Jessica Klinkenberg
Northern News Services
Friday, February 16, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - A new program promoting and encouraging good health is airing on CKLB twice a week.

Titled the Good Medicine Show, it centres on the mental, physical and spiritual health of individuals.

Wanbdi Wakita and Rita Chretien are the hosts.

"Wanbdi and I have worked a long time in the helping arena," said Chretien, a healer, counsellor and registered social worker.

Wakita is an elder and traditional healer.

"Rita and I have been talking about something like this," said Wakita.

"It's all human-being healing."

For their first show on tobacco, they spoke with Dr. Andre Corriveau, chief medical officer with the Department of Health and Social Services, as well as a few people who quit smoking. They also managed to corral a special guest onto the show.

"We talked to Butthead," Chretien said.

Butthead is the mascot of the NWT's Stay Smoke-free campaign. The second half of the two-hour program then showcased aboriginals such as Akina Shirt, a 15-year-old Cree girl from Edmonton who sang the national anthem at a Calgary Flames game.

"For her to sing O Canada in Cree is a great accomplishment," Wakita said.

Another Good Medicine show was scheduled to discuss healthy relationships, just in time for Valentine's Day.

The hosts said they are excited to see where the show will go, and hope to get feedback from listeners to improve the program and to find out other people's concerns.

Although Chretien has been doing contract work with the station for years, she said she's surprised that this type of show hadn't been done earlier, since good medicine and healing is one of her passions.

"It made perfect sense to me, being able to produce a show about something that I'm passionate about," she said.

"I think that eventually we might get a live show," Wakita said.