Raised in poverty, now shaping national policy: Dr. Jamaica Cass receives Order of Ontario

An Amherstview physician whose work is helping reshape Indigenous health care and medical education across Canada says her appointment to the Order of Ontario is something she views not as a personal milestone alone — but as an opportunity to amplify a broader mission.

Dr. Jamaica Cass, a proud member of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, is among 30 people being awarded the province’s highest civilian honour for 2025. The appointments were announced by the Honourable Edith Dumont, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and Chancellor of the Order of Ontario, on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, and recipients will be formally invested at a ceremony in Toronto later this year.

For Cass, the recognition carries both gratitude and responsibility.

“I don’t take this kind of recognition lightly,” she said in an interview with Kingstonist. “I’m very aware that it carries responsibility with it. I see it as creating visibility for the work that I do — and hopefully that visibility brings more opportunities to continue driving change.”

The Order of Ontario recognizes individuals whose exceptional achievements and service have helped build a stronger province and country. Cass is being honoured as a nationally recognized leader in Indigenous health and medical education, and she is the first Indigenous woman in Canada to earn both a medical degree and a PhD.

Yet her path to that distinction began far from academic accolades — in circumstances she describes as shaped by poverty, instability, and structural barriers.

A childhood shaped by hardship and resilience

Cass grew up in Belleville, about 10 minutes from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, where she now practices medicine. Raised by a single Indigenous mother as the youngest of four children, she said her early life was marked by deep economic hardship.

“We were living so far below the poverty level I couldn’t even see it,” she said. “There were times we were unstably housed and dealing with food insecurity — all of those things.”

Those challenges directly affected her education. Frequent moves made it difficult for her to build a consistent academic foundation.

“I almost failed Grade 9 science — not because I wasn’t capable,” she said. “It was because I had moved so much that I hadn’t attended any one school long enough to build the knowledge base or study skills.”

At one point, a teacher suggested she move to a lower academic stream.

“I remember being told, ‘This isn’t for you — you should probably drop down to applied level science,’” she said. “Even at 13 or 14 years old, that didn’t sit right with me. I knew the problem wasn’t that I wasn’t smart enough.”

Looking back, she said that experience reflects broader systemic hurdles faced by many students.

“That’s one of many structural barriers that wasn’t academic at all, but still challenged my ability to succeed,” she said.

Despite those challenges, supportive teachers later played a pivotal role. Years after graduating from Moira Secondary School in Belleville — now Eastside Secondary School — Cass returned to speak to students and reconnect with two science teachers who had helped nurture her interest.

“It was incredibly meaningful to tell them that what they do matters,” she said.

Cass went on to pursue science at Queen’s University, completing a PhD in breast cancer molecular biology, and later earned her medical degree at Tulane University in Louisiana.

Today she practices as a primary care and obesity medicine physician on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, serving her home community.

She is also a faculty member at Queen’s University in Kingston, where she is the director of Indigenous Health within the Department of Family Medicine and leader of the Indigenous Health Enhanced Skills Program.

In addition, she is the inaugural director of the Queen’s–Weeneebayko Health Education Program, an initiative establishing Canada’s first Indigenous-led Faculty of Health Sciences campus in Moosonee, Ontario. The program aims to train health professionals within northern communities while improving access to culturally appropriate care.

Bridging worlds to shift the narrative

Cass said her work spans many roles — clinician, educator, mentor, and policy leader — but all are guided by the same purpose.

“I might be seeing patients one day, teaching or mentoring students the next, or drafting policy recommendations,” she said. “But it all has the same goal: making safer care happen and improving access to learning and health care for Indigenous people.”

A key message she hears consistently, she said, is the need for action. “Communities want action, and they want accountability. There have been so many reports and consultations. We already know what needs to happen; what people want now is implementation.”

“I see myself as a bit of a bridge,” she said. “I try to help institutions understand what communities need, while also helping communities engage with systems in ways that lead to solutions.”

Cass also hopes recognition like the Order of Ontario can help shift public understanding.

“People would be surprised to learn about the strength and resilience that exists,” she said. “We often only hear about deficits and problems, but there are incredible successes happening within communities.”

She said greater self-determination would unlock even more progress: “If communities had greater control in education, health care, and governance, we would see even more positive change."

According to Queen’s Health Sciences, Cass has already been a driving force behind systemic change through governance, curriculum reform, and national best practice guidelines, advancing reconciliation and improving Indigenous representation in medicine.

She also holds national leadership roles, including serving on the Medical Council of Canada and helping guide Indigenous medical education standards, and is the author of several articles examining accountability in Indigenous health and the importance of Indigenous-led education.

Recognition — and what comes next

Cass has received numerous honours over her career, including the King Charles III Coronation Medal, but she said the Order of Ontario stands out because of its broad public recognition.

“Visibility matters,” she said. “If this recognition helps bring more attention to the work — and more opportunities to build bridges and move solutions forward — that’s what makes it meaningful.”

In announcing this year’s recipients, Dumont said the appointees “represent the very best of our province.”

“Through their exceptional dedication and achievements, they have made profound contributions that have touched lives across Ontario and beyond,” she said.

Cass joins a group of 30 recipients for 2025, including Kingston-born former NHL coach and broadcaster Don Cherry. (Kingstonist is attempting to connect with Cherry to discuss his appointment.)

Since its creation in 1986, more than 900 people have been appointed to the Order of Ontario.

Nominations for the Order of Ontario for 2026 are currently being accepted until Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2026. Learn more about the Order of Ontario and how to nominate someone here.