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Traditional healing centre gets $1 million boost

Photo: 0202arcticwellnessproject31
Photo sourced from the Arctic Inspiration Prize From left, the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation team members William Greeland, Jean Erasmus, Be'sha Blondin, Dr. Nicole Redvers, Rassi Nashalik, Edna Elias, Magnolia Unka-Wool and Donald Prince celebrate their big win – and big cheque – Wednesday during the Arctic Inspiration Awards Ceremony in Ottawa.

A non-profit group's bid to bring traditional Indigenous healing practices to health care in Yellowknife is $1 million closer to becoming a reality thanks to a prestigious award.

The Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation, an initiative founded by Be'sha Blondin and Rassi Nashalik and championed by Yellowknife naturopath Dr. Nicole Redvers, received the 2017 Arctic Inspiration Prize during a ceremony in Ottawa.

“It's pretty amazing,” said team leader Redvers. “Everyone's pretty emotional ... I think it hasn't really sunk in yet.”
The prize, awarded annually to groups that have applied gathered knowledge to make real-world contributions in the North, recognized the foundation's attempts to offer Indigenous-focused, traditional health care alternatives to at risk men and woman in the city.

The foundation took shape in the fall of 2016, when Redvers, Blondin and Nashalik teamed up to bring their idea of Indigenous teachings and holistic interventions in a health care to life.

“When we initially started we had taken our lead from our elders who had been working for years to develop an Indigenous wellness centre in Yellowknife,” she said.

Not wanting to “wait around” to establish infrastructure, Redvers says the group decided to start looking at launching healing camps in the territory, specially in Yellowknife, with a focus on “homeless and at risk populations.”
As a result, the foundation's plan to erect two canvas tents and one tepee was born – an undertaking that will be supported by the big win – and the big cheque that came with it.

Photo courtesy of Shelley Wiart. 
Jean Erasmus, co-founder of Dene Wellness Warriors and member of the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation, shows off a cheque for $1 million, given by the Arctic Inspiration Prize to the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation Wednesday.

“(The $1 million) is going to go to the urban-land based healing site within the downtown core. We're focusing on the homeless and at risk youth but also expanding out to some other communities,” said Redvers.
Redvers said they're hoping to set up the tepee and tents next to where the new hospital is currently being constructed.

Originally, she said, the wellness centre was slated to be built on the new hospital's site, but it didn't pan out.
“That promise was made and obviously with the new hospital infrastructure, that kind of changed. A lot of the elders were starting to lose hope that this would be a possibility.”

But now, with funding, the foundation hopes to have healing tents up within a month.

Yellowknife's Shelley Wiart, founder of an Alberta-based, Indigenous-focused fitness and nutrition program named Women Warriors, has worked closely with the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation team members.

She said the prize money will pave the way for future funding, a possibly a permanent wellness centre.
“A lot of the time what happens with Indigenous healing projects is that they can't get the funding dollars because they can't prove it's working,” she said.

“In this case, they have the funding dollars and now we have to prove that these interventions are as effective as Western intervention, or that they're very complimentary,” she said, adding the foundation's recognition by the Arctic Inspiration Prize was a “step towards reconciliation.”

NWT health minister Glen Abernethy, who attended the ceremony with Premier Bob McLeod, stated he has long supported the project, and nominated the foundation for the Arctic Inspiration Award.
“Supporting innovative, community-based approaches to wellness is a vital component of creating thriving and healthy communities,” stated Abernethy in a news release.

“The GNWT is proud to support the work of the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation to provide members of our community at risk of suicide, substance abuse, incarceration and homelessness with access to traditional healing practices and cultural education,” he stated.

Redvers said Abernethy's support shows “the government is recognizing the need to use culture as a tool for healing.”

Along with Blondin, Nashalik and Redvers, the foundation is staffed by of Jean Cardinal, Edna Elias, William Greenland, Donald Prince and Magnolia A.R. Unka-Wool.