I was born in Broxburn, Scotland in 1959. Douglas is Celtic for “black water”, the water that is squeezed from an oak tree twisting in a storm. John is a Hebrew name meaning son of the Creator. And Courtemanche, a geographic name from the north-west of Gaul, meaning “short sleeves” in its literal translation but historically meaning close to the seat of power. I live in and on Musqueam lands in the western most area of what is now known as Vancouver, BC in Canada. My wife and I have four children and two grandchildren, and a border collie.
My mother was Anne Constance Douse, born in 1931 in Takaronto (the Toronto Purchase) Treaty 13, 1805, the territory of the Mississauga. Passed to the spirit world November 23, 2020, my mother was a homemaker and raised four children. She was an artist and panted and did fine, detailed needlework.
My father is AD Courtemanche, born in Gravenhurst in 1930, part of the Rice Lake Purchase, Treaty 20, 1818, the territory of the Anishinaabe people. He is a retired plastic surgeon and surgical educator and is an avid gardener and out on his “land” every day.
I am a semi-retired plastic surgeon. My specialty is craniofacial surgery and I often work at the interface of anatomy and biology on one hand and self and social acceptance on the other. I have been blessed with a career populated with amazing patients and their families, and my dear colleagues, from whom I have learned my craft.
I am eternally curious. I have a Master’s degree in Surgery from the University of Melbourne and a Certificate in Higher Education from the University of British Columbia. I have been engaged in the clinical, academic and administrative spheres throughout my career. I also like to read. I found the Nesting Ambassador Program through chasing down the reference to it in Darcia’s and Four Arrows’ book Restoring the Kinship Worldview.
I am grateful for and humbled by Darcia’s scholarship and humanity. Now that I have completed the course with my classmates, I intend to look at the medical school curriculum through the lens of the Evolved Nest and the Kinship Worldview. I will also apply the “two-eyed-seeing” lens of Elder Albert Marshall.
I am grateful to my classmates for introducing me to new concepts and interests that emerged during the course. I will follow their on-going work with interest. I look forward to staying in touch with the Nested World community through the Praxis sessions of subsequent cohorts of students.