Community Projects

Ga’walap̓a laxa̱n’s ḵa̱n’s sa̱nale’ Healing Camp

Help Us to Be Whole: Community-Led Healing for First Nations Wellness Providers

Ga’walap̓a laxa̱n’s ḵa̱n’s sa̱nale’: Help Us to Be Whole Healing Program is a community-led, trauma-informed healing camp and film project that was created with and for First Nations frontline and community wellness workers on Northern Vancouver Island. Co-led by me (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 was hosted on the lands of the Ḵwiḵws̱sut’inux̱w Ha̱xwa’mis at Hi'ma̱nis ḵaḵ̓ut̓ła̱'atsi “A place for forever learning” in Hada (Bond Sound) last May 2024.

Our gathering offered 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. Our shared goal was 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. 

Why This Work Matters

Frontline and community wellness providers carry immense emotional, spiritual, and relational load. Many are:

• Supporting families through grief, loss, and addiction

• Holding stories of residential schools and ongoing colonial harm

• Navigating burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma

Ga’walap̓a laxa̱n’s ḵa̱n’s sa̱nale’ was created to answer a core question:

How can a culturally rooted, land-based, trauma-informed camp support the wellness of First Nations community service providers?

Instead of asking our helpers to “push through,” this model offers time, space, and community to slow down, be held, and begin or deepen their own healing journeys.

About the Healing Camp in Hada

The pilot camp took place at Nawalakw Language & Culture Camp, hi'ma̱nis ḵ̓aḵ̓ut̓ła̱'at̓si (“a place of forever learning”) in Hada (Bond Sound), on the traditional and unceded territory of the Ḵwiḵwa̱sut̓inux̱w, one of the four tribes of the Musǥa̱makw Dzawada̱’enux̱w.

Over several days, 14 participants from Kwakwaka’wakw communities gathered to immerse themselves in:

• Kwak̓wala language learning woven into daily life, song, and movement

• Land-based practices such as walking to the waterfall, visiting old-growth forests, medicine teachings, and river cleansing

• Somatic and contemplative practices, including Kwak̓wala-informed yoga, breathwork, meditation, drumming, dancing, and visualization

• Circle dialogue and storytelling, where caregivers could speak openly about burnout, grief, and responsibility

• Ceremony and cultural teachings led by elders and knowledge keepers

Participants described the camp as a place where they could finally exhale, cry, laugh, and feel proud to be bak̓wa̱m again—grounded in their lands, language, and ancestors.

Guided by Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and Wellness Leaders

This initiative is held up by the wisdom and leadership of many Kwakwaka’wakw and First Nations leaders, including:

• Kwa̱nkwa̱nxwa̱ligedzi Wakas Chief Dr. Robert Joseph

• G̱a̱'ax̱stalas Elder Maggie Sedgemore

• K’odi Nelson

• Stephanie Bernard

• Ruby Isaac

• A circle of Kwakwaka’wakw wellness leaders, cultural support providers, and collaborators

As a Kwakwaka’wakw scholar, wellness practitioner, and community planner, I (Jessica) co-developed and facilitated the camp in partnership with Nawalakw, while also holding space as a learner, relative, and researcher.

Film as Storytelling, Not Centerpiece

Alongside the camp, we created a short documentary:

Ga’walap̓a laxa̱n’s ḵa̱n’s sa̱nale’: Help Us to Be Whole Healing Program

Filmed in collaboration with my dear friend and cinematographer Cody Preston, the film:

• Follows participants as they move through land-based and somatic practices, ceremony, and circle work

• Uplifts the voices of frontline workers and knowledge keepers

• Serves as a catalyst for storytelling, conversation, and continued community-building

The film is not the main event; it is a relational tool that accompanies the camp model. It helps us share what is possible when frontline workers have dedicated, culturally grounded space to heal, and invites other communities, partners, and supporters into the conversation.

Community-Based Research and Knowledge Sharing

Ga’walap̓a laxa̱n’s ḵa̱n’s sa̱nale’: Help Us to Be Whole Healing Program is also evolving into community-based research, grounded in Indigenous methodologies and narrative inquiry. Together with Stephanie Bernard, the Nawalakw team, and community partners, we are:

• Identifying themes from participant interviews and stories to identify barriers and facilitators in caregiver healing

• Documenting how language, land, ceremony, and somatic practices work together to support wellness

• Developing training resources, facilitator guides, and Kwak̓wala language recordings to support future camps and wellness programming

• Preparing community-focused publications and academic articles to share these learnings in ways that remain accountable to our people and territories

This work is about building a model that is both deeply place-based and adaptable - something other Indigenous communities can draw from and make their own.

What’s Next: Women’s Trauma Healing Camp 2026

Building on the teachings of the pilot camp, we are:

• Continuing community-based research and engagement with frontline workers and partner organizations

• Launching a second women’s trauma healing camp in Hada, June 23–26, 2026, focused on supporting Indigenous women and femme-identifying caregivers through land-based, language-forward, and somatic practices

More details about registration, community partnerships, and sponsorship opportunities will be shared through my community channels and direct outreach.

How to Get Involved

This initiative may be of interest if you are:

• A First Nations community or organization interested in land-based healing for your frontline workers

• A wellness provider seeking culturally rooted spaces for your own healing

• A funder, ally, or institution wanting to support Indigenous-led wellness and language initiatives

To learn more about Ga̱'wala x̱a̱n Sa̱nala, upcoming camps, or potential collaborations, please visit my website at jessicabarudin.com and use the contact form there to connect.

Project Collaborators & Wellness Leaders:

• 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:

• Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Nations/North Island Building Blocks

• Nawalakw - Makeway

• First Nations Health Authority