The National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health (NCCIH) celebrated its 20th anniversary on May 7 at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) campus in Prince George by welcoming its new academic lead, Dr. Terri Aldred.
Aldred, a member of the Tl’azt’en Nation, has served on the NCCIH advisory committee since May 2023.
She brings a wealth of experience in both medicine and work with First Nations communities across the province. Aldred currently serves as the Medical Director for Primary Care at the First Nations Health Authority. She holds a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree and a Doctor of Medicine.
Her accolades include the Mikhael Award for Medical Education from Resident Doctors of Canada and the 2021 Alumni Horizon Award.
Aldred also has a personal connection to Prince George and is eager to give back to the region.
“I was born in Prince George,” she said. “I graduated high school here and grew up in and around North Central BC, including a remote reserve called Tachet, located on Lake Babine. I’ve always been driven by social justice and a desire to give back to my community — to help build a healthier, brighter future for everyone, especially my First Nations community and family. It was a bit of a meandering path, but once I got into medicine, I wanted to bring services closer to home. I wanted to work in and around my traditional territory, and I’ve been honoured and privileged to do that as a physician with Carrier Sekani Family Services.”
One defining moment in Aldred’s career came during a clinic visit and helped solidify her commitment to inspire the next generation.
“One of the most moving things that ever happened was meeting with a mom who brought in her young daughter,” she recalled. “We did the appointment, and at the end, she asked where I was from. I shared that with her, and she turned to her daughter and said, ‘See, you can do anything — you can even become a doctor.’ Every time I tell that story, I get teary-eyed. To me, it means the world. It’s why I went into medicine.”
Now stepping into her new role as academic lead, Aldred hopes to bridge both individual and community health needs.
“As a physician, my work is often focused on individual, patient-specific care — looking at their medicine wheel, or their emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, and helping them navigate their health journeys,” she explained. “But in many First Nations teachings, we’re not separate from our families, communities, or the land. Those are all extensions of who we are. So integrating what we do at the individual level with a broader community or population-level response is essential, because the health of the community reflects in the health of the individual.”
When asked by The Citizen about her priorities in the new role, Aldred emphasized the importance of focusing on those at the margins.
“My leadership has been in rural and remote medicine,” she said. “In that space, we often talk about the gravitational pull toward urban areas — where time, resources, and capacity are concentrated. We need to create a gravitational pull in the other direction. That means serving the edge first — our most rural, remote communities that face the greatest access challenges. We ask: Who is facing the most barriers? Who are the most underserved, oppressed, unseen, or hidden? Then we develop resources and support that serve them first. When you support those who are most marginalized, it benefits everyone by creating more accessible and safer environments for all.”
Aldred officially began her role as academic lead on May 6, taking over from Dr. Deanna Nyce, who served in the position on an interim basis over the past year.
“I know I leave this role in good hands with Dr. Aldred,” said Nyce. “She is deeply passionate about Indigenous health and understands that health and social justice are interwoven. She will carry forward the work of the centre, addressing health disparities through a foundation grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and being.”
