Volume 2 Issue 2 Summer/Fall 2007

Muskiki Mukwa Achimowin
Medicine Bear News
Garden Hill * St. Theresa Point * Red Sucker Lake * Wasagamack
Volume 2 Issue 2 Summer/Fall 2007
Four Arrows Regional
Health Authority Inc.
2nd Floor, 338 Broadway
Winnipeg, Mb R3C 0T2
Ph: 204-947-2397
Fax: 204-982-3359
www.fourarrowsrha.ca
In This Issue
Executive Director
Director of Operations
Healing & Wellness
2007 Diabetes Camp
Home & Community
Neewin Health Care
Public Health
Announcements
Audio/Radio Project 7
Art of Living
7
New Staff
Out and About
Announcements
8
2
2
3
5
6
7
7
8
9
10
11
12
Island Lake Gardening - A SWEET SUCCESS
This year was the second
year of the “Grow North”
community vegetable and
berry gardening project.
This initiative is managed
by Linda Manoakeesick
and co-managed by the 4
community coordinators:
Larry Wood, Josephine
Harper, Lorne McLelland,
and Gary Knott. A new
introductory workshop on
planting berries was held
in Red Sucker Lake this
season and was, facilitated by Anthony Mintenko, a provincial berry
specialist.
He brought
along a few thousand
berry plants; raspberries,
strawberries, and saskatoons. More than enough
for Red Sucker Lake,
many plants made their
way down to other Island
Lake communities. Early
Ruth Harper from Red Sucker Lake planting berries.
word is that gardeners in
Garden Hill, Wasagamack,
and St. Theresa Point want
to get in on the berry planting next year.
Getting enough water into
the gardens, especially on
those hot days in July and
getting “black dirt” in, to be
mixed into the clay soil,
were two big challenges for
many gardeners and Linda
is hopeful that we can work
to solve these problems
next year.
(Continued on page 4)
CONGRATULATIONS
ISLAND LAKE ELDER RECEIVES HIGHEST HONOUR
Twelve Manitobans were inducted to the
Order of Manitoba—the highest honour the
province can confer– in July, including OjiCree elder and educator Ed Wood.
Wood said he owed the honour to and accepted it on behalf of his family and pe0ple.
Mr. Harvard described the 12 new members
as “fiercely competitive, selflessly cooperative” people.
Ed Wood,
Order of Manitoba
tivist and business leader Gail Asper, former Law
Reform Commission chairman Clifford Edwards,
artist Ivan Eyre, broadcaster Elmer Hildebrand,
Professors Verna Kirkness and Paul Thomas, community leader Janice Filmon, CFL Hall of Famer
Ken Ploen and cartoonist Lynn Johnston.
Reprinted from Grassroots News 07-17-07
The Board of Directors and staff of
Recipients are chosen by an advisory council FARHA, wish to Congratulate Elder Ed
that fields nominations from the public. Wood in receiving this prestigious honour.
Other inductees included human rights ac-
Page 2
Muskiki Mukwa Achimowin - Medicine Bear News
Message from Executive Director - Andy Wood
Hi, all you readers and friends from
the Island Lake communities! Welcome
to our fall issue of the Muskiki Mukwa
Achimowin. I hope that this message
finds you all in good health and anticipation of our fall hunting season. I
have always felt very thankful and appreciative of all the gifts that have
been given and left to us by our fathers
and grandfathers and one of the greatest treasures that we have is our land
and the love that we have for the traditional and culture teachings that come
from living on the land. I know that a
lot of you will agree that the fall hunting season is a very special and exciting time for families, so special in fact
that all our Island Lake schools have
incorporated Cultural Week into their
curricula. Every fall whole families
used to disappear into their traditional
hunting and trapping areas and the
schools could not do anything to prevent this and keep the kids in school.
To honor and acknowledge the importance of traditional teachings and
learning, in the late 1990’s the schools
decided and agreed to designate the 3rd
week of every September as ‘Cultural
Week’. And voila! we go hunting every called upon to stand up and take action
for our and communities’ survival.
fall.
When that call is made, it is hoped that
Our last publication was our Spring
Issue, and communities and organiza- each and every one of you will listen
and take action to build brighter futions have been very busy over the few
tures and healthier communities.
summer months, with various sports,
leisure, teaching and learning, helping In closing, I hope that you enjoy this
and healing activities. We have all had Fall issue. If you don’t, and think there
a very busy summer and I hope that is something missing, I invite and enthe foregoing gives you all a brief courage you to submit an article, a
glimpse of the many activities that story, a picture or a newsworthy article
to our next issue, which will be around
have taken place.
Christmas time. By that time, people
On a more serious note, all of our communities have been struggling with say we should be (maybe) driving back
social problems and challenges that and forth to Norway House! Wouldn’t
that be something? For our youth and
have threatened to take away the very
young children, it’s back to school. For
essence of our lives and our communities. We have all lost a loved one, fam- those, who took some well deserved
holidays, it’s back to work and to the
ily or relative and we can all feel the
grind. For everyone else, until next
pain that this loss places on our famitime, be good, stay well and may the
lies and communities. The peace and
safety of all our communities is the Creator watch over all of you.
very most important thing to what we
call our homes, our families and our
futures and that is being threatened.
