IN THE SPIRIT OF
HEALING AND WELLNESS
A Newsletter of the Aboriginal Healing & Wellness Strategy
Vol. 1 No. 6
July 1997
INSIDE:
- Toronto Hostel - Opening Soon
- Sioux Lookout Amalgamation
- Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy
- The Cleansing Ceremony
- Study on Healing - A Must Read!
- Ever Wondered How to Say "Stomach Ulcer" In Cree? Read On...
- Aboriginal Health Office Activities
- Common Mistakes In Proposal Submissions
Waasagamik, a patient hostel which means "dwelling that radiates light" will be opening its doors this fall to accommodate Aboriginal people who come to Toronto for medical care and need a place to stay.
Waasagamik will be providing services to people accessing health services. Besides a place to stay they will offer supportive/advocacy counselling; language translation (Cree, Ojibwa, Oji-Cree, Inuktitut and Iroquois); special diets; access to medical prescriptions; access to traditional healers; and social and cultural activities.
"Waasagamik will not be directly providing health care," says Joe Hester, Director of Programs and Services at Anishnawbe Health Toronto. "Rather, we will be assisting Aboriginal patients to access health services such as traditional healers, physicians, nurses, lab services, prescriptions, etc." says Joe Hester.
Access to services is a strategic direction in the Aboriginal Health Policy. In implementing this objective Waasagamik will play an integral role by ensuring that patients will gain access to treatment and/or rehabilitative services.
"Waasagamik will fill a serious gap in the health services sector in Toronto and will be of benefit to all members of the Native community in Ontario," says Hester.
To prepare for start-up, Waasagamik has hired a Manager and an Intake/Supportive Counsellor and plans to hire two cooks. The hostel will provide its clients with a comfortable, quiet and secure boarding home facility for patients, families and escorts. Other special features include:
- 2 bedrooms, each with 2 double beds, and ensuite washrooms to accommodate parents and children;
- 13 single rooms with shared washroom facilities for individual patients;
- a quiet and comfortable lounge and eating area for recuperating patients as well as their guests;
- eating and play area for families with children; and
- nutritious and special diet meals as required.
The final renovations are being done. Waasagamik’s services will be delivered on a 24 hour basis from 179 Gerrard Street East, Toronto, Ontario. The site is located on the southeast corner of the intersection of Gerrard and Pembroke Streets. The nearest main intersection is Gerrard and Sherbourne Street, one block to the east.
Information on rates for accommodation and meals is not yet public. A brochure with this information will be available soon.
There are many hospitals within a 2.75 kilometre radius of the hostel. Some include: Wellesley Hospital; St. Michael’s Hospital,Toronto General Hospital, Sick Kids, Mount Sinai/Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto Grace Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Orthopaedic and Arthritic Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and Women’s College Hospital.
Transportation will be available at arrival and departure points, e.g., airport, railway and bus stations. Transportation will also be available for patients to and from medical appointments.
For more information contact Waasagamik’s Manager, Shirley Kendall at 1-800-531-0066.
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On April 11th, four years of negotiations culminated in the signing of an agreement between Nishnawbe-Aski Nation (NAN), Ontario, Canada and the Town of Sioux Lookout.
The agreement will amalgamate the existing federal and provincial hospitals in Sioux Lookout and provide funding for a new $30 million hospital facility. Construction of the hospital is expected to begin in two years.
"We will have the first Aboriginal-controlled provincial hospital because representatives of NAN, Canada and the Town of Sioux Lookout dedicated themselves to this process and had a vision of better health services for Aboriginal people and the entire zone," said Charles Bigenwald, Assistant Deputy Minister, representing the Ministry of Health at the signing ceremony.
From left to right: Charles Fox, Grand Chief of NAN; David Dingwall, former Health Minister of Canada; Charles A. Bigenwald, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry of Health; and Hubert Morris, Mayor of Sioux Lookout
"We have taken seriously the need for a new facility, significant improvements to community services in the First Nations, and the need for a process that is fair and balanced," said Charles Bigenwald.
The new hospital will have between 44 and 50 acute care beds, and at least five chronic care beds. The new hospital corporation will also operate the existing 20-bed extended care facility currently run by the Sioux Lookout District Health Centre. A new 75-100 bed hostel will be built close by with federal government funding.
The new hospital will also have 24-hour translation services and will offer Aboriginal patients choices of traditional food like caribou, moose, sturgeon and goose.
The agreement was signed by the Grand Chief of Nishnawbe-Aski Nation Charles Fox, former federal Health Minister David Dingwall, Ontario Assistant Deputy Minister of Health Charles Bigenwald and Sioux Lookout Mayor Hubert Morrison at a ceremony in Sioux Lookout.
