Good medicine for radio host Ashley Pimlott is telling and sharing a good story on Indigenous health and wellness.
When Canada's First Nations Radio Network (CFNR) host Ashley Pimlott was interviewed for her first radio job, she was asked the question: If she could make any radio show, what would it be about?
“I basically described Good Medicine," she recalls, looking back at the 70 episodes she's recorded with guests over the past two years. “I wanted to do feel-good stories that help people, so when I got offered the position, it felt like it was all meant to be."
Good Medicine is a weekly radio program about Indigenous-focused health and wellness topics sponsored by the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA). Aired on CFNR in northern British Columbia and CJNY in the Vancouver area, the program has run for the past two seasons, with episodes also posted online.
The inaugural episode aired on March 8, 2023, featuring the FNHA's own Dr. Nel Wieman talking about being the first female Indigenous psychiatrist in Canada and her then-newly appointed role as Chief Medical Officer at the FNHA. Since then, several other FNHA staff have been interviewed, including former Health Emergency Management director Jodie Millward, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kelsey Louie, and Kim Trottier, Remote First Nations Dentistry Practitioner with Ramona Den Boer, Registered Dental Hygienist.
Ashley says each guest has had a profound impact on her, to the point where she has a collage of memorable quotes from guests which she displays on a board in her studio.
“Every single episode has such a profound message and spoke to what's going on in the world at the time, and in my own life," she recalls. “There are tears in most episodes and crying together is a shared human experience that really bonds people. It's about opening up and having a healthy conversation, and it happens often on this show."
A self-described former “introverted stay-at-home mom," Ashley says that hosting Good Medicine has been a transformative experience that helped her in becoming an articulate broadcast professional. The subject matter is also near and dear to her heart.
Ashley traces her background from the Xwémalhkwu First Nation with her father hailing from Comox and Cortez Island while her mother's side is from Quebec but she says grew up removed from her Indigenous culture due to the impacts of colonization and discrimination. Topics on Good Medicine include discussion about truth and reconciliation, which she says means reclaiming the knowledge, traditions and culture of her ancestors.
“It's about making safe space for honest conversation and creating hope for future generations."
Good Medicine can be heard in the Lower Mainland on Mondays at 6 p.m. on CJNY 106.3 FM and on CFNR in northern BC on Sundays at 4 p.m. on various frequencies. It can also be streamed from the CJNY and CFNR websites.