Discussions and plans are presently
taking place and within the next little
while, each and every one of you will be
Congratulations Chief Robert Flett St. Theresa Point First Nation From the desk of the Director of Operations ...
Another summer has come to an end.
Hope everyone had an enjoyable summer and got to spend quality time with
family and friends. In this fast paced
world we live in, it’s so hard at times to
juggle between work, family, schooling,
etc. and it’s nice to have time set aside
to just relax. For myself I am very
grateful to be able to spend a month
this summer with my son. We didn’t
travel too far except for the last week
going out to my birthplace, Sioux Lookout, ON to pick blueberries. That was
alot of fun and believe me there was
tons of berries this year. Good thing we
didn’t battle with a bear but mind you
there was an enough for the bears and
us! Lmao But for the most part, did the
vacation thing in our own hometown.
Amazing what the city of Winnipeg has
to offer. Went to Fort Whyte for the
day and for anyone that has never been
there, it’s a hidden treasure in the
midst of a city. Walking around there
you would not think you were in the
middle of a major city, considering
there are buffalos running around. We
really enjoyed the day there even
though we picked a hot one. Speaking
of hot ones, did a lot of the beach this
year. Haven’t gone to the beach as
much as I did this year and it’s a good
and cheap mode of entertainment for
the kids. One day I think I had 5 boys
with me but amazing enough they
stayed in the water the whole 7 hours
we were there but once they came out,
boy were they hungry. But all in all it
was nice to spend time with my family.
the morning. Hard part is getting him
back into a normal sleeping habit
which so far is not as bad as I thought,
but again it’s only the second day of
school. Let’s see how he does at the end
of September.
On the work front, I haven’t seen too
much of my co-workers this summer as
everyone has been either traveling into
the communities or taking holidays but
by the sounds of it, everything went
smoothly. The 7th Annual Diabetes
Camp I hear was a roaring success.
I believe there is a separate write up in
this issue on that camp. Thank you to
everyone who has helped planned and
support this camp and even though
this camp is done totally on fundraisNow back to September, back to the ing efforts, we are finding that we are
grind of getting my kid off the school in
(Continued on page 6)
Volume 2 Issue 2 Fall 2007
Page 3
Healing and Wellness Program
Frances Ravinsky & Robert Miller - Coordinators
Valerie Taylor, Louella Harper, Nelson Manoakeesick - Mental Health Therapists
YOUTH AND THE ARTS
Following two years of funding applications, lobbying and letters of support, Four Arrows has finally secured funding for
an Island Lake Youth and the Arts program. We have formed Creative Arts Working Groups to manage these programs
in Red Sucker Lake, Garden Hill, and Wasagamack. Artist/Coordinators have been hired in these communities - David
Disbrowe in Red Sucker Lake, Ralph Barkman in Garden Hill, and Jonathan Harper in Wasagamack. The first task in
Red Sucker Lake and Garden Hill was to find places to run the programs. In Red Sucker Lake Four Arrows purchased an
old private store which David has fixed up; and in Garden Hill Ralph has cleaned up two rooms in the old arena. Over
the summer children and youth attended classes in painting, embroidery, regalia making, beading, guitar and fiddling.
Because there is not, as yet, an established community working group in place in St. Theresa Point to oversee the program, we gave small contracts to Burton Taylor, Joy Flett and Charlie McDougall to teach art and music classes there.
There are plans to include additional art forms in the program(eg. soapstone carving, photography) and we are looking
for women to lead quilting circles for young women and girls. We encourage adults (parents, grandparents, front line
workers) to participate - as teachers and learners – to form positive relationships and to have fun with children and
youth.
Thanks to the National Crime Prevention Centre and the Manitoba Department of Justice for providing funding for the
program, to our Chiefs and Councils for supporting the activities, to the workers and volunteers who have joined the
Creative Arts Working Groups, and above all to our artists for sharing their gifts and their concern for the well-being of
our children, youth and our communities.
HONOURING THE ORAL TRADITION IN ISLAND LAKE
Over the course of the summer our staff organized three week-long workshops in theatre, and audio recording/radio production. In the last week of
May, 2007, 31 youth and adults from Wasagamack, St. Theresa Point and
Garden Hill participated in an intense six-day training led by David Diamond, artistic director of Headlines Theatre in Vancouver, ending with public performances of 3 short plays developed by the participants themselves.
The themes for the plays were addictions and violence. The actors presented
plays about our families’ and communities’ struggles with these issues,
which both moved and challenged the audience. Equally moving was the
relationships of trust, respect and friendship that developed over the course
of the week between youth and adults, and between participants from the 3
communities. The trust and mutual support allowed participants to ‘dig
deep’, as director David Diamond encouraged them to bring their stories
about these difficult
Artistic Director, David Diamond with particiissues to the stage.
pant Jeremy Little at the Theater workshop
Over the course of the
workshop, the participants played, laughed, shed tears, and worked
extremely hard. Each day ended with a sharing circle. It was an extraordinary week, and our staff team felt privledged to be a part of it.