Over a four-year period, the $3.18 million Medical Services Branch (Health Canada) currently spends at the Zone Hospital will be transferred to community health programs across the Sioux Lookout Zone.
Amalgamation of the two hospitals under a single board with greater Aboriginal representation was a central recommendation of both the 1988 Scott-McKay-Bain Report and of the more recent study undertaken by Dr. T. Kue Young of the University of Toronto Medical Sciences Department. Community consultations on models of health care, appropriate for the Zone, were undertaken in 1995.
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(by Nancy Sagmeister)
"Getting people to open up and talk about sex, homophobia and AIDS phobia are some of the biggest obstacles to dealing with this issue," says LaVerne Monette. "That, and the tendency to blame victims rather than trying to help them or giving people the information they need to keep them healthy". LaVerne is the provincial coordinator of the Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy and a board member of Two-Spirited People of the First Nations.
"The fears and intolerance that many Aboriginal people with HIV/AIDS experience in their communities means that many leave home and come to large communities like Toronto, Sudbury or Thunder Bay to get help or simply some understanding," says LaVerne. "Homophobia doesn’t belong to First Nations people. Before Europeans arrived, gays or two-spirited people as they are known in the Aboriginal community, were accepted and respected. The spirit of tolerance that existed was lost as foreign values were imposed on children and their families."
Much of the work that goes on under the Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy involves outreach and education to change biases and attitudes in the community, and providing an opportunity where people can begin to talk about it in a spirit of acceptance and openness.
The Strategy was developed because of the lack of culturally appropriate and culturally accessible HIV/AIDS programs and services for Aboriginal people. It is based on the wholistic approach to health, which includes the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs of individuals, families and communities living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.
Seven HIV/AIDS community workers are employed under the strategy and are located throughout the province. Each tailors his/her work to local needs. Besides education and outreach, they provide information, referrals and counselling to Aboriginal clients. They also act as advocates on Aboriginal HIV/AIDS issues. Pat Tait, the Kingston community HIV/AIDS worker, spends a lot of her time on issues affecting the Aboriginal inmate population, a particularly high risk group for HIV/AIDS.
Besides trying to change attitudes and get people talking, LaVerne would like to develop links with HIV/AIDS programs on-reserve. "HIV/AIDS doesn’t discriminate between white people and Aboriginal people, between gays and straights, or care where people live," she says.
Statistics related to the incidence of HIV/AIDS in the Aboriginal community are unreliable and probably under-reported, according to a recent report by the Laboratory Centre for Disease Control. This is because more than 40% of reported cases of HIV/AIDS lack ethnic information. However, the information that is available shows that incidence of AIDS among Aboriginal people has risen steadily over the past decade - from 1.5% before 1989 to 4.4% between 1993-96. Aboriginal people with AIDS are also younger and more likely to be women than in the general population.
LaVerne agrees that actual rates are probably much higher because many Aboriginal people fall into high-risk categories for HIV transmission. These include alcohol and drug use, high teenage pregnancy rates and higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases.
LaVerne works hard to keep HIV/AIDS high on the health agenda, "It’s a sad reality that the overall health of Aboriginal people is still poorer than other people. A long list of critical health issues competes with HIV/AIDS for attention".
Despite these obstacles, LaVerne speaks with conviction and tenderness as she describes her vision of people communicating with each other and getting back to being loving, supportive communities. In her vision, Aboriginal people with HIV/AIDS would receive the spiritual and emotional care they need in their communities.
The Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy is a 5-year program currently in its second full year of operation. Developed by Aboriginal organizations and the Ministry of Health, it is guided by a Reference Group made up of the Ontario Native Women’s Association, the Ontario Metis Aboriginal Association, the Metis Nation of Ontario, the Ontario Federation Indian Friendship Centres and Two-Spirited People of the First Nations as well as the Aboriginal Health Office and the AIDS Bureau.
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(by Josephine Mandamin, Ontario Native Women’s Association)
When we cleanse ourselves with the smoke from the medicines, we are praying for guidance and direction from the Creator to help us use our gifts in the right way. We physically cleanse our head area which houses our thoughts and minds. We ask the Creator to help us think only good thoughts of others, and all things we come into contact with. We ask that we do not harbour evil or bad thoughts about others, and if we do, we ask that we be given extra time before the day ends to make amends for our mistakes.
Next we cleanse our invisible gift of sight and ask for strength in using our gift in a good way - that we are not offended by what we see, and do not make fun of what we see. Our sight is exposed to many things during the day, and many times we are tempted to judge what we see. We ask the Creator that we be allowed the opportunity to make amends before the day ends should we misuse our gift of sight.
