Arts & Culture

In the Spirit of Medicine

"In the Spirit of Medicine" is a new feature on Northland Morning.Dr. Arne Vainio is an enrolled member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and a family practice doctor on the Fond Du Lac reservation in Cloquet.His essays on life, work, medicine and spirit are published in "News From Indian Country," and you can find the link to his stories and more on our website at KUMD.org.In the Spirit of Medicine on KUMD is made possible by University of Minnesota Medical School- Duluth Campus, Ampers, and the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

In the Spirit of Medicine: middle ground

The North 103.3 | By Lisa Johnson

Published November 8, 2021 at 9:48 AM CST

(l to r) Deborah Jiang-Stein, Dr. Arne Vainio, Koresh Lakhan, Qamar Saaqid Saoud. Winners of the 2016 Virginia McKnight Foundation Binger Family Unsung Hero award

I thought about our current political climate. There is no middle ground. Somewhere are the answers we need to move forward as a people and ultimately, as a planet.

"Everyone deserves respect and some paths are more difficult to walk than others. Giving selflessly, when many would question why they see what they do as important or why they choose to work with those society has chosen to marginalize, is the path the creator has given them. To follow that path, no matter how difficult and no matter how uphill the struggle is the sign of a life well lived."

Dr. Arne Vainio

In the Spirit of Medicine features the essays of Dr. Arne Vainio, an enrolled member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and a family practice doctor on the Fond Du Lac reservation in Cloquet.