Alberta/British Columbia Region

• Published in: The Aboriginal Nurse p. 5
• Main Author: Voyageur, Evelyn
• Format: Trade Publication Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ottawa Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada 01.04.2013
• Subjects: Conferences; Education; Native culture; Native North Americans; British Columbia Canada; Alberta Canada

As a Native nurse, I am often asked to be the voice of First Nations people by all the programs and projects taking place in my part of the world. An important part of this role is to educate nonNative people about how to work successfully with our people. A good example is our First Nations programming that uses our ceremonial houses to host gathering sessions on what we call the "village". This is about what Native life was like before contact with Europeans and what happened during and after contact, leading most importantly to: How do we help our people heal from the trauma that they have all experienced during that time and into the present day? In the past, hospital workers, social workers, teachers, and even the RCMP have attended these events. We have received positive feedback from participants, who comment that these sessions have helped them to better understand First Nations people. This led to us being invited to other cities to give this presentation.