We continue to the gift of hearing and listening and ask the Creator for guidance in using this gift to patiently listen to those that speak to us and to those that are teaching us, especially to the elements of nature. The birds, the winds, the waters, the animal kingdom of the four legged and two legged beings, from where we learn to reawaken our gift of listening. We give thanks for this beautiful gift, and ask that if we have abused it in some way by making fun of what we hear, we ask for pardon and opportunity to make amends before the day ends.
The next gift we cleanse is the gift of smell which assists us in following our direction in the right way. The animals teach us how to use the gift in a good way. The animals use their noses to detect danger, to find food, water, and medicines.
The little ones learn to use their noses even before birth, to know their mothers and to become familiar with their surroundings. So too, we must learn from our relations. We can learn to reawaken our sense of smell to lead us in the right choices and directions, to sense danger to find our right path, and to find the right teachings (teachers), and to find the medicines for our health. We pray to the Creator that we do not abuse the gift by making fun of those that do not meet our senses in a way that we expect.
Many times we meet people who are homeless and have to live on the streets. We connect with the alcoholics and people on drugs on the streets every day. We must honour them and show them respect because they are surviving with the most minimal opportunities. We are in no position to make fun of those that are not as fortunate as we - to be able to shower every day, to have three meals a day, to have a roof over our heads and families to go home to. We give thanks to the Creator, and also ask that if we have misused our gift and made fun of someone who did not smell the way we would like them to smell, we take the opportunity to go out and help someone before the day ends.
We continue to cleanse our next gift which is the gift from the mouth. We must always watch what we say, how we say things, and be careful that we do not harm someone by the words that come from our mouths. Our children are usually the first ones to be hurt by the wrong words coming out of our mouths. If they hear those hurting words for too long, they may end up believing those words and begin to feel badly about themselves. Our young people hurt themselves in different ways to give us the message that they are hurting. They are unable to express their feelings with words because they may have been taught to shut up, be quiet or don’t tell anyone. These are controlling words we must replace with loving and encouraging words.
Therefore, we ask our Creator as we cleanse ourselves that we do not hurt our children, our partners, our relations, and co-workers. We ask that we learn to use this gift in the most wonderful way possible and take the time to choose our words before they come out of our mouths. Equally important as what comes out of our mouths is what goes into our mouths. We can harm our spirit with alcohol and mind-altering drugs which are harmful to the mind and body. We pause and ask the Creator for strength to know these things.
Next we cleanse the heart where feelings are housed. Our hearts carry many feelings. We give thanks for this gift and ask that we use it in a good way by feeling grateful for all things we come across today. We must learn to harbour good feelings about all people, our family, nature, and the universe. If we begin to feel badly about others, we must take
time out to evaluate our feelings, ask for, and make an effort to make peace with those we have bad feelings about. We must not burden our hearts with negative thoughts and feelings. The heart can give out with carrying too much weight, and may result in heart attacks and strokes. So we ask the Creator that we learn to place only joyful and happy feelings into our hearts, and to help others feel joyful and happy.
The next gift we cleanse is touch. We wash our gift with the smoke of the medicines and ask for strength and perseverance that we do not abuse the gift of healing. This gift was given to us as healing hands to produce only loving results. We especially request from the Creator that we understand this gift and not to abuse it by slapping our children or hitting our partners. We pray that all our relations can understand this great gift and use this healing gift to guide their children and families throughout life in a loving and healing way.
We pray especially for those who abuse this gift with wrong touches toward the children and partners. We give thanks for this gift that has allowed us to work with our children, our partners, our community and nations in a constructive way. We pray that those who abuse this gift through wrong and willful misuse can learn to make changes and that we too be given opportunities to ask for forgiveness should we hurt someone with this gift of touch.
Then we cleanse our spirit which surrounds our bodies at all times. This spirit if forever present and watchful as we journey each day and while we are asleep. These are what we call dreams. Our spirit tries to contact us in many ways but we get too busy to listen. We ask the Creator as we pray that we can learn to reawaken our spirits that we may have forgotten or frightened off through alcohol or mind-altering drugs. We ask that we learn to care for our spirit by way of cleansing our gifts, and our homes. As we begin to understand our invisible gifts we begin to understand that our spirit has been attempting to communicate with us through our ‘gut feelings’, a shiver, or a feeling of being watched or even through the messages of the elements, nature and humans such as Elders.
