We Are IH: Support Services member loves seeing patients smile

April 4, 2024
Gheboa welcomed her first son in 2021 and enjoys being a busy mom.

Name: Gheboa Zeleniski (she/her/hers)
Job Title: Support Services
Years of Service:  5 years
Worksite:  Cariboo Memorial Hospital
Community:  Williams Lake
Ancestral Territory: Secwépemc First Nations
Favourite Quote / Advice to live by: "Everything happens for a reason."

Born in Squamish, Gheboa (pronounced “Ja-bo-a”) Zeleniski comes from a large family of five brothers and two step-siblings. Her parents named her after an actress but changed the pronunciation slightly so her name sounded more French.

Gheboa’s Indigenous ancestors are from Saskatchewan, and include her great-grandmother, Dorothy Macquabeak Francis. Dorothy founded the first Indigenous friendship centre in Regina and was awarded the Order of Canada in 1978.

When she was a young girl, Gheboa and her parents travelled to a powwow in Broadview, Saskatchewan where her great-grandmother spent her early life. There, she was given the name “Peppermint Woman” by a North Dakota Medicine Man named Clifford Young Bear, a name that signifies strength and healing.

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