As a Michi Saagi Nishnaabekwe (Mississauga Ojibwe woman), I have a passion for understanding how nutrition impacts health and wellbeing both on a personal level and to be of service to all my relatives. Currently, I am pursuing a master's in communication sciences and disorders. I also am learning Aanishinaabemowin, or the Ojibwe language. My goal in completing my education is to become a fluent Ojibwe-speaking Speech-language pathologist. I also will be seeking a credential as a Functional Medicine Practitioner, which is awarded to health professionals that complete training on how nutrition and lifestyle impact health outcomes. Once I earn my credentials, my goal is to serve indigenous populations of clients and I hope to be hired by my home community. As a graduate student, I have started to advocate for wholeness and balance within my First Nation community of Alderville First Nation and more broadly the Aanishinaabeg nation. The first step has been sitting at the feet of my elders to learn about our traditional ways. It is well-known that during the reservation era, my people were dispossessed of traditional hunting, fishing and gathering lands, which are north of Lake Ontario. In the book Michisaagiig Nishnaabeg: This is Our Territory author Doug Williams describes elders who lived to be 110 and had a high quality of life in their later years. We can learn so much from our ancestors through the Ojibwe language and oral history passed down from elders. Our ancestors who gathered wild rice, hunted and trapped and spent most of their time moving via canoe or snowshoe. Since they were primarily hunter/gatherers, they traded meat, fish and furs for crops that neighboring tribes had grown. It was a very balanced, whole-foods diet and a healthy lifestyle. This mirrors the Functional Medicine nutrition approach that I live by—reduce or eliminate packaged foods, eat whole foods like vegetables, fruits, heritage grains like wild rice, fish and meat. Also, it is important to listen to our body and recognize food intolerances/allergies. For me that has meant eliminating dairy, gluten, sugar and artificial ingredients. Today in Aanishinaabe territory, we have disproportionately high rates of diabetes and obesity. Our people also struggle with the mental toll of generational trauma which impacts all facets of health. Our Medicine Wheel teachings tell us that disease is a sign that something in the way we are living is out of balance. We need to look at the whole person in order to recommend remedies that will lead to ease and harmony instead of disease and declining health. We need to find the balance be physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health and recognize that one of these affects all of these. In Aanishinaabemowin, we have a word, mushkiki, that means “medicine,” or another translation is, “strength from the earth.” Embedded in our language are teachings from our ancestors on how to live mino-bimaadiziwin, “a good life.” It is evident our ancestors knew that food is medicine and nutrition is vital to living a good life, a life of peace and balance within and among ourselves. As I continue my education and earn my credentials, I will be allowed to practice as a licensed clinician. My philosophy is to draw on traditional wisdom and evidenced based Functional Medicine to provide recommendations for my future clients. I cannot wait for the day when I can officially and legally provide clinical recommendations. Until then, I will continue to prepare food for my family and loved ones always conscious that food is medicine and that we are strongest when our food comes from the earth.