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Presented by the Ontario Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research …

Presentation title: PIHTIKWÊ: VISITS WITH FIRST NATIONS PSYCHOLOGISTS

This podcast series was created to mobilize and share Indigenous Knowledge related to trauma repair, recovery from addictions, community survivance, and care across Indigenous communities in Canada. Our goal is to provide listeners with access to conversations about the lived experiences of First Nations psychologists and leaders in the mental wellness field. We will discuss how that relates to challenges and successes in navigating and working within systems of care, as well as strength-based and cultural approaches to healing for Indigenous people. The podcast episodes will discuss topics related to: 1) Strength-based approaches to care; 2) Challenges and successes in the field; 3) Personal perspectives and experiences; and 4) Analysis of the systems of care. This project centers the voices of Indigenous experts and leaders working in the mental wellness field to promote collective learning and mobilize knowledge to support Indigenous well-being.

This podcast series is developed by the Healing from Trauma and Reducing Addictions group, part of the Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research (ON NEIHR) Program. Situated in 10 sites across Ontario, the ON NEIHR is demonstrating how health systems should move away from Western biomedical treatment of Indigenous medical illness to holistic, culturally based interventions instead (which include sacred aspects of healing: physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental dimensions). This program is funded by the Government of Canada, through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). This group is led by Dr. Holly Graham (University of Saskatchewan), Dr. Brenda Restoule (First Peoples Wellness Circle), and Dr. Alanaise Ferguson (University of British Columbia-Okanagan).

Acknowledgements: pihtikwê is produced by David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions. Graham McGuffin – production assistant. Our theme music is Kâkike, written and performed by Fawn Wood, an award winning Cree-Salish musician and songwriter. You can learn more about her music at fawnwood.ca

Dr. Brenda M. Restoule (Waub Zhe Kwens) is from Dokis First Nation (Ojibwa) and from the Eagle Clan. She is a registered clinical psychologist. Dr. Restoule is the Chief Executive Officer of the First Peoples Wellness Circle which is an Indigenous led national organization dedicated to raising the profile of Indigenous mental wellness using Indigenous knowledge and evidence. The Primary work of FPWC is implementation of the First Nation Mental Wellness Continuum Framework to which she is a co-chair of the Implementation Team and developing a network of supports for Mental Wellness Teams across the country. Her work spans from providing clinical and consulting services to First Nations communities in Anishinabek territory to consultation with provincial and federal governments on Indigenous mental wellness to an invited trainer and speaker to authoring book chapters and training manuals. Some of Dr. Restoule’s past work experience includes the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and working with federally incarcerated Indigenous women, children’s mental health and, urban and First Nation mental wellness programs. She has particular interest in cultural safety, First Nation community development and capacity building, and reducing suicide rates in First Nation communities using First Nation knowledge and practices.

Dr. Holly Graham is a member of the Thunderchild First Nation, SK. She has worked as a Registered Nurse (RN) in northern communities and various other health care environments since 1985. Currently, Holly is an Associate Professor in the College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry at the University of Saskatchewan. She also maintains an active practice as a Registered Doctoral Psychologist, working primarily with individuals who have experienced trauma and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Holly’s research is strength-based with a focus on Indigenous health, mental health, and wellness. She currently holds an Indigenous Research Chair in Nursing awarded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF), and the Canadian Nurses Foundation (CNF). Dr. Graham’s Research Chair, entitled wahkohtowin (We are all Related and Interconnected), will support and mentor undergraduate and graduate nursing students to engage in advancing reconciliation within nursing practice, research, education, and administration.

Dr. Alanaise Onischin Ferguson is a citizen of the Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation and a Registered Psychologist and Assistant Professor of Counselling Psychology at Simon Fraser University on unceded Coast Salish lands. Her work addresses recovery processes in response to the historical trauma experienced by Indigenous peoples living in Canada. She was born and raised in Stó:lō territory where she currently lives with her three children. She has over 17 years experience as a mental health practitioner in Indigenous communities across Manitoba and BC.

The Ontario Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research (ON NEIHR) Shkaakaamikwe gchi twaa miigwewin: Mother Earth’s Gifts is a collaborative, Indigenous-led research network dedicated to improving mental health and holistic wellness for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) communities. The network is housed at the Waakebiness Institute for Indigenous Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

Download: Dr. Alanaise Ferguson Dr. Holly Graham Dr. Brenda Restoule BANNER