Several participants described it as transformative and healing.
Thanks to the administration and teachers at George Knott School in
Wasagamack for hosting the event and giving up their gym for a
week, and to Wasagamack Health Authority for offering their support.
In July, Sarah Miller, a radio producer from Halifax and Duncan
Mercredi, a cree storyteller from Grand Rapids, MB led 5-day training workshops in both Red Sucker Lake and Wasagamack. Alison
Davis, a filmmaker with Crossing Communities Art Project
(Winnipeg) assisted in Red Sucker Lake. The workshop in Red
Sucker Lake ended with an evening of storytelling where visitors
Dora Harper, interviewing Albert Harper Sr. at
Youth & Elder Gathering
(Continued on page 4)
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Muskiki Mukwa Achimowin - Medicine Bear News
(Continued from page 3)
and community residents shared stories from their lives and traditions.
In Wasagamack, the participants produced inspiring audio pieces that
were broadcast at the Elder/Youth gathering at the end of the week. We
have audio disks of the storytelling evening in Red Sucker Lake and the
Wasagamack participants’ audio pieces ... call if you would like one.
Thanks to the School and Health Authority in Red Sucker Lake and to
the Health Authority in Wasagamack for providing space and cosponsoring these events.
The Healing and Wellness team were pleased to offer these workshops to
the communities. We believe that each time we tell our own stories and
the stories of our communities, rather than relying of others to do it for
us, we move further along the path to recovery. Whether we share our
stories directly with a trusted friend, family member, or worker, or with
people in a sharing circle, or indirectly through our creative expressions
– with each telling, our hearts, minds, and spirits become stronger.
David Diamond with Cynthia Barkman of
Garden Hill and Myra Mason from STP at
Theater Workshops in Wasagamack.
Funding for all these workshops came from Canada Social Development’s “New Horizons for Seniors” program. Crossing
Communities Art Project also contributed financial support for the audio/radio workshops.
As a final summer offering, Four Arrows sponsored 3 youth from Wasagamack and St. Theresa Point (Nigel Mason, Mark
Wood and John Lou Mason) to attend a week-long film making workshop at Manitoba Theatre for Young People's Aboriginal Theatre program in Winnipeg. Our staff attended the screening of participants' films. Island Lake is well on its
way to becoming the Hollywood of the North!
Mental Health Therapy Program and Future Plans Uncertain
In June, Louella Harper and Nelson Manoakeesik, both from St. Theresa Point, joined our team as mental health therapists, replacing Corrine Warkentin and Lionel Mason. As of this writing, it is uncertain whether this program will continue, as First Nations Inuit Health (FNIH) has indicated that it
is withdrawing their funding at the end of October. If this happens, FNIH will once again send in their own mental health
therapists to the communities to provide counselling services on
a regular basis.
In the meantime our team has been planning workshops and
new initiatives for 2007-08, for example:
•
Training and delivering grief support groups, with a
particular focus on helping children heal from grief
and loss;
•
Training in Critical Incident Stress Debriefing;
•
Training in mentoring high risk youth
•
Developing resources to address sexual abuse in our
communities.
We have also received requests for help in developing a Regional
Island Lake Crisis Response Team, which would include a Regional Crisis Phone Line.
It is now uncertain what resources we will have to carry out
Jonathan Harper with Instructor/Facilitator, Sarah
these plans. However please contact any member of our team if
Miller at Audio/Radio Workshop in Wasagamack.
you are interested in these initiatives.
(Continued from page 1) Berry Successful
Also, Four Arrows’ food partner, the Province of Manitoba’s Northern Healthy Foods Initiative, was able to get refrigerated containers placed at all 3 Island Lake airports. Funding was provided by the Province of Manitoba’s Northern Airports Branch and {containers} are being leased to the Food Mail carrier, Perimeter Airlines. So now, when people order
food & perishables from Winnipeg, Perimeter Air will make sure that your food is refrigerated until you to pick it up.
This is particularly good for people from Wasagamack who rely on boats/ice roads to access the airport. This winter we
are looking forward to working with a number of partners to bring the direct buying of food to local schools, meals-onwheels, and day cares. This project will also bring more local wild food into the schools and community meal programs.
Volume 2 Issue 2 Fall 2007
Page 5
2007 Donna K. Flett-Harper Diabetes Summer Kids Camp
Linda Manoakeesick, Health & Wellness Worker
Sunday, July 15, was a travelling day
for camp participants and the staff.