So now, when we experience the scent of the medicines wherever we are, we are reminded of the teaching of the returning Elders and to use our invisible gifts in the ways of our teachings. At times you may imagine the smell of one or all the four medicines. This is when someone is praying for you. Or, you may be somewhere away from home and smell the medicines. You are reminded again of the teachings of the invisible gifts.
The cleansing takes only a couple of minutes. The teaching takes time, but once you grasp or catch the meanings, you have gained a precious gift, and will return to cleanse whenever the need arises.
This is enough for this time. I shall continue with additional teachings next time, if all is well.
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(by Suzanne Dudziak)
Rod McCormick asked a straightforward question: What facilitates healing for First Nations people? He came up with surprising answers!
With a background in counselling psychology, McCormick found that Western therapeutic techniques were only moderately effective with the First Nations people he had worked with. In 1986, not having grown up in Kahnawake, he started on the path to learning his culture. In working with and observing the success of culturally specific counselling approaches, McCormick became interested in other Indigenous paths to healing.
McCormick states in the introduction to his study that "...much of the theory and practice relating to the provision of mental health services for First Nations people is based on opinion and conjecture." In his literature review, he concludes that despite a high level of mental health problems among First Nations people and the observation that they tend not to use services provided by the majority culture, "researchers have all but ignored the successful healing strategies used by First Nations people themselves."
To investigate those strategies McCormick interviewed 50 people (15 males, 35 females) ranging in ages from their early twenties to early fifties, from 40 communities in British Columbia.
McCormick’s aim was to provide "a comprehensive map of what facilities healing among First Nations people in B.C." The fourteen categories of healing which emerged as significant are listed here in rank order: expressing oneself, connecting with nature, obtaining support from others, anchoring self in tradition, participation in ceremony, gaining an understanding of the problem, establishing a spiritual connection, exercise, helping others, setting goals, learning from a role model, establishing a social connection, involvement in challenging activities and self-care. Healing outcomes were thought to invoke empowerment, cleansing, balance, discipline and belonging.
Drawing on examples from the interviews and from expert commentary, he describes the meaning of each category in ways which make the healing process understandable. For example, on connecting with nature: "In respecting nature, First Nations people see nature as providing a blueprint of how to live a healthy life."
Also, a set of distinct themes emerged which provide invaluable learning for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal practitioners. The first observation is that a broad spectrum of healing resources is available to First Nations people, particularly in terms of nature and ceremony. He notes that "Relative to the variety of approaches used by First Nations people, Western approaches are apt to be viewed as restrictive in what they have to offer for healing."
Second, Aboriginal people have different ways of seeing the world that reinforces the belief that healing practices are culturally bound.
A third theme involves the expectation that healing should help to restore balance, a concept inherent in the Medicine Wheel. McCormick observes, "When people with this cultural expectation encounter Western therapies, a conflict emerges. Because most Western therapies tend to focus on one aspect of the person, the First Nations client often leaves feeling that only part of the self has been attended to".
A fourth observation is that if someone is self-absorbed they cannot heal because they cannot connect with the spiritual world, family, community or culture. As he observes, this view contrasts with Western approaches that focus on strengthening the self or ego so that people master their environment.
Lastly, McCormick concludes that participants act as the agents of their own healing and that Elders and others treat them as their own agents.
This study fills a huge gap in cross-cultural understanding. Furthermore, as a research study, it also affirms many of the approaches to healing and wellness being implemented by Aboriginal communities through AHWS. For those engaged in the Strategy, he offers perspectives on healing which people could use for group reflection on their own projects and initiatives.
In providing a very brief synopsis of this study, I hope I have created a desire to hear more. Readers who read the study will not be disappointed. Unlike many academic papers, this study is written in a very accessible style and deserves to be read in its entirely.
The full study is in the Canadian Journal of Native Education (Vol.21, #2, 1995) available for $13.50 from First Nations House of Learning, U.B.C. 1985 West Mall, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z2 (604) 822-8940, Fax (604) 822-8944.
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In March 1995 the Mushkegowuk Council sponsored a week-long Cree Language Seminar which brought together interpreters, Elders and administrators from organizations and agencies in the western James Bay region. The purpose of the session was to set priorities for the translation of materials into Cree and strengthen linkages between the various groups working to improve community services offered in the Cree language.
One of the highest priorities was in health care given the frequent transfer of patients to treatment centres such as Timmins, Kingston and Toronto. Participants reviewed and developed working drafts of medical terms and anatomy to ensure their accuracy and clarity. To sustain the momentum of these sessions, they felt they needed to produce resource material and organize a training project to provide participants with a chance to practice the use of agreed upon terms, such as "ashkitakishaypaniwin" which means stomach ulcer in the Cree language.
