Indigenous Land Based Healing

Indigeous commuities continue to suffer from adverse mental and physical health outcomes. Scholarhip shows that culture and spirituality are essential for wellness in all aspects - spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental. This has been impacted and continues to be impacted. Traditional knowledge sharing is an essential aspect of this. 

I am interested in researching through body knowledge and blood memory how to deal with trauma in order to access knowledge and memory and promote healing, wellness and self-determination. I want to use art and performance as a way to communicate these findings. I am interested in learning and looking also at medicines that help deal with difficult emotions such as anger, anxiety and depression for example. I am currently working with such medicines such as crocus, diamond willow fungus, juniper berry and douglas fir tree. These are medicines that I have come to understand and become drawn to through the power of blood memory - which is the idea that our blood and DNA contain knowledge and memories from our ancestors. I want to interview knowledge holders, language speakers and storytellers on these ideas, concepts and medicines. I would also like to research specifically on anti-Indigenous racism and how to address this. Many of the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action mention the need for anti-racism training among government, business, health care, police and lawyers, etc. 

My solution addresses wellness and specifically the disconnectedness of community that has resulted from colonization. For me specifically my mother left her community when she was a teenager, her mother was the victim of an unsolved murder. I feel that this is why I am disconnected to my home community, language and culture. I would like to connect on and off reserve members of my community - Bigstone Cree Nation. I continue to learn from my own parents and family but would like to create a connection between these communities who are interested in. I hope this will create collaborative opportunities for both as wel as, promote traditional modes of healing. I am also interested in how to stay connected to land and community when living in other territories due to colonization.  

I am interested in working with specifically Indigneous people and communities and to create performance and art based research processes and projects to share and educate. I am interested in the healing and wellness as well as self determination and soverignty. 

I have a Master's Degree in Indigneous Studies where I worked with Indigenous dancers and choreographers, . Training in land base practices, Indigenous trauma wisdom  other trauma informed practices. I have done research and grants in arts, education, and climate change. I am an award winning Indigenous educational leader, two time TEDx Speaker, author, and have presented internationally. I also have over a decade of ceremonial experience in different societies. I have worked in Indigneous performance for almost twenty years. 

Guidance with research and/ or feedback; guidance with planning as available. Help with funding.

Member of community. 

My solution is Indigneous led from my own lived experiences in dealing with racial trauma and intergenerational trauma. I am trying to build community, awareness and understanding of the power of our blood memory, art and creativity for living a good life (miyo pimadisiwin). I am a researcher, writer, and artist. I am often contacted for speaking, colaboration and consultaiton work, and as an artist. THis is a continuation of my work that I have been doing for decades, starting with becoming sober 15 years ago, through practicing Indigneous dance.

I would like to use this research to share with others, provide workshops, presentations and performances based on this. I would like to create tools for Indigneous people dealing with racism which seems to be getting worse in Canada, and is supported by what organizations and anti-hate groups are seeing too. 

Reduced anxiety and depression; Increased happiness. Increased community action. Equity in education. Climate awareness. Land faireness, awareness, equity. Reduce violence, abuse, exploitation, promote rule of law, equality in justice, effective and accountable institutions at all levels.

Theory of change is based on nehiyaw (cree) medicine wheel model that I wa taught. Individuals impact those around them and create change in the family, community and nation in a ripple effect. Our belief is that everyone is inherently good, caring, and has a purpose. It is through our own self-determination that we can choose to do good. Healing, self determination and soverigty are all interconnected. Indigenous kowlege also belief in a wider range of ways of knowing. Not all kowledge is contained only in our brain, we also have knoweldge of blood mememor and body knoweldge as well. We can tap into diverse knoweldge to create change in our own actions. In my MA Thesis I was able to map out how stories and teachings lead to changed behavior in Indigneous dancers, creating a health lifestyle. Culture is essential in sparking us into action.

Indigenous storytelling contains both fact and metaphor, we are responsible for using this properly and being able to tell the difference. Stories in Idnigenous cultures carry scientific knowledge, Indigenous practices contain some of the most advanced technology and knowledge systems. These knowledge systems are contained in stories and language, as well as, ceremonies, but I do not use ceremony in my research practices because it is unethical in my understanding. 

Indigenous led solution. Working with other Indigenous people.

I provide educational services including consultation, research, writing, workshops and teaching through culture and dance. 

I provide arts consultation services through research, writing, advisory boards, workshops and performance.

I rely mostly on grants, service contracts, research contracts, performance contracts, writing contracts.

I have been recieving a variety of artist in residence opportunities, performances, publishing contracts, research and consultation contracts and grants.