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From medicine man to doctor James Van Camp of Fort Smith earns medical degree and follows in path of traditional healer grandfather
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Friday, June 21, 2013
THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
James Van Camp's late grandfather was a Tlicho medicine man.
James Van Camp is believed to be first person of Tlicho heritage to become a medical doctor. - photo courtesy of James Van Camp
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That family heritage made a link to the present when Van Camp recently graduated from university as a medical doctor.
"I'm happy that the tradition is continuing," said Van Camp, who was born in Fort Smith to a Tlicho mother. "When my grandfather passed on, he said that his gift, that his skills were going to be passed on to one of his descendants."
Asked if he thinks he is that person, Van Camp said, "I'm not quite sure. I don't know."
His grandfather – Pierre Wah-Shee – was a traditional healer in Behchoko before he died in his late 90s.
Thirty-one-year-old Van Camp said he didn't really know his grandfather all that well because there was a language barrier with elders on his mother's side of the family.
"But obviously I hope that he'd be proud that I would use my skills for the good of the people and try to make people happy and healthy," he said.
Van Camp is believed to be the first person of Tlicho heritage to become a doctor, and he hopes he is not the last.
"That's what I'm being told," he said. "I definitely haven't gone through the record books and that sort of thing, but nobody has corrected (our family)."
When he was a child, his mother, Rosa Wah-Shee, thought he should be a doctor. He said growing up, the idea was planted, but it wasn't until Van Camp was in university that he said he starting looking at the opportunity seriously.
When he was growing up in Fort Smith, he wanted to be an illustrator because his highest grades were in art class at Paul William Kaeser High School, where he graduated as valedictorian in 1999. He went to the University of Calgary and enrolled in general studies with the idea that one day he was going to be an illustrator.
"I actually started to dislike the program that I was in because our professor was having us sit down and draw shoes and lamps and inanimate objects, and I wanted to be drawing comic books to be a bit different, I guess," he said.
Eventually, he switched courses and got a bachelor of arts in psychology. While earning that degree he became interested in the physiology behind what was happening in people's minds.
"And I think that's what kind of led to me being very interested in medicine," he said.
Earlier this month, Van Camp graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Alberta. Starting this week, he will begin a residency in rural family medicine in Grande Prairie, Alta.
"You get a chance to hone your skills and experience different parts of the profession that you're going to be entering," the new physician said. "I'll get to deliver babies, to work in emergency, to help with surgery and that sort of thing."
He said it is a bit scary because, while he was trained in medical school to deal with patients, his next encounter will be as a doctor.
"So it's little bit intimidating, but I think I'm ready for it," he said.
"This is what I've been working towards my entire life."
Van Camp said one of his goals is to eventually practise medicine in the NWT.
"The problem I have is, do I want to go up there as a really young doctor that's trained and qualified to go up there, or do I want to go up there as a more senior physician with a bit more skill and knowledge," he said.
Van Camp comes from a group of brothers who have excelled in various fields. His brother Richard Van Camp is a well-known novelist, while his two other brothers – Johnny Van Camp and Roger Wah-Shee – both earned law degrees.
"My parents both took education seriously," he said. "They both have post-secondary degrees. But growing up, we weren't really pressured to succeed very much. There were incentives, like we got extra allowance for good grades and they were always asking about our grades."
The brothers were expected to go to university, he added.
"But what we did from there was entirely up to us."
His father, Jack Van Camp, still lives in Fort Smith and James gets back to his hometown every year or so.
Van Camp said he hopes he can be an example for Dene youth.
"I've taken my journey and I hope that somebody else can learn from it, because it hasn't always been easy. I can't say that I've passed every test and that sort of thing," he said. "I just hope there are kids out there that can learn from me."
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