Enacting the Otipemisiwak Worldview: Reflections from one Métis Clinician and Researcher

Applying one’s cultural teachings to their research or clinical practice is an important endeavour that requires intensive reflexivity. I recently had the honour of studying in detail my Métis or Otipemisiwak culture by taking a class called Advanced Métis Studies taught by a respected Métis Elder. In this article, I document some specific learnings from the course, and reflect on how to apply them to both my occupational therapy clinical practice and my research praxis as a PhD student. I offer specific and more theoretical applications of Otipemisiwak culture to my life and encourage the reader to engage in a similar reflexive process regarding their own culture. This article also serves as a chance to introduce myself to other Indigenous health researchers