{"id":16146,"date":"2017-09-07T13:28:46","date_gmt":"2017-09-07T17:28:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.canadahelps.org\/?p=16146\/"},"modified":"2024-11-01T16:41:57","modified_gmt":"2024-11-01T20:41:57","slug":"reconciliation-in-the-downtown-core","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.canadahelps.org\/en\/giving-life\/featured-series\/reconciliation-in-the-downtown-core\/","title":{"rendered":"Reconciliation in the Downtown Core"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post is part of our co-presented blog series with The Circle<\/a>, Reconciliation: A Call to Action for Canadians<\/em>, and is provided by Lance D. Morrison (Northern Thunderbird), Campaign Coordinator at the Anishnawbe Health Foundation. This multi-part blog series features stories and charities working with Indigenous Peoples on a variety topics and issues affecting Indigenous Peoples in today\u2019s Canada.<\/h4>\n

Canadians are witnessing the long-term effects of several centuries of assimilation policies and cultural genocide against Indigenous Peoples.<\/strong> Until the 1960\u2019s, traditional Indigenous ways, ceremonies, and traditions were illegal in Canada, and for several years it was even illegal for Indigenous adults to be in a group of three or more\u2014the offence would land you in jail.<\/p>\n

Through studies and work completed by groups such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), non-Indigenous Canadians are hearing the stories and realities Indigenous Peoples face. In 2017, we are now seeing the intergenerational effects of Canadian colonization and the trauma that was inherited by generations of Indigenous people. Suicide rates for Indigenous Peoples are four times the national average. Diabetes rates are higher than any other population, and Indigenous Peoples also deal with homelessness, poverty, violence, and substance abuse at a disproportionately higher rate than other Canadians. These concerns did not exist for us 500 years ago, but we are now faced with the challenge of helping Indigenous Peoples across the country address these issues with support.<\/p>\n

As challenging as it may be, there is hope, and I am a living example of that.<\/p>\n

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AHT Staff (left to right): Michelle Peltier, Shai Rowan, Catherine Brooks, Melissa Stevenson hand drumming at the Gardiner Museum.
Photo courtesy of: Julie Cookson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My Story Begins Here<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Tansi. Niya n\u00eahiyaw tsilhqot’in M\u00e9tis napew. Kiwetinotahk pihesiw nin\u00eahyawis\u00eeyikason okihciw\u00e2w maskwa. Nit\u00e2chimowin sipwepayiw.<\/em> Hello. I am a Plains Cree, Chilcoton, and M\u00e9tis man. In my ancestral tradition, I am called Northern Thunderbird and I am a member of the Bear Clan. My story begins here.<\/p>\n

I remember happy moments of my childhood in Yellowknife as I attended cultural summer camp, or the fragrant smell of moose hide moccasins that would fill the room and my heart when I attended a Drum Dance. Now living in the City of Toronto, I couldn\u2019t help but get caught up in frantic city living and forget the ways of my ancestors.<\/p>\n

Through years of mental health struggles, stress-related heart issues, visits to counsellors, therapists, doctors, and naturopaths, I had been ignoring my own cultural traditions. As I lived in downtown Toronto, a doctor or pharmacy is on every corner, and I didn\u2019t know where I could ever access an Elder. The irony here is that I had been trying to heal the intergenerational trauma of colonization, by using colonial methods.<\/p>\n

Then one night, I was speaking with a friend, John, about how hard I\u2019d been looking to find an Elder to speak with and he laughed at me.<\/p>\n

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AHT staff member, John Laforme at an AHF silent auction and reception. Photo courtesy of: Reg Good<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMan, do you not know where I work and what we do?,\u201d said John as he reminded me of Anishnawbe Health Toronto<\/a><\/strong> (AHT), a registered charity and health centre based on traditional Indigenous practices and approaches. Not only do they have dieticians, physicians, chiropractors, and nurse practitioners that provide primary health care, mental health, and addiction services, women, children and pre-natal, and homelessness programming, Anishnawbe Health Toronto\u2019s traditional department has Healers, Ceremonies, and Medicine people that work in conjunction with Western healing approaches for full-circle health care.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndigenous health issues require Indigenous solutions.\u201d\u2014Joe Hester, Executive Director, Anishnawbe Health Toronto<\/em><\/p>\n

At the time, I was on medical-leave from my job after several months of regular atrial fibrillation attacks. My stress levels and mental health were doing damage to my physical body and I was spending far too much time in the ER for my liking. I quickly made an appointment and met a Healer to begin my journey, and he helped guide me through the first steps of my path. I starting attending sweat lodge again which I\u2019d not done since I was a kid, and I also attended my first fasting ceremony with AHT. Over the past few years, I\u2019ve found community, I\u2019ve found my identity, and for the first time in decades, I\u2019ve found complete balance in my physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.<\/p>\n

Culture as Healing<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Across the country, many First Nations, Inuit, and M\u00e9tis communities are finding healing through cultural revitalization and a return to land-based knowledge. Through the tireless efforts of Elders and community members, we are seeing language and culture initiatives pop up from coast, to coast, to coast, and they are helping to heal communities:<\/p>\n