Getting Back to Nature for Healing

Welcome and thank you for being here today.

The purpose of this gathering is to seek prayer for our community because many of our people are struggling with trauma, health conditions and substance abuse.

We want to hear from your own stories of healing that you participated in and were told by your families, and our traditional knowledge keepers on healing practices. This will be incorporated into our programs, community and health program. Utimately, these practices can be our guide in making our programs more accessible to you. We want to draw on your wisdom and experience in healing together.

Pau First Nation had a framework of natural and custom laws, our own language and knowledge systems that strengthened our identity. (We had many, many ceremonies here as others came here to hold special ceremonies here in our community and with our elders)

During tragedies, we came together and found strength in our community, culture and spirituality from our Elders and spiritual leaders, this sustained us to heal because it connects us to our ceremonies and relationships as a community. There was compassion, care for and help between families Wicihtowin.

Land based healing was introduced to me as a child, it was everyday things we had to do around the house, in community in order to survive. Things we did were communal, in other words, benefitting the whole community.

I never knew about homelessness until I left for school in the city. It was surprising to see other Indian people on the street because I was raised in a community where families took care of their own and/or other children; we are interrelated, and people don't sleep in the cold on the street or go hungry. There was always a family connection, community connection, family circles and kinship bonds. These factors impact what we can do with what we have.

I will end here by saying that our Elders did teach us that we are stronger when we work together, and our resiliency comes from the pride in our culture, language, traditions and world views. Indian people have a distinct and symbiotic relationship with the land and Mother Earth. The creator gave us a role to be stewards and caretakers of the environment, animals, water and nature; in return they nurture our bodies and spirit.

The Elder's message is to "keep young children close to nature" and teach them early. The Health Department is looking to do just that: start an Early Learning Child Care land-based and culturally distinct program rooted in our customs and teaching and led by our Elders. This program will instill purpose, hope, meaning, and belonging to build our children's interconnectedness between mental, physical, spiritual and emotional behaviors.