https://vimeo.com/136066566 by Beverly Illauq billauq@gmail.com
Traditionally, Muskrat has been seen as the Earth diver, being the only animal to successfully dive to the ocean floor after the great flood to bring up a small ball of earth for the Creator to begin the formation of Turtle Island, or North America.
On the morning of the photo and video shoot for this presentation a muskrat came to our family.
Encouraged by that visit, I submit this small handful of earth, this idea,
hoping that in the end it may spread some healing among the peoples of Turtle Island.
Overview of S
1.
In Brief
2.
Introduction
3.
Proposed Solution ‐ The Chair Model of Healing
4.
Suggested Implementation Strategies
5.
Assumptions
6.
References & Acknowledgments
In Brief:
In order to improve the health and wellness of Canadian Aboriginal communities, it is proposed that all of us as Canadians first and foremost heal the connections between First Peoples and the non ‐ Aboriginal through Comprehension, Compassion, and Communication.
A Chair Model of Healing is presented to describe how we as Canadians can restore our dignity as a nation of First Peoples and non ‐ aboriginal
Canadians living equitably together in this settlement that is Canada.
This presentation calls every
Canadian to heal their connections, as individuals, family, community and as a nation, and to live into full reconciliation within our nation.
Introduction:
Traditionally, most indigenous peoples were comfortable carrying on important aspects of the business of life seated upon the ground.
Within their cultural practices this provided a stance of stability and dignity for them to relax and carry on individual and community living.
Along with everything else that the European settlers introduced was the practice of sitting up and on chairs.
When a person is comfortably seated in a stable chair, he or she is able to safely relax, with dignity, and focus on the work or conversation at hand.
Being required to sit in a chair that is unstable or broken leaves one discombobulated at best, and often injured in the breaking process.
Over the years of interaction with the European settlers, the indigenous people were first of all introduced to the necessity of sitting upon chairs in order to relate to their settler conquerors.
As time went on the clash of cultures, as well as the ravages of those who overpowered and exploited the aboriginal peoples,
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resulted in these chairs being broken, leaving the aboriginal peoples often sitting back on the ground but in an unfamiliar and dysfunctional stance.
Now they were not only left without their traditional cultural practices to give that stance its original stability and dignity, but they were locked into a dependent relationship with the dominant settler authorities towering over them, seated firmly in their chairs.
Over the years many good ‐ hearted and well ‐ meaning settlers observed the plight of their aboriginal neighbours.
From their privileged and often lofty positions they tried to help those sitting amidst the debris of their broken lives.
Charitable people and organizations, as well as government departments acted out of conviction that if you see or hear of someone who has less than you, you must dig deep into your pocket and share your wealth with them, so that they can have what you have.
On the surface, this appears to be common sense, and is indeed common practice, but it arises from, and reinforces, a disconnection that further isolates and dis ‐ empowers the receivers of “charity”.
Sometimes this was manifest in donations of money or goods, sometimes in programs designed with little or no understanding of the actual needs or cultural backgrounds of those for whom they were intended.
Either way, the results were at best temporary and at worst abusive, almost always negatively impacting families and communities.
Such interventions have left indigenous peoples sitting amidst the debris of broken lives, leaving them weakened and vulnerable to manifesting major health problems at rates much higher than non-
Indigenous populations. (NCCAH, July 18, 2013)
It is time to change this imbalance of power, this inequitable charity that has been proffered for two centuries by the settler government of what is now Canada.
Such attitudes and perspectives must be reshaped if the inequities between First Peoples and non ‐ Aboriginal Canadians observed in health indicators, socio ‐ economic data, policies, educational outcomes and rates of incarceration are to be mitigated and resolved.
What is needed is an equitable partnership among all Canadians.
In order for all to meet and converse eye to eye, we all need to work together to rebuild the chair of dignity that is our country, Canada.
Background:
Background: Family and Community
Twelve years ago our family began a tortuous healing journey from Post ‐ Traumatic Stress Response and general disorder.