Nursing aides, nurses, front line health providers, Elders and interpreters from each Mushkegowuk community were invited to attend a training session. The goal was to build a large enough base that participants will be able to train their own community members who may act as translators. Participants in the training benefited from having an opportunity to expand their Cree vocabulary of medical terms.
Fred Hunter, Executive Director, Weeneebayko Health Ahtuskaywin (WHA), says health care at the regional facility in Moose Factory, and in the community health centres is commonly provided by non-Native English speaking nurses and physicians. This places Cree speaking Elders and other unilingual community members at a distinct disadvantage when accessing health services or when referred to treatment in the south. Development of the Cree medical glossary and training providers and interpreters in the use of this specialized vocabulary goes to the root of Ontario’s Aboriginal Health Policy.
The production of the medical Cree glossary, "addresses a fundamental gap between available health services and their accessibility to the population for which they are provided," says Mr. Hunter. Simply put, improving the ability of interpreters to translate non-traditional terminology will improve health care delivery and enhance the fulfillment of its mandate to "preserve and enhance the provision of quality health care in the Mushkegowuk Territory." The glossary helps WHA to make progress in terms of providing culturally sensitive and accessible services.
In June 1995, the WHA along with the Mushkegowuk Tribal Council received a Training (One Time) grant through the Aboriginal Healing and Wellness Strategy to develop and produce a Cree medical glossary.
Training sessions were organized by WHA and facilitated by the Mushkegowuk Council translation department with staff members and Elders from various communities acting as trainers. Physicians and other medical staff were invited to participate, especially in role playing exercises.
A higher standard of interpretation was achieved with sometimes difficult and complex medical terms and terminology. The production of the medical Cree glossary is a lasting by-product of this project and increased the compliment of adequately trained community members who can act as escorts.
A copy of the Cree Medical Glossary may be obtained from: Health Planning Office at Weeneebayko Health Ahtuskaywin, P.O. Box 644, Moose Factory, Ontario, P0L 1W0. Tel. (705) 658-4930 or Fax (705) 658-4917 or Za-geh-do-win Information Clearinghouse at Tel. (705) 692-0420 or Fax (705) 692-9039.
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Besides playing an active role in the Aboriginal Healing and Wellness Strategy, the Aboriginal Health (AHO) Office is involved in the development of a number of health initiatives that take place outside the umbrella of healing and wellness. In its work, the Office’s efforts are focussed on ensuring that Aboriginal health issues are addressed in a manner that is consistent with directions in the Aboriginal Health Policy.
Some of the projects that the Aboriginal Health Office is working on include:
- negotiations to build a new hospital in Sioux Lookout which were successfully completed in April when NAN, Ontario and Canada signed an implementation agreement. Under the Agreement, NAN will control the new hospital board with two thirds representation. As well, the Agreement will result in the transfer of health programs to the community under NAN’s control, thus increasing their effectiveness and appropriateness in addressing NAN’s health issues. AHO will continue to be involved in the next phase of the project which focuses on merging the two hospitals on a functional basis and on hospital incorporation;
- developing of the Tripartite Agreement on the Chiefs Task Force on Suicide. Signed by NAN and Canada in February, it addresses some of the recommendations in the NAN report, Horizons of Hope:
- implementation of the Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy through membership in the strategy’s reference group;
- member of the Southern Ontario Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative working group which is addressing one of the most widespread and potentially fatal health issues within the Aboriginal community;
- supporting the Long-Term Care Off-Reserve Working Group; and
- working with the Aboriginal community to address various health issues and opportunities.
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After every call for proposals approximately 50 proposals must be rejected by the AHWS office for mistakes that can be avoided. Most frequent mistakes include:
- financial reference must not be a financial officer of the organization applying for funding;
- incomplete answers;
- applicant states project is collaborative but no partner documentation provided;
- computer generated application with missing questions;
- budget does not have start and end dates;
- budget does not have detailed information;
- signature page is not signed by senior or signing officer;
- less than two support documents provided;
- workplan/timeline information not provided with full details;
- contact person attaches letter of support; and/or
- applicant does not attach job description.
After completing the application, ensure you complete the checklist attached with each application, to avoid the risk of your application being pre-screened or screened out of the proposal review process.
Another call for proposals for both Community and Training (One-Time) grants will be issued on September 9, 1997 with a proposal deadline date of November 14th, 1997. Projects will begin in April 1998.
For more information about the Community and Training (One-Time) grants contact Ed Bennett, Project Team, Aboriginal Healing and Wellness Strategy, at (416) 326-7900 or fax (416) 326-7934.
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