Greetings from the Traditional
Healing Program; among the first in Ontario
Traditional Healing is an integrated, complicated,
intricate, holistic approach deeply rooted in our culture and history. The
body, mind and spirit are treated as equally important. Healing begins its course through
intervention from the spiritual realm by medicine people who carry that gift,
through ceremonies that are centries old, through raising our own level of
traditional knowledge, and through all the other gifts of the natural world.
The objective of the Traditional Healing Program of De dwa de dehs nye>s
Aboriginal Health Centre is to sustain and deliver those centuries old
Traditional Healing mechanisms in health care to our clients.
With the on-going developments of Traditional Healing Programs and the growing demand for services throughout Ontario, we find ourselves faced with a great challenge. That challenge is to design and deliver the appropriate traditional health needs to urban Aboriginal communities. There are 17,000 Native people in our catchment areas of Brantford and Hamilton. The predominant nations being Mohawk, Cree and Ojibwe. Because we are located in close proximity to Six Nations, one of the largest reserves in Canada, we are serving that population as well.
Why is the challenge great? It is great because Aboriginal Healing is so huge! Colonization by Europeans and the systematic attack on Aboriginal cultures has left devastating impacts on the social, environmental, economical, spiritual and physical well being of our people. The loss of language and culture has left us feeling disconnected from our natural place in creation. This breakdown of our belief systems have left whole communities in turmoil and dysfunction.
So … where do we begin? How do we heal ourselves? Our initial phase has been to identify Traditional Healers who are willing to work with our Health Centre and from this develop a roster. The Healers are scheduled on a rotating basis with our Traditional Healing Program. They assess each client and referrals are made to traditional counselors, medicine people who will help if a ceremony is needed or traditional medicines are recommended. Teachers and keepers of traditional knowledge help to reclaim our identity by raising oour level of knowledge through traditional teaching circles.
These are only small steps in the process, but as the Traditional Healing Program of De dwa da dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health Centre grows and our resources become clearly identified, we will begin to take the larger steps towards delivering services that are consistent and structured.”
For more information feel free to contact the Traditional
Healing Program at 905-544-4320
or drop by our Health Centre located at 678 Main St. East in Hamilton for a visit.
Nya weh and may good
health follow you
She:koh, Sge:noh, Ahnee Greetings from the
front desk!
I’m back from maternity leave and
working at reception. I hope everyone
had a great summer and fall. I
certainly had a good summer, didn’t do much but stay inside with my air
conditioner.
It sure was a surprise for me when I left work on June 8 to have my baby as my due date wasn’t until July 10, but this little one just could not wait another month longer to enter the world. I will not go into gross details on the birth but it sure went fast. All that week I just had this feeling that I would have the baby soon because small things kept happening each day indicating the arrival. My little one gave me one good kick to let me know that he/she was still there on June 8. My significant other and myself had attended a birthing class that evening at the Brantford General Hospital, and at the end of the class jokingly mentioned to the instructor that we probably would not be back the following week because I felt the baby was on its way. Little did we know that it would that same night! We had previously decided to have my oldest son in the delivery room to view the birth when the eventful day arrived. We felt that Joshua would bond better being included in the delivery. They – wow – at 12:30 am the morning of June 9, my little on decided it was time, we phoned the obstetrician and were told to go to the hospital immediately. We woke Joshua to get ready and away we went. We arrived just after 1 am, they whisked me into labour and delivery, they had to perform a caesarean section and little Jordan entered the world at 2:32 am, four weeks early tipping the scales at 5 lbs 14.5 oz. Unfortunately Josh wasn’t able to see the baby being born but did see him immediately after the birth and before I had a chance to see him.
It sure has been great to have another little one around as he keeps me hopping and young. I find I have more patients, understanding and time to enjoy the previous moments with Baby Jordan and my family. Josh really enjoys playing and laughing with Jordan and Jordan has one proud daddy to boot.
While I hope I made this short and sweet but I think I wrote a book. It sure was nice being off for a few months but I was itching to get back to the old grind of working and seeing all my co-workers, friends and patients (old and new) once again.
COMMUNITY
PARTNERSHIPS
De dwa da dehs nye’s Aboriginal Health Centre knows the value of partnerships within our community. We currently have two community programs within our community. We currently have two community programs that have been developed in partnership with other community agencies to serve aboriginal people in the Hamilton area. We have teamed up with the Salvation Army to offer street patrol services to homeless people in the Hamilton area. These services include: food, clothing, and harm reduction services. The Living Rock is hosting a breakfast program targeted to homeless youth in our area. Every Monday to Friday, youth can access a healthy breakfast at: The Living Rock, 30 Wilson Street (at Hughson St.), Hamilton, ON, between 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. |
Who are we at De dwa da dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health?
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Sherry Lewis,
President
Glenn Bullock,
Vice-President
Lee-ann Blackbird,
Secretary
Larry Hannigan,
Treasurer
Marilyn Wright,
Member
Elize Hartley,
Member
Judi Trott,
Member
Catherine Nanticoke-Hill
Member
Janice Lewis,
Member
ADMINISTRATION
Bruce Peterkin,
Executive Director
Dennis Compton,
Finance Manager
Valerie O’Brien,
Administrative
Assistant
PROGRAMS
Laura Williams,
Outreach Program
Coordinator
Tara Williams,
Advocady Program
Coordinator
Rodger Hill,
Youth Program
Coordinator
Cindy Mutch,
Health Promotion &
Education Coordinator
Janet Hill,
Traditional Healer’s
Assistant
Walter Cooke,
Traditional Healer
Micheal Standup,
Traditional Healer
BRANTFORD CLINIC
Barb L’Ami, RN(EC),
Nurse Practioner/On-Site Supervisor
Dr. Micheal Monture,
Physician
Judi MacLeod, RN(EC),
Nurse Practitioner
Miriam Reed, RN(EC),
Nurse Practitioner
Sandee Martin,
Secretary/Receptionist
Marcy King,
Data Entry Clerk
HAMILTON CLINIC
W. Faye Lee, RN(EC)
Nurse Practioner/Clinical Team Leader
Laurie Panagiotou, RN(EC),
Nurse Practitioner
Miriam Reed, RN(EC),
Nurse Practitioner
Dr. W. Les. Lee,
Physiscian
Dr. Micheal Monture,
Physician
Charlene Jamieson
Secretary/Receptionist
March King,
Data Entry Clerk
OTHERS
John Homer,
Youth Program Coordinator
Trainee/Street Outreach
Lisa Dunlop-Beldam,
Counsellor for Native Women’s Centre,
Part-time, on-site
.