Fort McKay showed us what to build

Fort McKay First Nation shaped this program from the first conversation. We are a student-led team, and we started by listening. Medical students from the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine partnered with the Fort McKay First Nation Wellness Centre, 20/20 Mission, and UBC ophthalmology, and asked the community what mattered most. The community named it: reliable follow-up, with people families already know.

In August 2025, Fort McKay First Nation welcomed our first screening tables at its Teddy Bear Fair. More than 30 community members came through in one day: over 20 children and more than 10 adults. We ran vision screenings, growth checks for kids, blood pressure checks, and education on cervical cancer self-test kits. Three children left with optometrist and physician follow-up arranged through the community. That one day shaped the whole program.

The program runs the way the community asked. Every volunteer completes Indigenous cultural safety training and a resident-led screening workshop before any event. Health records and referrals stay inside the community’s own Wellness Centre. Families follow up in a place they trust. We pack up and leave when the event ends. The follow-up stays in Fort McKay.

In November 2025, Fort McKay school hosted our first full school event. More than 75 kids got vision screenings, and STEAM workshops connected science, health, land, and culture. On May 31 and June 1, 2026, Yaqan Nukiy School welcomed us to British Columbia’s Creston Valley. At the Lower Kootenay Band school, 88 students from Kindergarten to Grade 7 came through the screening stations. Follow-up for every flagged child runs through a local optometrist. Wherever the program goes next, the community leads.