Reflections from around the Region

Having recently moved to Manitoba, I am learning about the rich history and diverse cultures of Indigenous communities in the province, as well as the lasting impacts of colonization. I recognize that reconciliation is an ongoing process, and I’m committed to listening, learning, and supporting initiatives that promote healing and equity for Indigenous peoples.

Jodi-rae Kortje, Chief Operating Officer

I need to make sure that areas I am involved in are safe for Indigenous, marginalized people, and people who experience barriers, to find their own way, their own voice.

Gwen Kydd, Health Care Manager, Midwifery Services

I have a close working relationship with Indigenous Health. This has offered me the opportunity to see the benefits of culturally appropriate care in action. Since I started working in healthcare, I have witnessed racist treatment of patients. This has reinforced for me the need for culturally appropriate care and ongoing reconciliation work within healthcare. It also makes me realize we are not doing enough currently.

Anonymous

I have been participating in the Reconciliation Through Education series hosted by the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba. It has been eye-opening. Learning about the historical sophisticated governance systems of Indigenous groups was especially fascinating. 

I hope to see a system where every problem and medical challenge is evaluated objectively, in a culturally sensitive way. I want everyone to feel heard when interacting with the healthcare system.

Lianne Derlein, Regional Educator Medical Device Reprocessing, Deer Lodge

I hope that Indigenous people will be included in discussion and decision-making; instead of being told. Inclusivity! I hope to see healing of the country that Indigenous people did not create but now are taking a major step in the healing process.

Anonymous

For most of my life I have been grateful and proud to be a Canadian. To me, that national identity meant Canadians were kind, fair, strong and welcoming. In learning more about Canada’s history, I have realized we have very dark parts of our history that are anything but kind or fair. As a country we have caused, and continue to cause, deep harm to Indigenous peoples who lived here before white settlers arrived and who continue to live here.

As our organization, communities and country work toward reconciliation, I hope to see us build a foundation of trust, demonstrate respect for each other’s personhood, hear the wisdom each of us have to offer, and combine our ideas, hopes and visions into a cohesive whole that enables each person to live a safe, full, empowered life. I hope we feel safe enough and are strong enough to take the pieces apart and reassemble them as many times as we need to obtain and sustain a just society.

Sheila Betker, Leadership Development Consultant, WRHA

As a nurse and leader in healthcare I continue to seek out educational opportunities through structured courses and workshops, personal reading as well as opportunities to hear presentations by aboriginal leaders which help me gain even deeper understanding into the history and experiences of the colonization of Canada. All of this knowledge and awareness helps me support my teams in their interactions with patients and co-workers.

I would love to see many things change though the work of reconciliation. One important change that could break down barriers and result in improved cultural safety would be to have a significant and widespread revitalization of Indigenous languages to an extent that introductory courses could be readily available to healthcare practitioners. This could assist in a crucial second aspect that would move reconciliation forward, the growth of the number of indigenous professionals in healthcare.

Laura Walton

As a parent of young kids, the truth about residential schools and the harms that reverberate through intergenerational trauma deeply resonate with me. I am grateful that I can drop my kids off at daycare or school knowing that they will be safe and secure and will still be there when it is time to pick them up. Unfortunately, my experience has not been the experience of countless Indigenous families in Canada.

Through the education and training offered by WRHA Indigenous Health, I have gained a better understanding of why many Indigenous people feel unsafe in the healthcare system. In my role, I get to work with teams on new initiatives to make our healthcare system safer and more accessible for all.

Adrian Salonga, Executive Implementation Lead

I educate myself on past injustices so that they are not repeated and being an advocate with the ability to stand up to support others when necessary. 

Anonymous

Looking forward, I would hope to see a future filled with many generations coming together in mutual respect and all of us to keep listening, reading, researching, growing together. Willing to stay open minded and teachable.

Robin Janz-Buhr, Receptionist, Movement Disorder Clinic.

Moments of growth to me as an Indigenous person, is working through resentments I carried towards my parents, systems (justice, health, education, child welfare, policy, etc), Canada as a country and the government.  I continue to heal, participate with ceremony, educate myself and others, stay humble and open to learning. I try hard to not blame, or resent settler and newcomers. I try to understand they (not all) carry false information about my community, and stay hopeful that if they knew better, they would speak about my community and do better when they see and interact with us.

Going forward we need seats at those tables. Who do you have sitting at the table? We belong and we are able to participate in society without having to walk away from our identities. 

Anonymous

Reconciliation looks like prioritizing Indigenous Health and the supports they provide to community, through increased funding, human resources, and influence in health care decision-making.

Anonymous

In my personal life I try to remain humble and open to the experiences and perspectives of others. I also try to recognize and admit mistakes and take instruction and advice from those who know better. It takes a good dose of humility to continuously recognize where I came from and how little I still know. At work, I try to vocally and sincerely support my colleagues who are advocating for Indigenous patients and families, and to create a safe, welcoming environment for Indigenous co-workers.

There needs to be an openness to letting Indigenous people and Indigenous organizations lead and/or truly partner with respect to planning future health care developments, programming, and services, especially given how many patients in the health care system are Indigenous and how many health care providers and planners are not. People need to recognize and acknowledge that racism is unfortunately common and work to fight against it.

Paul Turenne, Senior Corporate Affairs Officer, St. Boniface Hospital

I learned from a wonderful Métis speaker a couple of years ago that reconciliation is a journey including four key steps:

1. Seek the Truth from reliable sources 2. Reflect on what you learned 3. Action one new initiative for growth 4. Repeat this cycle. For example, it could be listening to a guest speaker share their truth, reflect on their story, then read their book or a book on the topic.  

Anonymous

I’ve learned about the Industrial and Residential School that was on the land that Middlechurch Home is on now. It breaks my heart that no ceremony or any other collective action has taken place around this especially since we have residents who attended residential and day schools. I have learned about the TRC Calls to Action, especially regarding healthcare and the need for cultural safety and accessible care.

I do a lot of research of my denomination’s involvement in cultural genocide through residential and day schools and educate others – whether at work, in the classroom, or around the dinner table. I also attend Indigenous ceremonies to continue learning and connecting and to make space for spiritual cultural care to facilitate ceremonies in LTC. I hope there can be meaningful and community lead efforts to acknowledge the harms done on the land that Middlechurch Home is on, and how to make space for healing in a good way.

Melanie Kampen, Spiritual Health Practitioner, Middlechurch Home

Repatriation was an opportunity to connect with birth family members and through the University of Manitoba’s Indigenous studies program, I was able to learn about Indigenous history, participate in ceremonies and feel validated as an Indigenous person. Healing will be facilitated through reconciliation and we will all feel part of this great mosaic we know as a Kanata, despite the deeply embedded threads of racism and discrimination that are still very much in place and perpetuated by policies that did not include Indigenous peoples.

Semi-retired Social Worker & Childminder for community programs

I feel more comfortable verbally acknowledging and apologizing for the past trauma my patients may have experienced. I am interested in hearing their experiences and how it impacted them. Prior to my education this last year, I would’ve not asked about their past. If I have extra time to spend with patients, I ask questions, opening up a safe space for them to talk. This also allows me to learn firsthand about their past, their family, how it impacted them; and mostly, making a new, meaningful connection with another human being.

Technologist, St. Boniface Hospital