The Red Sucker Lake and Garden Hill
participants were first to arrive and
everyone pitched in in pitching up the
big tent. This was topped off with an
evening barbeque for everyone who
had arrived, up this point, and all had
fun cooking steaks, ribs, hamburgers
and other goodies. The evening was
closed off with playing games and
story telling. The next morning, the
St. Theresa Point and Wasagamack
participants arrived. Breakfast was
served and the camp started by introducing the camp staff/workers and the
kids introduced themselves to one another. Participants were divided into
four teams and instructed to stay with
these groups for the duration of the
camp. Michelle Thacker, Home Care
Advisor at FARHA Inc., who is a Registered Nurse, did the exercises, fitness breaks and ice breakers. Each
teaching session lasted about a ½ hour
but after each session the participants
would alternate to other group sessions. Other staff members were
Linda Manoakeesick, Public Health
Worker and Grace McDougall R.N.,
Tribal Public Health Coordinator at
FARHA. These sessions proved very
interesting for participants who asked
lots of questions and wanted to know
more about diabetes. In between sessions, the campers did other activities
and ate healthy snacks. On Tuesday,
teaching sessions were led by the Diabetes Workers from each Community.
St. Theresa Point, Josephine Harper,
Garden Hill Larry Wood/Marilyn
Wood, Red Sucker Lake, Lorna
McLelland and Wasagamck, Lisa
Harper/Gary Knott These workers, did
sessions for each team, which took
most of the day to complete. Again, in
between sessions, the participants did
physical activities and had healthy
snacks. The last day, we invited and
presented four elders that are considered, by local communities, as traditional healers. One of the elders had a
session where he talked about diabetes and his life experience in living
with and witnessing diabetes. From
his experiences, he talked and taught
about how he had taken care of himself, how to prevent diabetes and how
to stay fit and eat healthy. He mentioned that in the old days, people
were healthy. This was because they
walk for miles to get where they were
going and that they got food from the
land. There were no junk food or fatty
processed foods and people only ate
what they had to. The participants
enjoyed listening to the elder and they
asked a lot of good questions. Another
elder taught the campers how he harvests medicine from the land, how it
works and what is it used for and
what it does. He also talked about
smudging and explained why traditional medicine is so important. Another elder showed and explained how
to play some traditional games and
showed campers how they were used
and how they were made. These elders
have been very supported of the camp
and visit and help every year. Participants were very respectful and interested in the traditional medicines.
Healthy meals were prepared for all
breakfast, snacks, lunches and suppers. Breakfasts of oatmeal, puffed
wheat, boiled eggs, skim milk, soy
chocolate milk were served. For
lunches; soup & sandwiches and for
snacks; cheese and crackers, peanut
butter sandwiches, fruits and vegetables with light salad dressing and dip.
Last but not least, suppers served
moose meat soup, veggie groundround soup, whole wheat bannock and
Kool-Aid, where Splenda was used to
substitute for sugar. Kids liked it!!!
Evening’s activities included nutrition
bingo, volleyball and soccer tournaments, Indian baseball, dodge ball and
relay races. Activities included lots of
walking, stretching and kicking as
exercises. The campers were allowed
some free time for mingling and visiting before bed time. All in all, the
campers were very well behaved and
enjoyed the camp very much.
Closing of the camp included acknowledging some special participants, elders and workers. Acknowledgments
were also extended to some of the
camp participants who made some
special efforts or were very helpful in
the camp.
We wish to acknowledge, Mr. Ambrose
Knott, Health Director from Wasagamack and also a Four Arrows board
member, who was present at the presentations and ceremonies.
Special Thank You to the following
organizations, who graciously donated
towards this year’s successful camp:
Northwest Company, Manitoba Kidney Foundation, Aboriginal and
Northern Affairs, Neewin Health
Care, Perimeter Airlines and most of
all the Burntwood Child and Parent
Coalition.
Again, thank you to the local and regional workers who made the camp
possible and to the Elders and local
people who shared their time and stories to this years camp participants.
For next year’s camp, we wish to encourage the parents to participate
more and support their K\kids who
are attending the camp.
Page 6
Muskiki Mukwa Achimowin - Medicine Bear News
Home and Community Care Program
Michelle Thacker,
Home and Community Care Advisor
The Home and Community Care Program was pleased to
host a Staff Development Workshop for the health care providers. This two day workshop took place August 23rd &
24th at our Winnipeg sub-office. In attendance was Violet
Wood H&CC manager - Wasgamack, Joe Wood H&CC manager - St. Theresa Point, and Rose Barkman A/H&CC manager - Garden Hill. Those who participated included the
nurses, health care aides, home support workers and activity aides. This years theme was “Rejuvenating our Spirits,
Minds & Strengths”. This amazing team shared their positive experiences, as well as their challenges. The speakers
included the Alzheimer’s Society, Parkinson’s Society, and
wound care management. Corry Stevenson provided the
group with relaxation techniques and offered a meditation
session. We also had the privilege to have Elder, Ed Wood
provide us with words of encouragement. During this time
we honored those who have passed on and acknowledge the
strong commitment we have to the community at large.
