In Memoriam: Madeleine Kétéskwēw Dion Stout

Madeleine Kétéskwēw Dion Stout was a nurse, Cree speaker, and preeminent scholar. She was a member of the Kehewin Cree Nation in Alberta, and was former student of the Blue Quills Residential School near St. Paul, Alberta. A member of a family of 12, she credited her grandfather – her earliest role model – with teaching her the value of working hard and producing something that is meaningful to others.  As a child, she had her first encounter with a nurse whom she now credits for motivating her to study nursing. She graduated as a registered nurse from the Edmonton General Hospital in 1968. When she subsequently earned a nursing degree at the University of Lethbridge in 1982, she was among the very few Canadian Indigenous women who had graduated from a university nursing program. A more extensive report of her childhood and formative years, as well as the events of her later career, can be found in a tribute published for the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in 2021 entitled Nursing and Indigenous peoples’ health: reconciliation in practice.  

As a registered nurse, Madeleine worked for Health and Welfare Canada in an acute care hospital and as a public health nurse on the Piikani Nation in Alberta, and subsequently, was employed by the Alberta Indian Health Care Commission. In 1983, Madeleine became a special advisor to the Minister of Health and Welfare Canada, Monique Bégin, and in 1985 was appointed as the Inaugural Director of the Indian and Inuit Health Careers Program.

After almost two decades of providing nursing care to Indigenous Peoples in hospital and community settings, Madeleine went on to receive a Master’s of Arts degree from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University where she taught in the School of Canadian Studies. At Carleton, she served as the Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Education, Research and Culture.  She was appointed by Prime Minister Jean Chretien as a member of the National Forum on Health, and later as Vice-Chair of the Mental Health Commission of Canada. Madeleine also held many appointments on various professional committees and associations, including as President of the Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada, now known as the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association.

For decades, Madeleine worked with Indigenous Peoples, nursing colleagues and Canadian society at large as a nurse, researcher, educator, lecturer, reformer, philosopher and policy leader. In all of these roles, she helped to shift health matters to Indigenous community control. Increasingly reclaiming her Indigenous name in her later years, Kétéskwēw drew on a Cree Lens in all of her life work, leaving an indelible mark in shaping health and wellness in Canada. Lifelong attributes she shared with the Canadian nursing community include her retention of the Cree language, her relevance to her community, her reverence for her Indigenous culture and her profound respect for all kinship ties.

Madeleine has been the recipient of numerous high honours. Notably, she was named one of Canada’s top 100 nurses during the celebration of the Canadian Nurses Association’s centennial anniversary in 2008. She is a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Lethbridge (1995) and holds honorary doctoral degrees conferred by the University of British Columbia (2004), University of Ottawa (2010), Carlton University (2015), and Western University (2022). In recognition of her national influence on Indigenous health care in Canada as a nurse, researcher and advocate, she was honoured with an Indspire Award in 2010 and appointed to the Order of Canada in 2015. In 2019, she was awarded the Centennial Medal from the University of British Columbia School of Nursing, where she had held an appointment as Honorary Professor and actively participated in social justice research for over two decades. She was named an Honorary Fellow by the Canadian Academy of Nursing in 2021. Madeleine’s wisdom, intellect, and lifelong profound commitment to improving the health and well-being of Indigenous Peoples will continue to influence the landscape of nursing and health care for generations to come.

Written by Annette Browne & Sally Thorne, January 4, 2026

Flags Lowered

The BC, Musqueam and UBC flags (temporarily relocated to the East Mall Entrance and Plaza at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre) were lowered on Thursday, January 22, 2026 in remembrance of Honorary Degree Holder Madeleine Kétéskwēw Dion Stout, C.M., L.LD., who passed away on December 30, 2025. Dr. Dion Stout received an honorary degree from UBC in 2004.

Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing Tribute

Indigenous Health Nursing Research Remembrance Page

Madeleine Dion Stout presented the following speech on the occasion of the 2021 Canadian Academy of Nursing’s Fellowship Induction Ceremony, when she was made an Honorary Fellow