Celebrating the Indigenous employees of Northern Health - Coco Miller

June is Indigenous History Month. This is a time for all Canadians – Indigenous, non-Indigenous, and newcomers – to reflect on and celebrate the history, heritage, and diversity of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples in Canada.  

At Northern Health, we want to celebrate our Indigenous colleagues who contribute in countless ways to help us uphold our commitment to building a health system that honours diversity and delivers culturally safe services by providing respectful and inclusive programs and initiatives across Northern BC. 

Whether they are an Indigenous Patient Liaison, a Nurse Practitioner, or the VP of Indigenous Health, the Indigenous employees of Northern Health are our friends and neighbours, and we want to get to know them better! To that end, we’ll be sharing interviews and conversations with Indigenous workers at Northern Health about their roles and experiences in their professions during the month of June.  

Coco Miller: Lead, Indigenous Health Engagement & Integration, Terrace, BC 

What does it mean to you to be an Indigenous person in health care?  

I’m so proud of where I come from. I love the North, the people I come from, the culture, and the community.  

What means the most to you about your work?  

I was raised to care for my community, to give back, to bring people from all walks of life together and that setting a strong example by the way I live is what will be remembered.  

What inspires you in this work?  

There are a lot of people who contributed to the path I took and that I’ve been heavily influenced by. Those people and experiences center around very difficult times in my life which I can now say has gifted me with purpose, determination, and passion. 

How did you get where you are today? 

My parents inspired and continue to inspire me to have a voracious appetite for learning. It’s from all that learning and praying that when the opportunities presented themselves – I wouldn’t say I was ready, sometimes I felt the opposite – I just KNEW what I was supposed to do and I also knew what I wasn’t supposed to do. That journey led me to here: working in a job whose focus is to bring people together to improve health care services in the North.