I found myself as a non ‐ aboriginal mother of an Inuit family raised in the north, whose children eventually brought home First Peoples partners.
The various members of our blended family had survived so very much in the North or in their own families of origin, and together we were trying to
find our places in Regina.
My research had clearly revealed our family to be subject to massive complex Post ‐ Traumatic Stress
Disorder and its many manifestations in physical and mental dis ‐ ease.
I searched relentlessly for health and social professionals who might help us, but only a handful of the professionals seemed to understand our needs as a First Peoples’ family dealing with all the events of our lives to that point.
None of these trusted professionals could help us with the roots and the overall healing of our family; for them it was largely uncharted territory.
(cf Illauq, PTSD as a Major Health Issue)
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As the family matriarch, it was up to me to be the ‘coordinator of family healing’ along with everything else.
Anyone reading this essay, who has experienced first ‐ hand the challenges of living with the inter ‐ generational trauma, brought to light by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, will understand how much I needed special direction in order to guide my family to physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual well ‐ being.
One of the gifts from Creator to me at that time turned up in our garage ‐ the remains of a chair that had been smashed to smithereens by a member of our family during an outburst of rage.
The chair not only described the healing modalities that had effectively worked for us to date, but also prescribed a balanced and balancing approach to our journey forward.
So it is that the focal idea of this submission is a Chair, or “ Chair ‐ ity ”.
This understanding has been helping bring order out of the chaos we were living as an Inuit, First Nations and Non ‐ aboriginal family, suffering from complex and intergeneration trauma in the context of a three ‐ culture family .
It is my belief that the same model can provide a basis for
promoting reconciliation between Indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians.
Background: National Context
It recently came to our collective Canadian attention, through the Report of the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission, that constructive change, and by extension, health and wellness, depends on repairing or rebuilding connections between First Peoples and non ‐ Aboriginal Canadians.
“ Getting to the truth was hard, but getting to reconciliation will be harder.
It requires that the paternalistic and racist foundations of the [residential school] system be rejected as the basis for an ongoing relationship.
Reconciliation requires that a new vision, based on a commitment to mutual respect, be developed.
It also requires an understanding that the most harmful impacts of [the system] have been the loss of pride and self ‐ respect of Aboriginal people, and the lack of respect that non ‐ Aboriginal people have been raised to have for their Aboriginal neighbours.
Reconciliation is not an Aboriginal problem; it is a Canadian one.
Virtually all
aspects of Canadian society may need to be reconsidered.
(TRC Report, Preface, P.
Vi )
Other First Peoples, involved in the mindful and informative Idle No More movement, have expressed similar sentiments this way: “The first step toward healing is putting the past in its place.
Only then can you work on your own personal lives, which will then naturally stem into becoming whole as a community.
The healing you want and need can come from no government program, and no external
source.” (Anthony Sowan quoted in Coates).
In her thoughtful and comprehensive book, “Taking Back our Spirits”, Métis author Jo ‐ Ann Episkenew points out that “Acculturation stress...
is a continuing factor in the perpetuation of anxiety, depression, and other symptomatology that is associated with PTSD [post ‐ traumatic stress disorder]..
‘other symptomatology’ includes violence, rarely against the settlers but rather against oneself, one’s family, or one’s community, and addiction as a form of self ‐ medicating to temporarily ease the despair of personal and political powerlessness...Addiction
and violence are not the only consequences of postcolonial trauma, however....
The dangers of being discriminated against go far beyond psychological stress, higher than average rates of heart disease and other health problems.
Infant mortality, alcohol and drug
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problems and even death due to suicide and murder are much higher than average.” (Duran & Duran and Pennebaker quoted in Episkenew).
It is my belief that we can approach the core issue of reconciliation by engaging in inter ‐ cultural healing, that is, repairing the broken chair that is present relations between First People and non ‐ aboriginal Canadians , by working toward the healing of post Colonial stress and disorder , and promoting age ‐ old First Peoples’ resiliency and health traditions.
