Modern Doctor, Ancient Healing

Dr. Daniele Behn Smith

Family Physician and TV Host, Medicine Woman

medicinewoman.com.au

photo by Jaime Kowal

Daniele Behn Smith never intended to be a television star.

The 28-year-old Aboriginal doctor from Fort Nelson is the host and namesake of the 13-part series Medicine Woman, which debuted in September on Vision TV.

“I still can’t believe it’s on the air,” she says. “It wasn’t originally part of my dream, but I was so glad to be given the opportunity to do something different.”

After graduating from medical school, she set up practice in Dawson City, Yukon. But it wasn’t as fulfilling as she had expected.

“I really hoped I would be a part of people’s journey to wellness. And when I got into practice, I realized that for a lot of people, things were too far gone,” she confesses. “So many chronic illnesses we were just putting band-aids on. It felt like a piece was missing. And I didn’t even know what that piece was.”

Behn Smith’s internal struggle didn’t last long. When a producer e-mailed the Canadian Aboriginal Leaders in Medicine organization seeking a host for a new show about indigenous healers, Behn Smith jumped at the chance. Several interviews later, and after a visit back in Fort Nelson with her Dene Nation family, she embarked on an incredible journey around the world, exploring the roots of traditional medicine in places as diverse as Wales, Namibia, Sri Lanka, Australia, and Guatemala.

Now, back in Dawson City and seeing her adventures replayed on network television (airing Mondays at 7 pm and Saturdays at 5 pm), Behn Smith mulls over how it’s changed her own perspective on medicine. “It’s really the recognition that health is one and the same as life, and that it’s a conscious decision that you make every day to remain healthy and balanced.”

—Jennifer Croll