“Two years ago Prime Minister Harper apologized for the abuses many people experienced in residential schools in Canada. From June 11-13th, First Peoples are gathering to release forgiveness. The churches in Canada are standing with us. Come and join us as we respond and celebrate the freedom that forgiveness brings.” Find out more: http://www.advancedministry.com/sites/index.cfm?i=11874

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June 7, 2009: POW WOW A time to celebrate with new friends

As a 32 year old wife and mother of two, I strive to find opportunities for my family to learn and grow as we journey through this life. I grew up in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario as a French Canadian but was often struck with curiosity about the Garden River First Nations. I regret that I took it for granted that I was living so close to my Ojibway friends and never took initiative to learn more about their traditions. Perhaps I could blame it on fear. Fear that I wouldn’t be accepted or that I would look out of place. Fear that I might be judged. I could not have been more wrong.

I am currently living in Barrie Ontario and it wasn’t until the weekend of June the 6th (2009) that I finally had the opportunity to witness my very first Pow Wow. The Barrie Native Friendship Centre was holding its 20th annual Pow Wow and I was so excited to see what it was all about but even more so, to give my own children the chance to experience the singing and the music from another way of life. I rushed just in time for the Grand Entry but as I prepared to get my kids out of the vehicle, I realized that I had locked both my keys and my kids in the van. So there I was outside of the van, with my two little ones snug in their car seats on a hot Saturday afternoon with the windows rolled up in the middle of a dirt parking lot in the outskirts of Barrie and I was the only white woman as far as I could tell. I panicked. The fear came back to me. Who was going to help me? Within seconds without even having to ask for help, I was surrounded by at least 7 native men and a few other women who quickly took action. The women ran to get help from security while the men fetched their tools, cell phones and coat hangers. I could hear the drums from the Grand Entry in the background and was very humbled by these men who were missing a sacred moment during their ceremony to help me and my kids. I couldn’t help but apologize to them, but their compassion and spirit of giving overwhelmed any embarrassement I was feeling as a mother.

They had my children safe in my arms within 15 minutes making it possible to cancel the tow truck which would’ve taken even longer to arrive. I ended up enjoying the rest of my afternoon at the Pow Wow with my children. The First Nations people embodied the values of kindness as well as an eagerness to share their understandings and gifts to us. In some ways you can say that I received a “giveaway” (sharing of gifts) from the people that I met that day. A Pow Wow is more than the singing, the dancing and the beautiful Regalias (outfits). Its about renewing old friendships and in my case, creating new ones.

Rachelle Davy
Barrie, Ontario
June 7, 2009

May 5, 2009: Manitoba First Nations Give $1M to Cdn. Museum of Human Rights

In April, the National Post reported that Manitoba FNs made a one million dollar donation to the Canadian Museum of Human Rights, through the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and the South Beach Casino and Resort.  The gift was to help ensure that through the FN stories and themes that would be displayed, the true history and stories of the FN people will be shared.

The museum is planned for Winnipeg.  It’s mission is to explore human rights and according to the paper, commit to taking action to combat the forces of hate and oppression.  The cost of the museum is estimated at $265M and is expected to be completed by early 2012.

Source: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Released: Mon 02-Mar-2009, 09:00 ET
Native American Children Are at Greater Risk for Clubfoot Recurrence

Description
Study says cultural differences and a lack of effective communication are the root causes.

Newswise — Native American children who live in rural areas are at greater risk of clubfoot recurrence following treatment than other rural populations, and researchers are beginning to understand why. According to a study published in the March 2009 issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS), cultural differences and communication barriers are factors that appear to contribute to this increased risk.

In the Ponseti technique, after repetitive casting, a brace is used to treat the affected foot. The success of the technique relies heavily on the participation of the caregiver to make sure the brace is used properly. When use of the brace is discontinued before treatment is completed, the condition is much more likely to recur. Caregivers are more likely to stop using the brace if they do not fully understand its importance.

“The challenge of the Ponseti treatment regimen lies not in the initial cast correction, but in the success of educating the parents and family regarding their role in the bracing process, and in the provision of a brace that is acceptable to the child and family alike,” said Elizabeth Szalay, MD, pediatric orthopaedic surgeon and chief of the Division of Pediatric Orthopaedics at the University of New Mexico, Carrie Tingley Medical Center in Albuquerque. “When physicians are unable to effectively communicate the treatment program to the parents or other caregivers, the Ponseti method is not as successful.”

Recurrence levels are generally higher in a rural population than in an urban setting, Szalay notes, and are highest in patients who:
• have a yearly income of less than $20,000
• have public or no insurance
• are unmarried
• have an educational level of high school or less

But the level of recurrence is significantly higher in the rural Native American group than in any other group studied. Dr. Szalay noted that this indicates a lack of effective communication between the parent and the physician.

