Career
A Coast Salish from the Sliammon First Nation near Powell River, British Columbia, he is best known internationally for his roles in the films of Sherman Alexie, as Thomas Builds-the-Fire in the 1998 film Smoke Signals and Seymour Polatkin in the 2002 film The Business of Fancydancing. In Canada, Adams has acted primarily in television, including roles in The Beachcombers,"Lost in the Barrens" Da Vinci"s Inquest, Neon Rider, These Arms of Mine, Da Vinci"s City Hall, The L Word, and Wolf Canyon, and stage roles in Lear and Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing. He also appeared in the documentary film Just Watch Maine: Trudeau and the 70"s Generation, speaking about his own experience as a young gay man standing just 5"2" in height, First Nations man growing up in Canada during the Trudeau era.
His plays, including Dreams of Sheep, Snapshots, Dirty Dog River and Janice"s Christmas, have been produced across Canada and internationally.
Adams has also worked extensively with First Nations health programs in Canada, including Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome education and alcohol and drug abuse treatment. In 2002, Adams completed a medical degree at the University of Calgary.
He completed his residency at Saint Paul"s Hospital/University of British Columbia (as Chief Resident), a Masters of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, and served as the Deputy Provincial Health Officer with the British Columbia Ministry of health. In April 2007, Adams was appointed the first-ever Aboriginal Health Physician Advisor for the province of British Columbia.
In April 2012, Adams was made Deputy Provincial Health Officer for British Columbia by Doctor Perry Kendall.
On December 1, 2014, Adams became the Chief Medical Officer of the First Nations Health Authority in British Columbia.