Indigenous health services initiative making an impact

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Twenty years ago, it was hard to find traditional healing practices in local First Nation communities, says the chair of a group helping change that.

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“It’s very important we create these opportunities for our children, our youth, our adults, our seniors, to have those opportunities for connection to their culture, to their language, to their traditional healing,” said Paige Boris.

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The chair of the Sarnia-Lambton Ontario Health Team Indigenous communities advisory council – also chair of the health team itself, and Kettle and Stony Point First Nation’s health director – was referring to one of the outcomes of a provincial, three-year, more-than-$2-million investment announced earlier this year, in bettering health care for local Indigenous people.

Along with better primary care access and more hospital workers to help Indigenous people navigate a system that’s been historically hostile, a big part of that is ceremony and traditional healing offerings on the three area First Nations – Aamjiwnaang, Walpole Island, and Kettle and Stony Point – as well as through the Sarnia-Lambton Native Friendship Centre, Boris said.

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Offering traditional healing and cultural opportunities is a need identified by a third-party consultant, she said, noting the results found First Nations people felt those opportunities were lacking.

It’s difficult to find people to do that work, she said, describing the ceremonies as varied based on the provider and person’s needs, but holistic, targeting mind, body and spirit.

“We’re really trying to gather an updated list of those individuals who are doing that work in Southwestern Ontario and . . . bring those services to our community members,” she said, adding an important aspect is reconnecting to identity.

“Through colonization through the years, a lot of these cultural practices and traditional healing practices weren’t allowed in communities,” Boris said.

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A symposium was held in March that looked at how traditional healing and western medicine intersect, said Nadine Neve, executive lead of the local health team, which partners with different health-care providers in Sarnia-Lambton to oversee local health-care delivery in the area.

The initiative, recently named E-nangaabe-jig – pronounced ay-nung-ah-bay-jig and meaning “those who are star beings” – is also working with Twin Bridges Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic and others to connect more First Nations members with primary care, and has a target of 200 by March, Neve said.

Having an extra two Indigenous patient navigators in Sarnia’s hospital since early summer, working specifically in the emergency department, has helped make people, who may have been wary of seeking care because of poor past experiences, more at ease, Boris said.

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“The addition of the Indigenous navigators in the emergency department has been very beneficial for our community members when they’re thinking about seeking health care or treatment at Bluewater Health,” Boris said.

The total number of patient navigators at Bluewater Health in Sarnia is now five, Neve said.

Work also is underway for better mental wellness programming, she said.

“We’re just really focused on building E-nangaabe-jig Health Services as an entity” and making it a trusted name in Sarnia-Lambton, she said.

The name was selected to reflect the initiative’s vision of uplifting Indigenous health through community connection, traditional knowledge, and barrier-free access to culturally responsive care, officials said in a news release.

“Looking at how the intersection between western medicine and traditional medicine (works) and how we can continue to build those relationships across our systems and across Sarnia-Lambton,” Neve said.

tkula@postmedia.com

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