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Windspeaker Radio Network Community Champion of the Week. Each week, the Windspeaker Radio Network recognizes and celebrates an Indigenous champion from Alberta who demonstrates exceptional commitment to enhancing their community.

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Hello, my name is Michaela Menkla. I'm a nursing student in my fourth year at the University of Alberta.

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Congratulations, you're this week's community champion. Tell me, how does it make you feel getting recognized by your community?

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Thank you. It makes me feel very grateful to be in the Canadian healthcare system as a nursing student and just increase the indigenous representation.

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So you recently got a letter acknowledged, you know, from the Premier of Manitoba. Tell me, how did that make you feel?

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When I got that letter from Wab Canu, the Premier of Manitoba, I was so thankful and grateful. And it just gave me that encouragement to keep following my dreams of being that motivational speaker to help more Indigenous people in Canada.

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So you recently also got invited by the president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Union. Tell me, as an Indigenous woman, how did that make you feel? Getting recognized, getting getting invited, you know, getting celebrated.

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It was after I was in Halifax just in January 2025, and I gave three speeches there, and it led me to be becoming part of the CFNU where I they asked me to be part of the Apology Towards Reconciliation. And this also made me realize that Indigenous women also need to be uprising as advocates to help indigenous issues and looking at how we can fix the healthcare system.

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On that note, what do you think, in your humble opinion, needs to be fixed with the healthcare system here in Canada?

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I think for the general healthcare system, there's a lot of issues in regarding staffing and retention. But when I think about the indigenous healthcare staff within Canada, there is not that many. And for my dream, I want to bring more Indigenous people in youth and bring them into nursing as medical doctors to increase that representation and to show that Indigenous people do belong in healthcare. We are smart and educated, and we deserve a chance to be here as well.

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This has been the Win Speaker Radio Network Community Champion of the Week.