Mr. Wood definitely rejuvenated our spirits with his wisdom and kind words. The presentations and workshops
were all very educational and will assist us in providing the
best quality care for the community. A special thanks to all
the participants for their enthusiasm throughout the two
days. Each individual was there to enhance their skills and
(Continued from page 2)
From the Desk of...
getting a lot of exposure being one of a
handful of this kind of camp in Canada
and hopefully this year or next we can
find funding to bring in more children.
I also hear the Gardening Project is
going over much more than expected
and congratulations to everyone that
participated. I, myself, have always
wanted to grow a garden but I also
know how much work goes into growing a garden so for all the gardeners
out there. Kudos to all of you. Next
year we are aiming at getting more
people involved so if your interested,
talk to your local health authority or
someone you know that has grown a
garden this year. There is a lot more I
can expand on and will do this in our
annual report but to touch on other
initiatives, we would like to thank Dr.
Ruchi and the Art of Living crew for
their work with the youths in our communities. Again, an article can be
found in the newsletter outlining more
of the work that was done. Excellent
approach. Also would like to commend
strengths. The evaluation was very positive and it is my
hope that everyone took something with them that they will
use to enhance their lives and lives of their clients’.
The Garden Hill Home and Community Care Program has
recently hired a new nurse, Sharon McDonald. Sharon
comes with many years of experience and I’m sure she will
be a valuable asset to the team. Welcome!
The Home and Community Care Program is always striving for excellence in all aspects of care. Please feel free to
contact me or visit me at Four Arrows RHA.
STP Bannock Festival 2007
Bannock Crew
our Executive Director for his continued
leadership. We have
managed to be involved in numerous
“pilot projects” first
being
the
“Public
Health Pilot Project.
This was due to a lot
of groundwork by Mr
Wood. This is a naL to R: Evelyn Flett, Marika Mason, Jacquetional project and
line Wood and Dorothy Harper.
Four Arrows RHA,
representing the four
Island Lake communities, was selected We have been through thick and thin
to be one of three national projects and and I feel very privileged and blessed
we feel very honoured. More informa- to be able to work with each and every
tion will be forthcoming as the project one of you. Thank you to our Board,
begins, but at this stage we are just who are the guiding force and a very
setting up the ground work for what is smart bunch. And... finally thank you
going to be an extensive 4 years (first to the communities. We are far from
where we want to be but thank you for
year is this year).
your understanding and support. Like
Finally, thank you all the health direcwe always say, our doors are always
tors and workers for their continued
open. Till next time. Yours in Health
support, thank you to the Chief and
and Wellness
Councils for their guidance and leadership, thank you to the staff of FARHA. Laurie Wood Ducharme
Volume 2 Issue 2 Fall 2007
Page 7
NEEWIN HEALTH CARE
Alex McDougall - Executive Director
PUBLIC HEALTH
PILOT PROJECT
On behalf of the Neewin Board of Directors and staff, I would like to extend
best wishes to all and wish our patients, community members and the respective leadership a productive 2007 fiscal year. The Island Lake Renal Health
Program had its third year anniversary on January 10, 2007. Congratulations
to the Renal Health manger and
both the Nursing and Support staff
for a Job well done.
There has been a recent shift in Canada
to refocus efforts in the areas of disease
prevention, health promotion and health
protection. These efforts are driven almost exclusively by the alarming fiscal
reality that a treatment focused approach to health in Canada is not sustainable.
Over the course of 2006/07 Neewin
Health Care Inc. hired a number of
new employees, our newest member being the Island Lake Regional
Liaison worker, John A. McPherson. Other staff members include
Security Guards; Absolom Wood,
Caesar Harper, and Bruce LoonRenal Health Care Staff
foot, all members of Garden Hill
at Garden Hill First Nation
First Nation working at the Dialysis Unit. We are always looking for
interested individuals pursuing a career in Security Guard services. If you
are, please contact Absolom Wood or myself for more information. Recently,
after 12 months of service, our Finance and Administration Manager left the
organization to further her education. We wish her the best of luck in her future endeavours.
Jim Harrold who is preparing the Master Service Plan (MSP) for the proposed
Primary Health Care Centre has conducted its 2nd round of community consultations with various key stake holders in all of 4 communities but one, Red
Sucker Lake. Instead, telephone interviews were conducted to gather information specific to that community. Additionally, with your community consent,
FNIH and NIHB have been approached for access to detailed information pertaining to community statistics on usage of programs and services for comparative and quantitative purposes. This information will assist in completing the Master Service Plan for the proposed Primary Health Care Centre.
I would like to express my thanks to the Board of Directors, the respective
Chiefs and Councils and all elders for their continued support and contribution. Without your foresight, wisdom and courage to provide leadership to
effect positive change in our region, Neewin would not have advanced as it
did. Thank you.
Happy Birthday Valerie Taylor, Sept. 23rd
Happy Birthday Chriselda Knott, Aug 17th
♫♫♪ Happy Birthday to my pals, to my pals, to my pals
Happy Birthday to my pals, My pals Val & Chris
Psst… somewhere in this newsletter are the ages of Valerie and Chris.
