First Nations Health & Wellness Summit: Sharing Wise, Community-Driven Practices for Wholistic Wellness

May 18, 2023

The First Nations Health & Wellness Summit, held from April 4-6, 2023, brought together a group of more than 400 participants at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver to share wise, community-driven practices for wholistic wellness.

The Summit was an opportunity to come together to learn about innovative ways that communities and partners are addressing the critical health issues impacting First Nations people in BC.

The primary areas of focus for the Summit included:

• The toxic drug response
• Primary care
• Health emergency management
• Mental health, wellness and healing

The event featured:

• A series of keynote speakers, workshops and interactive discussions that will highlight community-based wise and best practices – so that these learnings can be taken home, adapted and take root in your communities.
• Hands-on training and education focused on building capacity around trauma, addictions, harm reduction, and wellness.

Expressing gratitude: a heartfelt thank you to our supporters

The FNHA warmly thanks the delegates who attended the 2023 Summit. We are grateful for your participation and contributions! Over 430 participants showed their interest and commitment to sharing wise, community-driven practices for wholistic wellness.

News articles

View news stories and images for the 2023 Summit here:

• First Nations Health & Wellness Summit Addresses Critical Health Issues Impacting First Nations People in BC
• Supporting Health Care Providers with Virtual Pathways
• Love, Patience and Understanding: The Wholistic Path to Healing and Recovery
• A Safety-first Approach to Healing Centres
• Supporting Peer Workers – the Need for Love
• Finding Wholistic Wellness Through Traditional Foods

Social media posts

For easy viewing, the posts below originate from Facebook; however, the FNHA is also active on other social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. The posts and images below are the same across all these platforms.

Day 1

• Traditional opening and welcome on day 1
• Opening keynote – “We are all on a wellness journey”
• Breakout – mobile overdose prevention, harm reduction and outreach
• Ksan Performing Arts
• Breakout – Integrating traditional wellness into primary care
• Closing prayer and song on day 1

Day 2

• Opening prayer on day 2
• Thank you to the wellness and cultural supports at the Summit
• Breakout – how to access treatment centers
• Breakout – Strengthening health transportation capacity
• Breakout – climate preparedness and resilience

Day 3

• Breakout – Pine noodles and spruce tips: revitalizing our traditional medicine and plant knowledge​
• Notorious Cree performance
• Video – Notorious Cree performance 1
• Video – Notorious Cree performance 2
• Closing song and prayer on day 3​

Presentations

If you are interested in some of the slide presentations from the Summit, you can view or download them below.

Tuesday, April 4

MORNING KEYNOTE

We Are All on a Wellness Journey

• Dr. Nel Weiman – We Are All on a Wellness Journey

BREAKOUTS: TOXIC DRUG RESPONSE

Dialogue 1: Mobile Overdose Prevention, Harm Reduction and Outreach

• Cindy Nichols & Cassandra Baker – Mobile Overdose Prevention Services
• Kim Roberts & Ken Bell – Mobile Outreach Unit for Health And Support Services (MOUHSS)

Dialogue 2: Supporting Safe Social Detox in Community

• Colleen Salter – Withdrawal Management and Detox

Dialogue 3: Honouring Our Lost Loved Ones through Ceremony and Culture

• Elder Doreen Peter, Corrina Chase & Carol Hopkins – Honouring Our Lost Loved Ones through Ceremony and Culture

Dialogue 4: Creating A Continuum Of Care for People Who Use Substances

• Will be available soon

Dialogue 5: Training: Indigenous Harm Reduction Practices

• Keshia Cleaver & Emma Garrod – Not Just Naloxone (Substance Use and Harm Reduction in Indigenous Communities)

AFTERNOON KEYNOTE

Celebrating Success – First Nations Primary Care Initiatives

• Debbie Grimes, Connie Jasper, Geraldine Manossa, Andrea Foster, Larry Becker – Celebrating Success – First Nations Primary Care Initiatives

BREAKOUTS: PRIMARY CARE

Dialogue 1: Integrating Traditional Wellness into Primary Care

• Colleen Enns, Angela George – Weaving Traditional Wellness into Primary Care Services and Supports
• MaryLou McKay – The CHANGE Program Meets Land-based Activity and Food Sovereignty

Dialogue 2: Applying FNHA’s Territory Acknowledgment Information Booklet to the HSO Cultural Safety and Humility Standard

