Fonds PR-2336 - Nora Mary Baldwin fonds

Nora Baldwin, (née Gladstone) was born on August 6, 1920 on the Blood Reserve in Southern Alberta near the settlement of Standoff. She entered St. Paul’s Anglican Indian Residential School in September 1925 at the age of five. She remained at the school with the exception of special events until 1938. She left the Residential School at the age of 18. In 1937 Ms. Baldwin was selected one of four Canadian aboriginal students chosen to represent First Nations peoples at the Coronation of King George VI in London, England. Her selection was based on scholastic achievement and appropriateness as a First Nations ambassador. On her return from England she was feted on the Blood Reserve before more than 2,000 local indigenous residents. At the ceremony she received the name “Ninaki” (“Princess”).

Ms. Baldwin continued her education beyond her graduation from Residential School. Since Cardston refused to accept Indian students, in 1938 Ms. Baldwin enrolled in Bedford Road Collegiate High School in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Following graduation from Bedford Road Collegiate High School Ms. Baldwin went to Toronto to train at the Canadian Mothercraft Well Baby Hospital where she received training for two years. She then went on to train as a registered nurse. Unable to gain entrance to Lethbridge and Calgary hospitals due to her indigenous heritage, she was accepted by the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, B.C. She graduated as a registered nurse from the Royal Jubilee Hospital as a Registered Nurse in 1945. Following training Ms. Baldwin worked as a registered nurse at Royal Jubilee obstetrics, and hospitals in Comox and Kitimat, B.C. She became Night Supervisor at the hospital in Kitimat, B.C. In this period she married Edwin Baldwin and had one son, Neal James Baldwin. In 1961 Ms. Baldwin was appointed to the Obstetrics/Premature Baby Department at the Vancouver General Hospital. She was Assistant Head Nurse from 1979 to 1982 when the department was closed and re-opened at the Grace Hospital Special Care for Babies unit called “Transitional Nursing from Intensive Care.” She remained at Grace Hospital until she retired in 1985.

In 1996 Ms. Baldwin was recommended for a National Aboriginal Achievement Award and in 2006 she was honoured by Blood Health Centre and the University of Lethbridge as an aboriginal nursing pioneer.
Nora Baldwin passed away on March 17, 2009 in Surrey, B.C. On April 11, 2009, the Blood Reserve held a memorial service in Ms. Baldwin’s honour at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Moses Lake.