This week we kick off a special series of vaccine conversations, starting with Antony Stately (Ojibwe and Oneida). Dr. Antony Stately has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and is the CEO of NACC, the Native American Community Clinic in South Minneapolis. Antony Stately shares how his clinic is safely administering vaccines, and he speaks to the challenge of providing accurate information to patients while addressing legitimate concerns and questions of community members. Antony Stately does this by keeping his focus on conversation, knowledge, and consent.
Antony Stately also shares his own harrowing experience of contracting and surviving COVID-19, which landed him in the hospital in late November. Antony recounts how he faced this scary time by leaning on prayer, cultural medicines, and guidance from elders, along with experimental drug therapies and, of course, the wonderful support of healthcare workers, which he says, all worked together to help save his life.
We deeply appreciate Dr. Antony Stately for his compassionate gift as a leader in healthcare, and his willingness to honestly share his own story, all in the service of informing and caring for the larger community. Miigwech, Antony Stately!
We will continue exploring the vaccine rollout through conversations in the coming weeks. If you have a question or a story to share, please send us an email: nativelights@ampers.org.
Native Lights is a weekly, half-hour radio program & podcast hosted by Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe members and siblings, Leah Lemm and Cole Premo. Native Lights is a space for people in Native communities around Mni Sota Mkoce — a.k.a. Minnesota — to tell their stories about finding their gifts and sharing them with the community.
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