Nancy “Aedes” Scheer
Aedes Scheer had a B.Sc. and a teaching certificate when she came to the Yukon. She taught math in Whitehorse before moving to Dawson in 1994 where she founded the Dawson Humane Society. She worked thirteen years as an Emergency Medical Services (ambulance) volunteer and spent several seasons as a mosquito control technician where she earned her “aedes” (genus mosquito) nickname. Aedes worked as part-time teacher at the elementary and college level, was voted in to the town council and ran for territorial office. She did a lot of veterinary work before Dawson gained a full-time vet but failed to get a grant to study as a veterinarian.1)
Aedes started her medical training in 2006 at Prince George’s UNBC Northern Medical Program and worked at Terrace, British Columbia and Red Deer, Alberta during her practicum. She also worked in rural and remote locations from Inuvik to Newfoundland as well as in Fort McMurray, Alberta.2)
Dr. Sheer returned home to work in the Dawson Medical Clinic in January 2013 and was involved in the transition from the old clinic to the new Community Health Services Facility. Her work continued to use old skills and she was sometimes called on to pull a tooth, sew up a dog, or pull quills.3)
In 2016, Scheer’s husband Norm Carlson moved to a cabin more than 100km down the Yukon River from Dawson, and she joined him in 2018. She wanted to get away from the unhealthy number of hours she was working at the clinic and she continues to work as a part-time doctor in Inuvik, NWT. Scheer and Carlson credit local trappers and dog mushers for many of their bush survival strategies.4)