Who was #Canada’s first #pharmacist?

It is time to interrupt and interrogate the colonial narrative we have been told for too long.

A thread:

“Pharmacy” is described to be “the act or practice of preparing, preserving, compounding, and dispensing drugs.” Over time, of course, the profession of pharmacy has evolved to include even more responsibilities.

Louis Hébert was trained in medical arts and science, becoming a specialist in what we now call pharmacology (a branch of medicine) and pharmacy. It was from this that he developed what was to become a lifelong interest in plants and gardening.

By 1600, Louis was established in Paris as an apothecary (pharmacist) and spice merchant.

Hébert was one of the first settlers of New France and is described in the history books as “the first Canadian to support his family from the soil.”

In 2017, at the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA) conference and 150th year as an organization, the following was said:

“It is fitting that this year’s Canadian Pharmacists Conference is being held in Quebec City as we celebrate 400 years of pharmacy in Canada, with the anniversary of Louis Hébert, Canada’s first pharmacist, who settled there in 1617.”

On the stage at the same conference, where I delivered my session on Indigenous health and reconciliation, there was a banner of Louis Hébert behind me - being honoured as Canada’s first pharmacist.

I love my profession. I love the Canadian Pharmacists Association. This love, however, does not override the necessity of interrupting and interrogating the colonial narratives present across the profession of pharmacy and other western health disciplines.

Indigenous peoples lived off the land for millennia - prior to the arrival of settlers. Among them were Medicine Men, Medicine Women, and Two Spirit Medicine People.

If pharmacy was/is “the act or practice of preparing, preserving, compounding, and dispensing drugs,” Turtle Island (North America) had “pharmacists” long before Louis Hébert.

#Indigenous #FirstNations #Métis #Inuit #Canada #Pharmacy #Pharmacists

Sources: https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/pharmacy and https://www.pharmacists.ca/news-events/news/pharmacists-gather-in-quebec-city-to-celebrate-400-years-of-pharmacy-at-largest-pharmacist-conference-in-canada/ and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_H%C3%A9bert and https://www.doullbooks.com/product/127098/Brief-History-of-Pharmacy-in-Canada-First-Edition-RAISON-Arnold-V-ed