♪♫♪
Shhh... don’t tell them.
In November 2006, the Assembly of
First Nation's Public Health Advisory
Committee released a document entitled
"First Nations Public Health: A Framework for Improving the Health of Our
People and Our Communities". The
document made over one hundred recommendations aimed at increasing the
health of the First Nation population
through enhanced capacity and accountability as well as greater selfgovernance over public health delivery
mechanisms including programs and
disease surveillance.
In response to these recommendations,
the Assembly of First Nations is working together with three First Nations
Tribal Groups: File Hills Qu'Appelle in
Saskatchewan, Kenora Chiefs in Ontario and Four Arrows in Manitoba on a
five year public health pilot. This pilot
will demonstrate that through greater
participation on the part of First Nations governments, Provincial Health
officials and Regional Health Authorities, a more comprehensive, accountable
and accessible public health system will
be developed for First Nations’ communities to become healthier.
The pilot is being entirely funded by
First Nations and Inuit Health Branch
of Health Canada. The Provincial and
Regional Health Authorities (Public
Health Units) are participating through
their membership on working groups
and steering committees. The participation of multiple jurisdictions is a step in
the right direction towards a greater
relationship but in no way should it signify a change in either the fiduciary responsibility of the Federal Government
nor should it suggest future funding
from other jurisdictions at this stage.
For further information please contact
Dr Kim Barker at [email protected]
Page 8
Muskiki Mukwa Achimowin - Medicine Bear News
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs
NOTICE
Common Experience Payment Application Forms
Available after September 19, 2007
Four Arrows Regional Health Authority Inc. 4th Annual Mind, Body & Spirit If you attended or resided at a recognized Indian Residential School
you are eligible for the Common Experience Payment
Healing the Healer Conference Application forms will be available to download at;
March 6, 7, & 8, 2008 www.servicescanada.gc.ca
You will require a Birth Certificate or two pieces of Identification
(status card, medical card, drivers license, or passport) to apply.
You can apply in person at any Services Canada offices in the Province of Manitoba or Canada; they can also make arrangements to
come to your community to take applications
If you choose to apply and mail your application, you are required to
send the original Birth Certificate or certified two pieces of identification along with your application.
Place T.B.A. CALL for PRESENTERS & ABSTRACTS For more information and/or background on the conference, please visit: For those Survivors who are considering pursuing a claim through the
Independent Assessment Process (IAP) you are advised to seek the
assistance of a lawyer.
http://www.fourarrowsrha.ca/web/events.html
For More Information:
Laurie Wood‐Ducharme Jennifer Wood, Residential School Coordinator
direct line: 204-987-4111 toll free: 1-888-324-5483
cell: 204-794-9584 fax 204-956-2109
www.manitobacheifs.com
or if you have questions/suggestions, contact: Director of Operations 204‐947‐2397 [email protected] ILTC & FARHA purchase Building
The Island Lake Tribal Council, comprising of Red Sucker Lake
First Nation, Wasagamack First Nation, St. Theresa Point First
Nation and Garden Hill First Nations with Four Arrows Regional
Health Authority Inc. are the proud owners of the building at 929
College Avenue in Winnipeg. The building will be used as a
Medical Boarding Home for residents from the Island Lake region.
The Medical Receiving Home will provide employment opportunities in the following areas: Lodge Manager (position filled),
Administrative Assistant/Receptionist, Maintenance, Head Housekeeper, Cook & kitchen helpers, Patient Counsellors and Security. We are encouraging all residents from the Island Lake region
to apply for these employment opportunities.
For further information on the above noted employment opportunities, please call ILTC Winnipeg sub-office (204) 982-3300.
Please submit your application to:
Selection Committee
Island Lake Tribal Council
4th Floor, 338 Broadway
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 0T2
September 2, 2007
A half century of marriage
Deserves a celebration;
Your 50-year relationship
Rates major acclamation!
Congratulations to you both
On your durable rapport;
Happy 50th anniversary,
And may you have many more!
Poem by: Joanna Fuchs
Co-workers go for lunch: Staff members Chris and Veronica went for lunch one afternoon. After ordering their
lunch, Chris receives a text message. “What are you doing” it reads. Chris started to text back and it has that annoying
‘text’ thing where the phone thinks it knows what your next word is going to be and automatically spells it out for you.
Anyways, Chris was going to type “having lunch with a coworker” but her phone thought she was going to say cow, so she pressed
‘send’ not knowing that her message said “having lunch with a cow”.
Volume 2 Issue 2 Fall 2007
Page 9
Audio/Radio Project
Jonathan Harper, Participant
Instructor/ Facilitator, Duncan Mercredi - aka ‘Howling Northwind on NCIFM - with Scott Wood, Audio/Radio participant.
The Audio/Radio project that was held in Wasagamack
was very interesting and fun for the community. The two
instructors that facilitated the workshop; Sarah Miller, a
radio producer from Halifax and Duncan Mercredi, a story
teller from Grand Rapids, were both very professional and
were also very good teachers.