• Monica McAlduff, Lauren Brown, Suzanna Ho, Laurie Edmundson, Adam Finch – Applying FNHA’s Territory Acknowledgment Information Booklet to the HSO Cultural Safety & Humility Standard

Dialogue 3: Embedding Support at the Edge: The Journey of Real-Time Virtual Support Peer Pathways

• Katrina Bepple, Manager, Rebecca Tallman, Matt Petrie, Kim Williams – Real Time Virtual Support

Dialogue 4: First Nation Attachment Gap Analysis for Primary Care Network Resourcing

• Tanille Johnston – First Nation Attachment Gap Analysis for Primary Care Network Resourcing

Dialogue 5: The Pan-Provincial Electronic Medical Record

• Andrew Pacey, Nancy Gabor, Amber Flatt – Pan-Provincial Electronic Medical Record

Wednesday, April 5

MORNING KEYNOTE

Drawing on traditional teachings, community strengths and partnerships to address the toxic drug public health emergency

• Thomas Hleck, Jacki McPherson, Brenda Baptiste – Mental Health Substance Use: Penticton Indian Band

BREAKOUTS: TOXIC DRUG RESPONSE

Dialogue 1: Supporting People With Lived and Living Experience

• Will be available soon

Dialogue 2: Medication Assisted Treatment – Opioid Agonist Therapy

• Marlane Paul – ʔaǰɩmɛt Harm Reduction Circle

Dialogue 3: Harm Reduction in Action

• Crystal Point, Alexis Grace, Terrie Davidson – Protecting Our People

Dialogue 4: Next Steps: Recovery Management and the Importance of Post Treatment Supports

• Dr. John Lawlor, Aaron McCluskey – Recovery Management and the Importance of Post Treatment Supports

Dialogue 5: Training: How To Access Treatment Centres

• Shae-Lynn Boyko, Destiny Dendewicz, Colleen Salter – How To Access Treatment Centres

AFTERNOON KEYNOTE

tiičʕaqƛ. Nurturing Pathways to Holistic Health and Community Wellbeing through Indigenous Food Sovereignty

• Dr. Charlotte Coté – tiičʕaqƛ. Nurturing Pathways to Holistic Health and Community Wellbeing through Indigenous Food Sovereignty

BREAKOUTS: HEALTH EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Dialogue 1: Climate Preparedness and Resilience

• Maery Kaplan-Hallam, Crystal Harwood, Murphy Patrick Jr. – Indigenous Climate Action Health Program

Dialogue 2: Strengthening Health Transportation Capacity

• Suzanna Ho, Gary Housty, Nancy LaPlante – Strengthening Health Transportation Capacity

Dialogue 3: Food Security and Sovereignty

• Casey Neathway, Kathleen Yung – Food Systems Opportunities in Health Emergency Management

Dialogue 4: Understanding and Applying the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction – Making it Make Sense for Your Community

• Brooks Hoyga – Applying the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction

Dialogue 5: Training: Accessing Emergency Support Services During Evacuation

• Leah Smith, Carol McClintock – Accessing Emergency Support Services During Evacuation

Thursday, April 6

MORNING KEYNOTE

Honouring Our Youth

• No presentation available

BREAKOUTS: MENTAL HEALTH, WELLNESS AND HEALING

Dialogue 1: Healing Houses and Modalities

• Marina White, Hilda Green – Healing Centres and Modalities

Dialogue 2: Land-based Healing – Youth, Family, Communities

• Dr. Rod McCormick – Land-based Healing – Youth, Family, Communities

Dialogue 3: Pine Noodles and Spruce Tips: Revitalizing Our Traditional Medicine and Plant Knowledge

• Carla Lewis, Niislaa Naay Traditional Medicine Group – Pine Noodles and Spruce Tips: Revitalizing Our Traditional Medicine and Plant Knowledge

Dialogue 4: Ta Skwálwentn: Wholistic Healing App

• Sean Burke, Mackenzie Gomez – Ta Skwálwentn: Squamish Wholistic Healing

Dialogue 5: Promising Practices in Housing

• Celeste Hayward, Tricia Poilievre – W08: Indigenous-led Complex Care Housing
• Fran Hunt-Jinnouchi – Aboriginal Coalition To End Homelessness

MORNINGKEYNOTE

Notorious Cree

• No presentation available​​

NT4