In this way we will be able to improve relationships between First Peoples and non ‐ indigenous Canadians, particularly in Aboriginal
Communities.
‐
The model of a chair is as informative for any one whose life is broken, whether an individual, a family, a community or a nation.
The first teaching of a chair is of the essence and dignity of each human being.
If a solid maple chair is smashed to smithereens, the one part that remains intact is the seat.
Just as the seat of a solid maple chair is unbreakable, similarly, no matter what happens in our own lives or the history of our nation, our soul, our Being, made unique, whole and complete by Creator is still there,
despite it being banged up or painted over.
Sometimes illness, sudden deaths, or other traumas occur, and the legs and the back of the chair are smashed to bits.
We think we have nothing left, either as an individual or as a family, a community or a country.
But really, the ‘seat’ of our being is still there, the ‘ who’ of our design as human beings , or as a family, a community or a country.
We might end up on 'the floor of the garage', but still we can live into our lives.
Legs can be put back on the chair, but they have to be put on carefully and well ‐ and each must be of equal length.
Using only one or two legs won't work; it has to be all four, or the chair will be unstable or will break again.
The four legs to make the chair stand stably again are listed below in general healing terms first
Leg # I.
Body Work
As human beings we are designed to heal in body, mind and spirit .
“As human beings, we are designed to be whole, unique and complete.
Our minds, souls and bodies are designed to be healed and to heal in finely tuned integration and cooperation” (Illauq, Trauma Awareness Module # 5)
Our natural human tendency, as the First Peoples’ cultural traditions teach us, is to use body work for healing broken relationships, settling down the mind, finding one’s place in society, finding one’s own identity, learning to respect and work with others, and generally staying healthy.
For generations, like all other Canadians, First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples have been meeting their psycho – social needs by a wide variety of physical activities.
Dancing, singing, walking, climbing, laughter, drama, fishing or hunting, traditional games, adequate and simple nutrition, seasonal
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cleansings and traditional medicines to mention just a few.
These activities allow the body to connect with the mind and spirit, and to interact in an equitable and respectful way with others.
As a founding elder of Ilisaqsivik Family Resource centre in Clyde River, Nunavut , explained to me once, “When we move our bodies and learn to do new things with them, our minds clear up.”
Leg # 2.
Belonging:
Having at least one person who is willing and able to be unconditionally be present to you, for you to share your story with has been age old tradition in Aboriginal communities.
It is for this reason that
Inuit, for example, maintain traditional naming practice s, and strengthen kinship ties by members of family, either by blood or by name, calling each other not by name, but by their relationship to each other.
The dignity, place and role of elders in First People’s families and communities is also indicative of the deep sense of belonging that has been one of the most prominent strengths of Canadian Aboriginal cultures, particularly in contrast to the often disintegrated family structures of present day North
American culture.
Belonging to, or working as, a group, such as a group of hunters, a particular grouping of women or of men, a spiritual community, or a support group is also a traditional way of grappling with the challenges of life.
Through belonging to each other and being faithful in our relationships to each other, we are able to practice true charity based on our delight in the character and talents of another individual.
Furthermore, it is important for families to ‘belong’ in community, for communities to ‘belong’ and mentor each other with in a nation, and for all people working in government agencies to find time to belong to each other, and to develop inter ‐ dependence rather than independence.
Leg # 3.
Information:
Survival depends on remembering the collective knowledge about environment, relationships, skills, beliefs and values gained from generations of trial and error, of practising the skills and responding to the details of the day.
Such information is traditionally passed on in the course of daily existence while living, working, playing together, by intentional teaching and through stories and legends.
In a more modern context, a counsellor or psychologist helps a person discover information about him/herself that is useful going forward.
In addition, journaling, process sketching and story ‐ telling group therapy can all help a person to glean useful information.
It is helpful to receive information from other cultures and persuasions around us, and to strive to understand in a respectful and dignified manner.
One of the most crucial kinds of ignorance is that we don’t know what we don’t know.
From such ignorance comes the sort of racism, cultural profiling, and dispossession that we are face as Canadians, particularly as we approach the First Peoples and the gifts of knowledge that they have for us.
It is critical that non ‐ aboriginal Canadians receive information on Canadian First People’s culture, history and traditions.
There is an increasing wealth of work by the talented aboriginal people, which is more
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available than ever thanks to the internet.
As the Canadian public, we must start insisting on authentic aboriginal expressions of their own culture and history.
Finally, I would like to stress that information about Post Trauma Stress is perhaps the most critical body of information required to break through the health and socio ‐ economic inequities of the First Nations
People.
Leg # 4.
Spiritual Connections
All First Peoples’ cultures have a strong spiritual tradition of firm and dynamic connections with Creator, the Earth, Relatives, and Humanity in General.
These traditions teach that, only with these spiritual connections being intact, are human beings are able to become “whole, unique and complete”, as individuals, families, communities and as a nation.
Each of these help each person become the best version of themselves and to share the gifts the Creator has built into them for the good of creation in general, and human kind in particular.
Spiritual practice s are best learned from childhood up to be fully understood and practice d with true integrity.
But at anytime of a person’s – or even a nation’s ‐ life journey, the individual or group of people can turn with an open and honest heart to seek out Creator, and to engage good and peaceful connections with Earth and other human beings through practice s of faith, hope, and true charity.
Part # 5.
The Back of the Chair
A good chair has not only the stability of strong, balanced legs, but a comfortable and supportive chair back.
The staves of the back of the chair represent our memories, both collective individual.
These memories never need to judged; they just are.
When memories are allowed to come and go without judgment, then our minds are able to continue to work away at processing them.
It is when memories become stuck, replaying sometimes many times each day, that our minds become overloaded, and we become ill.
The cross pieces on the chair back represent the feelings that tie the memories together.
They deliver a strength of their own, until the memories and their accompanying emotions are acknowledged and processed, leaving behind the thunderstorms of fear, rage and moving into a place of peace.
This happens when individuals or groups truthfully, with empathy, face memories and understand or acknowledge feelings, as we as a nation have done through the excellent work of the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission.
This moves us toward being able to have a ‘chair back’ and to ‘relax into’ our lives in comfort and strength, becoming the best version of who we are – as long as we have the four legs of bodywork, belonging, information and spiritual connections in place.
The challenge is to deliberately contribute and receive the time and effort required to heal, as individuals, as groups and as a nation of treaty Canadians.
With all four legs of equal length firmly back on our ‘seat’ we are able to remember WHO we are, in relation to Creator, to Earth, to people near such as family, friends, and colleagues, and to others farther
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afield.
When we have ‘our legs under us’, and are comfortably settled into our dignity, then we can dialogue eye ‐ to ‐ eye among fellow Canadians.
The challenge has been presented: To improve community health and wellness outcomes in remote aboriginal communities, in a functional, flexible, cost neutral, and sustainable manner.
The solution has also been presented: We, as First Peoples and non ‐ aboriginal Canadians alike must do things together
(Body Work), become informed about each other (Information), seek to be at peace with each other
(Belonging) and nurture healthy Spiritual Connections with Creator and creation, with people far, and
people near, and living into our memories and our feelings.
This was a more impossible mandate a generation ago.
But in this age of social media, we have great opportunity to initiate ongoing discussion and promote a new paradigm of mutual understanding and
‘Chair ‐ itable Healing”!
This phenomenon, which works equally with young and old, in remote and urban, in aboriginal and non ‐ aboriginal settings alike, can support the breadth and height of open dialogue needed to accomplish this paradigm shift.
Maximizing social media functionality, as well as meeting face to face in more traditional settings, will increase mutual comprehension and compassion, moving Canadians toward the kind of equitable communication and connection that will inevitably
result in better health and wellness outcomes for Aboriginal communities in our nation.
What is required of those who care to engage this campaign to re ‐ master the attitudes that have propagated the traumatic destruction of our treaty connections?