On the first day the instructors split us up into two
groups. One group was taught the basics of writing by
Duncan while the other was introduced to the digital recorders that we would be using. The next day we switched.
All of us had to complete a written story and record it. One
of the things that excited me, as a participant, was to interview a Elder about the beginning of Wasagamack. I was
to broadcast this interview on the local radio but sadly we
were not able to do all the thing we wanted to do due to
time restraints. I noticed that there was a lot of talent in
the groups and during group discussions, people really had
good ideas on what they wanted to produce and a lot of
them were really creative.
We also went to the Youth & Elder gathering which was
held at the gravel pit. We were there to interview people
and to capture nature’s sounds. It was kind of difficult to
record noises or animals because there weren’t many near
by but a lot of people were interviewed. I observed that
there was some nervousness in both the interviewers and
the interviewees at first but as they did more interviews,
they relaxed and got better. On the last day, our priority
was to edit our stories and interviews because we had to
present our work at the gathering. We used two laptop
computers to edit our stories which was time consuming
and challenging but also amusing.
The workshop taught the participants many valuable
skills that can be used in the community to raise interest
in radio production, story telling and/or interviewing.
Hopefully, in the near future, we can have more of these
kinds of workshop that can give the community stimulating experiences.
“The radio workshop was very fun. It was quite an experience to work with the recording gear and with experienced
professionals and it really paved the road to my future of
becoming a music producer/sound engineer. I learned a lot
by listening to the instructors, especially from Duncan,
who told interesting stories and poems. It was worth it to
wake up in the morning and stay for lunch to attend the
workshop”, said Scott Wood, a workshop participating.
With this said, I would like to thank FARHA for sponsoring the workshop, Wasagamack Health Authority for providing space and, last but not least, the people that participated. Thank You.
Congratulations
to Jean R. McDougall,
Health Care Aide for Wasagamack First
Nation Home and Community Care Program. Jean participated in the Health Care
Aide Summer Study Group through St.
Elizabeth Health Care @Yourside Colleague. The pilot project refresher course
was for seven weeks using on-line studying
and weekly teleconferences. Jeans’ virtual
graduation was held on September 11, 2007.
We are proud of you Jean.
Wasagamack Health Authority Home Care
Team.
Four Arrows Regional Health Authority also
wishes to congratulate Jean.
On Tuesday,
August 28th,
a press conference was
held at the
Manitoba
Children’s
Museum to
announce
the
2007
Manitoba In
M o t i o n
Champions. 17 Manitobans were named
Champions including; Jackson Beardyhoop dancer and fitness enthusiast Ace
Burpy. (pictured) For more info visit:
www.manitobainmotion.ca
Page 10
Muskiki Mukwa Achimowin - Medicine Bear News
YOUTH WORKING TO BRING POSITIVE CHANGE
Art of Living - Dr. Ruchi Sud
Some facts about YLTP worldwide
Youth Leadership Training Program Participants
On a warm August afternoon at the
Sandy Bar in St. Theresa Point, among
applause and congratulations from
community members, 11 strong youth
leaders graduated from the Art of Living’s Youth Leadership Training Program (YLTP). It was a grueling 10-day
experience, designed to bring out the
best leadership qualities and human
values.
Honouring the body, breath
and the soul, the participants lived
together in an alcohol and drug free
environment, and started each day
with exercises and a set of breathing
techniques to eliminate stress and in-
Yoga Exercises
crease energy and confidence.
We did activities to increase trust and
develop public speaking abilities, and
we cooked nutritious (vegetarian!)
meals together. Later in the week the
youth leaders began to reach out into
the community. They organized stress
elimination workshops, conducted
trash cleanups, visited with elders, and
helped set up the campgrounds for
weekend family retreats.
YLTP is based on a simple concept:
first you eliminate stress, empowering
young people to become strong from
within, and then when you feel calm
you naturally want to help make a difference in the life of others, so it develops strong leaders. YLTP has been
taught to over 25, 000 youth throughout the world and in many cases has
helped to uplift entire communities. It
makes people strong and self-reliant,
thus strengthening family and community ties. This course in St. Therese
was the first of it’s kind on reserve in
Manitoba!
•
•
25,710 youth have been trained
•
28,350 cleanliness campaigns conducted with over 1 million participants
•
12,900 medical camps conducted,
with 430 000 people benefiting
•
1.3 million trees planted
•
30 schools set up in rural and slum
regions across India
•
2,000 self-help groups formed for
over 35,000 people
4,465 areas adopted for organic
farming
This summer was the first time volunteers from the Art of Living visited the
Island Lake communities. This relationship began at a meeting at Four
Arrows in Winnipeg back in June
where we all recognized the importance and urgency of doing something
to help youth and the issues they are
facing - we wanted to work together to
bring about a positive change. High
rates of crime, violence, youth suicide,
and alcohol and drug abuse, are part of
everyday life, and are a product of a
highly stressful environment. Also
many diseases that our youth are suffering, such as diabetes, high blood
pressure, depression, and obesity, are
also related to stress. So it only makes
sense that we do something to help
eliminate stress from the system.
