AUNDECK OMNI KANING—The Noojmowin Teg Health Centre presented the two-day Miikaan Conference at the Four Directions complex in Aundeck Omni Kaning (AOK). The well-attended conference is a healing-focussed event that the organizers hope will take place annually.
“A lot of wellness, thinking forward, moving forward and also celebrating life,” said organizer Francis Mandamin, Anishinaabe Aadziwin (traditional) manager. “Our theme is Miikaan, which is seed. So we are nurturing that seed, growing it, letting it nurture. That’s the whole intent. To ensure the people who are residential school survivors, intergenerational people that are coming up, concentrate on the goodness within themselves and the teachings.”
By building bridges between the generations, sharing the stories and traditional healing paths, the organizers hope to instill a greater understanding of some of the root causes of societal ills that lateral violence and intergenerational trauma have produced. With understanding it is hoped healing will follow, particularly between residential school survivors and their families.
The Miikaan Conference began with an opening prayer delivered by Wiikwemkoong elder, author and traditional healer Kenn Pitawanakwat and complemented by the M’Chigeeng hand drummers.
Following welcoming remarks, Mr. Pitawanakwat gave a talk on Maadziwin (life) followed by Tobacco Teachings by Boshk Aguonia of Bear Island and Noojmowin Teg’s own Terry Spanish.
Mr. Aguonia was born into traditional ceremonies in Sheguiandah First Nation under the tutelage of his father John, a hereditary ceremony maker. Mr. Aguonia spent his childhood, adolescence and young adult life travelling from community to community and to the mountains working, sharing and learning teachings with his father.
During the lunch break, Dr. Samantha Boshart delivered the keynote speech ‘Optimizing health and well-being and strategies to live well in the present moment.’
Dr. Boshart is an Anishinaabe-kwe born and raised in the Great Lakes Basin with a young daughter who has spent her life dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of her community through practice as a family physician, an educator and an activist. She currently resides in Wallaceburg and provides primary care services to Bkejwanong First Nation through the Chatham Kent community health centre at Thunderbird Plaza. She also commits time working with Cancer Care Ontario as the regional Indigenous cancer lead, and teaches at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry as an adjunct professor, as well as serving on the executive board of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada.
Following lunch, attendees broke up into two groups, one following ‘Women’s Self-care’ by Esstin McLeod and ‘Men’s Self Care’ by Boshk Aguonia. Ms. McLeod, a member of the Mississaugi First Nation, is an Anishnaabe mother and grandmother who has been incorporating and promoting aboriginal healing methods into her practice for the past 30 years. She brought her Medicine Wheel Teaching seminar to the conference attendees as a wholistic approach to health and healing.
Debajehmujig Storytellers shook out any lingering cobwebs with their ‘Laughter is the Best Medicine’ interactive workshop that filled the auditorium with howls of mirth.
Dinner on the first day of the Miikaan Conference included the keynote spreaker Dr. Erin Peltier who was born and raised in Wiikwemkoong. Dr. Peltier first graduated Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Laurentian University, then obtained her Nurse Practitioner certificate. Following several years practicing in remote Northern Ontario communities, she was encouraged and inspired to pursue her own lifelong dream of becoming a family physician.
The first day evening was topped off with a custom play by the Debajehmujig Storytellers.
Day two started off with an opening prayer before Ms. McLeod delivered a medicine wheel teaching and Noojmowin Teg’s Frances Mandamin engaged the audience.
Noojmowin Teg firekeeper David Pitawanakwat delivered fire teachings as the attendees enjoyed lunch before elder Kenn Pitawanakwat took the conference through another session reflecting on the conference events.
The Miikaan Conference ended with a closing prayer and a song giving thanks to the Four Directions by the M’Chigeeng Women’s Hand Drum group.
