Arne Vainio, M.D., Class of 1994, has launched his educational health message to the Native American community on film and in print. Using himself as a patient-subject, Dr. Vainio is working on a health documentary to show Native men how important it is to get regular checkups, particularly as they age. In addition, in a regional Native American publication, Vainio has launched a series of health-related columns.
A member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and a physician on the Fond du Lac reservation near Cloquet, MN, Vainio said that Native men avoid going to the doctor and miss out on screening tests and preventive health care. As a son, brother, father and husband, Dr. Vainio realized that he falls into that same category. He grew up in poverty and has a strong family history of diabetes, heart disease and substance abuse. His grandfather was taken from his family and placed in a boarding school as a child. His younger brother had a stroke last year at age 46. When Dr. Vainio was 4 years old, his father committed suicide. His mother died at age 59 from congestive heart failure and complications from diabetes the same night he graduated from Residency. He reflected that coming to terms with this family history has been a journey in itself.
Vainio soon will be going in for a physical exam, screening and any interventions that are necessary and all of this will be documented on film. “Addressing health issues can be complicated and terrifying. I want people to see that I’m no different from anyone else. I want to show that if I can do this, anyone can,” he said. Vainio’s film project has been in production for a year and half but stalled due to lack of funding. While the project is back on track because start-up funds became available, more funding is needed to complete it.
Vainio is also writing a series of columns for the Fond du Lac Tribal newspaper and national Native American publications such as News from Indian Country. He writes about his role as healer and teacher in a way that aims to make sense of complicated medical issues. “My essays will include what I see as a physician and how that relates to and touches me. Even though I’m a physician, my story is not all that different from stories I see every day. My family history is the family history of Native families everywhere,” he said.
(1) News From Indian Country is published by Indian Country Communications Inc., (ICC) a Wisconsin registered stock owned corporation located on the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Reservation.
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