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INUVIK - As a child living in Inuvik, Dr. Cindy Orlaw still vividly remembers the rush she experienced attending drum dances with her mom at Ingamo Hall.

Even after leaving for Alberta with her family at age seven, she has carried that pride and passion for her Inuvialuit culture throughout her life.

On Jan. 29, Inuvik-born Dr. Cindy Orlaw was named the territory's Chief Medical Health Officer. With a rich Inuvialuit background, she said she brings unique points of view to her new role. - photo courtesy of Dept. of Health and Social Services

Orlaw credits her mother, formerly Maggie Jordon of Aklavik, for that. After all, she was the one who spoke the traditional language in the home and passed down the stories and games.

On Jan. 29, Orlaw was appointed Chief Medical Health Officer for the NWT by Sandy Lee, minister of Health and Social Services. She will officially take over the position on Monday.

Deeply honoured by the vote of confidence, she also feels a responsibility to strengthen her connection with NWT residents, especially her fellow aboriginals.

"To be an aboriginal woman in the public eye, I think it gives people the opportunity to believe that they can pretty much be whatever you want to be," she said. "I want to throw myself out there as a role model."

A fiercely proud Inuvialuk, she calls her people profoundly resilient and expert problem solvers.

Her own story is inspiring in itself. A self-proclaimed late bloomer, she resolved to give medical school a chance at age 27 after bouncing around from one job to another, including stints as a server and receptionist.

To prepare, she took a few courses at the local college in Fort Nelson, B.C., where she'd been living and then a few more at University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver.

After graduating from UBC's medical school several years later, she headed North to Yellowknife with her family. She joined a family practice in the city and has been there ever since.

"I always had that pull to come back North," she said. "I have such a great sense of home. I love the winter; it's so fresh and everything's so clean. I love the culture and the people in the North."

She's keenly aware of the profound health disparities that exist among aboriginals. As someone who has worked closely with aboriginal communities throughout her life, she wants to change that in her new role.

As the only Inuvialuk student attending UBC, she worked tirelessly to ensure the university had a strong aboriginal component. She also helped establish the aboriginal health stream and family practice residency program, which trains doctors wanting to work in aboriginal communities by using traditional and holistic medical practices.

Her new position requires her to take on more of an administrative role, focusing on such broad areas as immunization, cancer screening, infectious diseases and sexually-transmitted diseases. She'll carry on with her research, too.

She said she's looking forward to relaying all this information to the public. After all that's what she loves to do.

"It's always been very important to be with people in very important times in their lives, whether they're having a baby or feeling quite sick, and being able to help them," she said. "That's quite an honour."

Her parents Maggie and Pat Gordon say they're beyond proud of their daughter, adding her driving force is her determination to help people. That, her father said, and one other thing.

"She is absolutely one of the hardest working people I have ever known," said Pat.