delivery of nursing education programs in Manitoba's First Nations communities. The need for more Aboriginal people to become registered nurses was evident

The small number of registered nurses in Manitoba were members of ANAL and MIND. In addition to participating at career days to encourage Aboriginal high school students to enter nursing, Manitoba's Aboriginal organized Aboriginal health conferences in The Pas and Brandon; attended the American Indian Nurses Conference in Yakima, Washington; and worked on a project to explore the incidence of violent deaths in First Nations communities. Ms. Bruyere supported the Aboriginal nurses in Manitoba to collectively influence the delivery of nursing education, to promote nursing education among First Peoples and to seek out and develop collegial opportunities with American Native nurses.

It became evident that Jocelyn Bruyere was particularly interested in increasing the number of First Nations registered nurses. Aware of the significance of the ACCESS Model Programs to students who required academic and social support, Jocelyn became an educator in the Southern Nursing Program at Red River College. The Southern Nursing Program is designed to prepare students to enter the Nursing Program at Red River College and once admitted into the Nursing Program to ensure the students had academic support as required. Of particular note, Jocelyn developed and delivered integrated science, chemistry, biology and native studies courses specifically designed to prepare ACCESS model program students to enter the diploma nursing program. Her commitment to supporting nursing students is reflected in her innovative approaches. Through continuous evaluation and revision of the academic support program, she taught and delivered supplementary instruction in nursing theory, anatomy and physiology courses. She ensured that tutorials, and other seminars in topics on microbiology and nursing care plans, were available to students. Jocelyn Bruyere was acknowledged as being part of a team to promote nursing education. She was a co-recipient of the ` 1998 Faculty Recognition Team Award for Nursing Access Program-Red River College' by the Consortium for Community College Development in Ann Arbor Michigan. Jocelyn Bruyere has made a significant contribution to the success of nursing students in the Nursing Program at Red River College.