The investment of informed good will, time and energy, empathy and passion.
There is no direct cost for anyone of these attributes, but the cost of not contributing these is great: the ongoing and deepening of the national disgrace that is the
present third world conditions of First Peoples in Canada.
Going forward as individuals, families, communities and a nation committed to Comprehension of First Peoples’ history and culture,
Compassion when meeting others eye to eye and friend to friend, Communicating with truly charitable intent and striving to become Connected as First Peoples and non ‐ Aboriginal Canadians, “The sky is the
limit!”
Each individual is responsible for his / her own healing journey.
No one can presume to be healed by anyone else, or to heal anyone else.(Sarah, A Cree Elder.
2006.
Tamara’s House healing group, Saskatoon)
Community or national healing begins with individuals and families.
It requires the will to be a participant in the healing process, not just an onlooker.
Those who would help promote healing in others, must themselves have engaged their own healing journey.
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The Chair model of healing is complementary toFirst Nations medicine wheel teachings, ( The
Sacred Tree ) as well as with many other works examining psychological needs and wellness.
The medical, educational, judicialand religious sectors of present North American society are beginning to acknowledge indigenous peoples’ inter ‐ generational teachings: that body, mind, soul and spirit must be engaged in a balanced way in order for health and wholeness in any one, at any level, to be achieved.
What we hold in our inner heart is not visible, and it goes very deep within our spirit. To heal, the iceberg needs to be broken.... After the iceberg has broken, there is a cleansing of the body.”
-Meeka Arnakaq, Healer and Elder from Pangnirtung, Nunavut
Selected References
Arnakak, Meeka , The Iceberg Healing Manual http://www.ccsa.ca/Resource%20Library/The_Iceberg_Healing_Manual.pdf
Coates, Ken.
#IDLENOMORE and the Remaking of Canada.
University of Regina Press.
Regina.SK.
2015
Illauq, B.
There’s a Nightmare in the Closet: PTSD as a Major Health Factor for Women Living in
Remote Aboriginal Communities, in Liepert, B.
et al.
Rural Women’s Health, University of
Toronto Press, 2012
National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health.
An Overview of Aboriginal Health in
Canada .
July 18, 2013
Herman, Judith, Trauma and Recovery , Basic Books, 1992
Four Worlds Development Project.
The Sacred Tree .
1992
Sinclair, Murray, Wilson, Dr.
Marie.
Truth and Reconciliation Report, http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/File/2015/Honouring_the_Truth_Reconciling_for_the
Future_July_23_2015.pdf
retrieved 3:52 pm , August 16,2015
Duran, Eduardo.
Post Colonial Psychology , State University of New York Press.Albany,
New York.
1995
Episkenew, Jo ‐ Ann.
Taking Back our Spirits.
Indigenous literature, public policy and healing.
University of Manitoba Press .
Winnipeg.
2009
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for Video CHAIR ‐ ity: The Canadian Connections
https://vimeo.com/136066566
Finian Paibomesai (WhiteFish River Potawatomi) – Encouragement and Participant
Phil Seymour (Akwesasne Mohawk) – Encouragement and Elder Video Participant
Joanne Seymour (Curve Lake Ojibwa ) – Elder Video Participant
Susan Gander (Ontarian) – Editor
Michael Seymour (Akwesasne Mohawk) – Editing
Alex Kalaway (Ontarian) – Videographer
Aliqa Illauq (Inuk) –Participant
Max Rondeau (Inuk, Oji ‐ Cree) – Participant
Lucien Rondeau (Oji ‐ Cree) – Participant
Elaina Illauq (Inuk & Plains Cree ) – Participant
Jayde Tassugat (Inuk ) –Participant
Max Nichols (Labradorian) – Participant
Sharon Nichols (Ontarian) –Participant
‐
For further discussion contact the author:
Beverly Illauq,
Box 1166,
Kemptville, ON, K0G 1J0
Tel 613 298 6209 beverlyillauq3@gmail.com
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