Answering Calls to Action: TRC for Healthcare Providers

POWERFUL, IMMERSIVE, IMPACTFUL

Join us for an impactful day as we respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action:
Action #22 – Recognize the value of Aboriginal healing practices
Action #23 – Provide cultural competency training for all health care professionals

Morning – KAIROS Blanket Exercise

Kevin John, Debbie Semeniuk
The KAIROS Blanket Exercise is a 90-minute interactive workshop that helps participants understand how colonization of the land we now know as Canada has affected the people who have lived here long before the settlers arrived. Through this exercise participants will explore the nation-to-nation relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada, how this relationship has been damaged, and how they can work toward Reconciliation.

In this version, we have managed to capture” the energy in the room” that many have referred to in our live sessions, in the hope that participants will have a better understanding of Indigenous peoples, that is viewed through a lens of compassion and empathy. The session is prefaced with a Treaty Acknowledgement, and a Safe Space Declaration.

Tansi,(Hello) my name is Kevin John, and I live near Vermilion with my wife of 33 years, Alesa, and our family of six wonderful children ages 9, 11, 15, 20, 23, and 27, and our first grandchild who is 14 months old. As founder of Asokanihkewak-TheyBuildBridges, I am blessed to partner with you among many other organizations to travel the Reconciliation road together. As the youngest of eight siblings raised off reserve in rural Alberta communities, I have seen many obstacles to our inclusion, equity, and success over multiple generations of our Indigenous people that have a spectrum of effects on our Spiritual, Physical, Mental, and Emotional well-being. This along with 18 years of offering Indigenous Cultural presentations in Schools has paved a clear path along my Reconciliation journey, and I am pleased to work with SAOT in this capacity this fall.

My name is Debbie Semeniuk and I reside in Edmonton with my husband of 34 years. I am a mother of six and a proud grandmother to five beautiful grandchildren. I enjoy spending time with my family and strive to make others happy. I believe love is the strongest energy that anyone can share without judgement. I work for Edmonton Public Schools in a support staff position. I am the FNMI lead involved with the planning of our school Powwow to celebrate Indigenous culture each year. I think it is important to bring awareness to Truth and Reconciliation and the process of healing. I am grateful to be a Founding partner in Asokanikewak, building bridges of Hope and Trust. Together we can make a difference.

Afternoon – Healing through Dance, Empowering through Education

Randi Lynn Nanemahoo-Candline
For this session, I will come dressed in my Jingle Dress regalia. For the first portion we will focus mainly on the Jingle Dress, its history and its origin. The story I will share will speak of how the dress was given to the people through spiritual means and was designed to help the people heal themselves. How these teachings and the wholistic nature of Indigenous cultural ideologies are applicable to helping us cope as a society today. We will conclude this portion with a one song Jingle Dress dance performance.

For the next portion of our presentation the conversation will be geared more towards contemporary social issues that we may face with Indigenous clientele.  Trauma, direct and inter-generational, plays a huge role in the day to day lives of Indigenous folks. This happening is directly linked to culture loss and the Residential School system legacy. Even though the events that occurred in the Residential school are no longer kept a secret, we still have a lot of work to do regarding healing the generational impact. I will share stories of my family members who attended these schools along with my own experiences of growing up as an intergenerational survivor. Testimonial of how watching my mother reconnect to her culture and spirituality led her on a path of healing and influenced me to do the same. This will lead us into a second Jingle Dress dance presentation.

For the final portion of our presentation, we will have an open discussion on how we can implement culturally sensitive approaches, such as the Medicine Wheel model and the TRC’s Calls for action into health care practices to help our Indigenous clients thrive. We will conclude our time together in a positive way by participating in a “round dance”.  Throughout the entire presentation, questions of all kinds are encouraged and will help lead our conversation.

Take Away: My hope for this session is to deliver not only statistics and facts around the socio-economic issues Indigenous folk face today regarding health care and its delivery, but to provide a viewpoint that allows for the health care provider to emphasize with their clients’ current situations. To have a deeper understanding of why Indigenous people are so highly represented in the health care system. And how we can move forward to create a safe, caring, and patient environment for our Indigenous clients, to improve their general experience when accessing assistance from health care providers.

tansi nitôtem…
Greetings friends, my name is Randi Lynn Nanemahoo-Candline. My maternal family originates from the Bigstone Cree Nation, Treaty 8 territory while my paternal family has roots in Winnipeg, MB. I however grew up in the small northern community of Lac La Biche, AB.  After spending some time in Edmonton and Saskatoon pursuing my education in Aboriginal Mental Health and Indigenous Social Work, I have settled back in my hometown with my boyfriend Wesley, stepdaughter Sasha, and our baby girl Nîpin-Rose.  Thanks to the efforts of my mother, my siblings and myself were raised in a home that celebrated our Indigenous culture and practices. Today, I have followed my mother’s lead and have found purpose in sharing my culture with others through mental health programming, various educational and art workshops, and through my Jingle Dress dancing.

Lunch is on your own. Please feel free to bring a lunch or visit one of the restaurants nearby.

Venue Details:
5920 Gateway Blvd NW
Edmonton, AB T6H 2H6
Venue Map