“Basically, we are not communicating well with the rural Native American population. Our message is not geared to their specific and unique culture,” said Dr. Szalay. “We are not communicating effectively because we do not have a complete understanding and awareness of the cultural differences that exist. As orthopaedic surgeons, we need to educate ourselves about the cultural biases existing in all our patient populations.”

Several cultural factors may contribute to the breakdown in communication. According to Dr. Szalay, Native American families who live a considerable distance from a large metropolitan area are more likely to:

• speak their native language
• follow native traditions
• utilize native healers in addition to modern medicine
• employ an extended family structure as caregivers

In addition, Native Americans are generally more reluctant to ask questions of physicians. Szalay notes many Native American cultures consider questioning an authority to be a sign of disrespect. As a result, she says physicians must anticipate possible questions and be sure their instructions are especially thorough. Many Native American cultures also view potentially negative statements as bad luck, so the physician must be sure to emphasize the positive aspects of the treatment in order to reinforce its benefits, she adds.

“The physician’s skill as an educator is pivotal to a positive outcome of the Ponseti technique, as it is in many other treatments,” Dr. Szalay noted. “An ability to communicate across cultural divides is essential to providing the best health care possible. The challenge will be to design an educational program geared to these families so these children will experience the same excellent long-term results as other ethnic and cultural groups.”

Source: University of Massachusetts Amherst           Released: Fri 13-Feb-2009,
Arctic Study Asks How Native Youth Stay Healthy

Description
Health researchers in four countries begin a three-year study of how 120 indigenous youth in the Arctic avoid pitfalls such as alcohol abuse and suicide to become healthy adults. A key to the NSF study is collaboration between community leaders and social scientists, so knowledge will “go sideways.”

Newswise — Researchers in four countries, including health educator Lisa Wexler of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, have begun a three-year study of how indigenous young men and women in Arctic communities avoid pitfalls such as alcohol abuse and suicide to become healthy adults.

A key to the $1.09 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s International Polar Year initiative is that it brings tribal leaders from five communities in Norway, Canada, Siberia and Alaska to collaborate with the social scientists. Over the coming year, they’ll listen together to life stories of up to 120 young adults who successfully avoided potentially life-crippling obstacles and have achieved a balance between the modern world and traditional culture.

The elders and researchers want to learn, simply, what works on the path to healthy adulthood. They’ll share findings, create new links where needed and start new programs based on the new knowledge.

Wexler of UMass Amherst and the university’s Institute for Global Health, with colleagues from five other universities will hold their first meeting with Inupiat, Yup’ik, Sami, Eveny and Inuit community leaders at Cambridge University in the UK on March 29. Wexler, a longtime resident of Kotzebue, Alaska, agrees with co-investigator Michael Kral of the University of Illinois, who points out that “We’re actually hoping to see the knowledge go sideways in this study.”

This approach is more acceptable to local people who too often see power in outsiders’ hands, Wexler and Kral say. Collaboration is an appropriate model because the knowledge is ultimately being gathered to benefit the communities. The process will uphold respect for cultural identity, subsistence lifestyles, basic human dignity and values, and a concept known in northwest Alaska as Inupiat Ilitqusiat, or “those things that make us who we are.”

Inupiat elder Willie Goodwin hopes the study will “open some doors to figure out how to support our youth in doing their best.” He and the social researchers know that much previous research focused on negative statistics and risk factors. They note that indigenous peoples’ resilience and healthy adaptation have not been adequately considered, while the impact of colonial and contemporary suffering has been extensively documented. They hope to identify similarities across communities, young peoples’ strengths and resources, and develop new ideas for supporting them.

Wexler says, “Our study fits well into the larger scope of what the people are trying to create in their communities and in the circumpolar region. We are trying to build onto and learn from what the community is already creating.”

Joe Garoutte of the Kotzebue Tribal Council says his community “has changed a lot for the better in the last 30 years.” He hopes the study will show participants how change affects today’s youth. Natar Ungalaq, a young sculptor from the Igloolik and Inuit communities in Nunavut, Canada, is eager to be a part of the project. “We already know what the problem is,” he says. Ungalaq, star of the movie, The Fast Runner, adds, “We need action. This is action. Let other people see successful young people.”

Wexler expects setting up steering committees, deciding on questions, agreeing on shared focus areas and recruiting participants to take about a year. Data collection and preliminary analysis will be conducted in the second year, followed by final analysis. Results will be reported not only in scholarly journals but in community presentations and on the Internet. The researchers will invite interested youth and community members to help shape the scientific study.

In addition to Wexler at UMass Amherst, other co-principal investigators are: James Allen and Gerald Mohatt, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Olga Ulturgasheva, Cambridge University, UK, and Eveny native of Topolinoye, Siberia; Michael Kral, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana and University of Toronto; Kristine Nystad, Sami University College, Kautekeino, Norway, and Benedicte Ingstad, University of Oslo.