Community Projects
Ga̱’wala x̱a̱n Sa̱nala (Help me to be whole) Healing Camp
Ga̱'wala x̱a̱n sa̱nala (Help me to be whole) is a pilot project, co-led by Jessica Barudin and Stephanie Bernard, in partnership with Nawalakw and North Island Building Blocks to support the wellness and healing of our North Island First Nations community and wellness service providers. Our gathering will be hosted on the lands of the Ḵwiḵws̱sut’inux̱w Ha̱xwa’mis at Hi'ma̱nis ḵaḵ̓ut̓ła̱'atsi “A place for forever learning” in Hada (Bond Sound) from May 6-10, 2024.
Our gathering offers trauma-informed, culturally rooted, and place-based learning alongside somatic (body-based) healing practices and Kwak'wala language learning to enhance the wellness and healing of all participants. Nawalakw prioritizes the goal of language revitalization, increasing language learning opportunities toward fluency so Hi'ma̱nis ḵ̓aḵ̓ut̓ła̱'at̓si (a place of learning forever) will be filled with people speaking Kwak̕wala for years to come. Our shared goal is to provide land-based activities, interactions between Elders and learners, opportunities to listen to and use language in conversation and ceremony, and a place where our people can explore the language, culture, and healing in a joyful and serene environment.
Audience / Participants:
We recognize the immense challenges our communities have been facing with the ongoing toxic drug and mental health crises in our Kwakwaka’wakw communities. We are inviting North Island First Nations community and wellness service providers to take time to focus on wellness and gather strength and support to continue to create solutions and healing opportunities with the individuals, families, and communities they serve. Targeted invitations have been led by Stephanie Bernard to local community and wellness service providers and teams to reach a variety of sectors including health, healing, social services, education, and community development.
Goals of Pilot Project:
Welcome up to 20 community and wellness service providers to participate in the 1-week cultural immersion healing camp.
Foster connections between service providers to enhance professional and community practices of care and trauma healing.
Provide strategies for kwak’wala language integration in communication and services and nurture language and cultural reclamation strategies and learning amongst respective teams.
Engage with community service providers to co-create a language and healing framework strategy that informs organizational wellness and community practices.
Project Leads:
Led by Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw women wellness practitioners, Jessica Barudin and Stephanie Bernard, have worked and learned together since 2020 in various capacities through community-based wellness initiatives - including the First Nations Women’s Yoga Initiative. Additionally, they work together on the development of the Indigenous Yoga Collective, a grassroots movement to promote cultural revitalization and embodiment through ceremony, yoga, and breathwork. Jessica and Stephanie have also collaborated on enhancing service delivery at the North Island Building Blocks, collaborations with the Maternal Child and Family Health team, the First Nations Health Authority, and the First Nations Primary Care Initiative for Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw Nations.
Lastusa̱las Jessica Barudin, PhD, Community Wellness Specialist, Consultant
‘Maxwaks Stephanie Bernard - Community Wellness Provider, Director of Building Blocks
Project Collaborators:
Kwa̱nkwa̱nxwa̱ligedzi Wakas Chief Dr. Robert Joseph - Fluent language speaker, Hereditary Chief of the Gwawaenuk First Nation, Orator
G̱a̱'ax̱stalas Elder Maggie Sedgemore - Clinical Counsellor, Knowledge Keeper
K’odi Nelson - Nawalakw Executive Director, Knowledge Keeper
Dza̱mdzasila̱'og̱wa Gloria Hunt - Nawalakw Language Program Supervisor
Trevor Isaac - Culture and Language support
Cody Preston - Cinematographer, Cody Preston Films
Partnerships:
