Bridging Our Communities - Legacy of Hope Foundation

What We Do

Bridging Our Communities

A legacy of abuse and trauma/intergeneration trauma caused by the Canadian residential school experience has resulted in a need for a variety of crisis intervention, healing, and decolonizing programs for Aboriginal people. With this in mind, the Legacy of Hope Foundation (LHF) has started an initiative in partnership with the Aboriginal Corrections Policy Unit of Public Safety Canada and several Aboriginal communities to implement Bridging Our Communities (BOC). This project’s goal is to record and share knowledge from healing efforts being undertaken for, and among, First Nations, Inuit and Métis people.

To accomplish this, several community programs from across the country that facilitate decolonization and provide healing and therapeutic services are sharing their experiences and successes. The programs that facilitate decolonization work towards Aboriginal language retention and revitalization, and/or practice of cultural, spiritual, and ceremonial activities that were adversely impacted by residential schools. Providing support services for substance addiction, violence, and suicide intervention as well as counseling, healing ceremonies, western therapy, and mental health and wellness promotion are components of the healing programs. To be as inclusive as possible, BOC is profiling programs that are in urban and non-urban locations and include Elders, children, youth, parents, men, and women.

Starting with preliminary research and meeting with various partners and national Aboriginal organizations, up to ten Aboriginal communities were identified as potential BOC partners. Detailed below are some of the programs that have generously welcomed the LHF into their communities to learn more about their projects:

on July 14 and 15, 2009, two LHF staff members visited Rankin Inlet, NU to meet with the Rankin Inlet Spousal Abuse Counseling Program. Information was shared about the program’s promising practices for violence intervention and substance addiction counseling, Elder and cultural inclusion, legal advocacy for clients, victim services, community networks and information sharing.

Emiline Kowmuk of the Rankin Inlet Spousal Abuse Program, Andy Garrow and Neegann Aaswaakshin of the Legacy of Hope Foundation - Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, July 2009.

on August 12, 2009, the BOC Project Manager travelled to Nova Scotia to meet with the Eskasoni Mental Health and Social Work Service to learn about their traditional healing methods, mental health therapy, and community outreach programming. A site visit to the Wagmatcook Community Alcohol and Drug Counseling Program at the Wagmatcook First Nation followed on August 13, 2009. There we learned about their promising practices for counseling and outreach services for youth and Residential School Survivors in the community. Also on August 13, 2009, a visit was made to the Membertou First Nation to meet with the Membertou Wellness Centre to learn about their crisis prevention/intervention, mental health services, and overall preventative measures for health and wellness.

Karen Paul, Jane Franic, Leta Bernard, Sandra Gouthro, and Dale Sharkey of Eskasoni Mental Health and Social Work Service - Eskasoni, Nova Scotia, August 2009

Membertou Wellness Centre - Membertou, Nova Scotia, August 2009

on August 25, 2009, the BOC Project Manager visited the Musqueam First Nation in British Columbia to meet with the Musqueam Language Program and the University of British Columbia’s First Nation Languages Program. Information was shared on existing partnership and promising practices for Aboriginal language knowledge gathering, preservation and dissemination. This site visit was followed by one on August 27, 2009, to the Splatsin First Nation in British Columbia to meet with the Splatsin Child Care Centre, specifically the Cultural Program. Information was shared regarding the program’s promising practices for cultural and language knowledge sharing for community Elders, children, and families.

Aaron Cook, Deanna Leon-Cook, and Rosalind Wilson of the Splatsin Child Care Centre - Splatsin, British Columbia, August 2009

Ultimately, the results of these and other site visits and additional research into promising practices for healing and decolonization will be compiled into a final report which will be distributed to Aboriginal communities and organizations as well as various levels of government. Other valuable resources will also be included and, taken together, these materials can help those in Aboriginal communities to potentially enhance their existing programs and initiatives, or bring about discussion and/or action for new healing and decolonizing efforts. These materials can also be used by Aboriginal organizations and government departments to improve understanding of the healing needs in Aboriginal communities and to better inform policy planning and priority areas being addressed as a result of the legacy of residential schools.

For more information on this project, please contact Neegann Aaswaakshin at naaswaakshin@legacyofhope.ca .

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