The breath is a powerful tool that can
be used to eliminate stress from the
body. Every emotion has a corresponding pattern of breath. When you are
angry, for instance, your breath is
heavy and forceful though the nose,
and if you’re anxious, you are mostly
just breathing in! But when you are
relaxed, your breath is long and deep
and smooth. So we can use this relationship between the mind and the
breath to relax the mind and to eliminate stress from the system. There is
mounting scientific evidence that
shows that the breath is in fact a pow-
Volume 2 Issue 2 Fall 2007
erful tool to lower stress levels, decrease bad cholesterol, improve the immune system, and relax
the mind.
The Art of Living is a nonprofit charitable organization that has been offering educational and humanitarian services around the world. Founded in
1982 by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, it has
special consultative status with the Economic and
Social Council of the United Nations. The Art of
Living is the largest volunteer-based organization
with activities in more than 150 countries.
Page 11
Welcome New FARHA Staff
Please join us in welcoming 2 new members that have recently
joined the Four Arrows team. They’ve provided brief introductions.
Hello. My name is Denice
Perswain from the Swan Lake
First Nation. I just recently
joined the FARHA team as the
Finance Officer. All the staff
here have made me feel very
welcome and I look forward to
working with them. I also look
forward to meeting the people
of Island Lake.
I am a wife, mother of four boys
and grandmother of one precious granddaughter. I enjoy
sewing, traveling to pow wows
and of course, working with
numbers.
Denice Perswain
Please drop by anytime and say hello when visiting our Winnipeg
office (I take my coffee black).
YLTP Participant Dino Flett with Elders
Working together we can help create a world
where non-violence is the norm and all people
have the opportunity for a stress-free and violence-free society; to realize a world where human
values such as peace, compassion, enthusiasm for
life, friendliness, sincerity, caring, and service are
nurtured. Many people and organizations worked
together to make this program happen. Among
the were the St. Theresa Point Band Council,
Health Authority, and Education Authority, the
Ministry of Aboriginal and Northern Affairs and
FARHA Inc..
And some of our youth leaders just couldn’t get
enough! Currently three YLTP graduates, Melvin
Wood, Alex Flett and Dino Flett, are doing a 3month internship at the Art of Living’s International Centre outside Montreal. They are engaged
in doing service, are focused on eating fresh, nutritious food, and enjoying the sights of La Belle
Provence.
Art of Living volunteers are coming back to St.
Therese in October as many other members of the
community showed interest in learning stress
elimination techniques, and the YLTP program is
not quite over! Teachers from the organization
will continue working with these strong youth
leaders to help them grow and to bring about positive change in the community.
Chris is 31 years old
I’m happy to announce my
presence here at the Diabetes
Integration Project (DIP). I
came on board as of September 17, 2007. I was employed
with the Island Lake First
Nations Family Services’ Winnipeg Sub-office. I was part of
the administrative team serving as a receptionist/
secretary.
I am now part of the FARHADIP, I will be working with
my new best colleague, Caroline Chartrand. We are in the
midst of setting and organizSally Harper
ing our new office (3rd floor at
338 Broadway). Generally, I
will be assisting her within the administrative level and have the
Diabetes Integration Project running smoothly. I will also be
working with Grace McDougall as her right-hand Admin Support…she needs me! And vice-versa, I need her as well! Grace is
an excellent person to work with.
In terms of speaking, “Excellency and needs,” I would like to thank
everyone at FARHA for the warm welcome and their generous hospitality. I feel confident and believe I will enjoy working here. God
Bless!!
I stem from Garden Hill First Nation and I have two children (boy
& girl). I’ve been married for sixteen years and basically, life is
sensationally good!
Page 12
Muskiki Mukwa Achimowin - Medicine Bear News
Out and About...
Congratulations!!!
Ye
p
som , hard
eth
w
ing orkin
to b
g
e d , alwa
one
y
ma s
n
Worlds Tallest Teepee
Medicine Hat, Alberta.
GABBY TAYLOR
‘Cool Me Down’
yrs
41
Va
l is
2007 Country Jam
old
NCIFM’s Single of the Year
↑
There’s me
Audio / Radio Interviews
Counsellor
Gabby Taylor
Edward Flett
Camp
YLTP
Counsellor
John G. Mason
Cooking with YLTP
Help
Harvesting potatoes
Backstage @ NCI JAM
YLTP Performances
Gabby
Dennis
Taylor ‘the Menoose’
Theater Workshop
Chartrand
YLTP Community Clean-up
Byron & Tom Jackson
2007 Order of Manitoba Recipients
Produced for Four Arrows Regional Health Authority Inc. by Byron Beardy © 2007
If you would like to submit an article, photos, announcements, etc or have comments, please call our office.