WIIKWEMKOONG—The Children’s Services Department of Naandwechige-Gamig Wiikwemkoong Health Centre hosted an Infant and Early Years Mental Health Parent Conference at the Wiikwemkoong High School October 14 and 15 that, judging by the crowds attending, was very well received.
The conference began with Grandmothers/Elders Dorothy Fox and Muriel Wakegijig-Assinewai starting things off in a good way, before turning things over to master of ceremonies Shanna Peltier and keynote speaker Brittany Biedermann. Ms. Biedermann, who is originally from M’Chigeeng, has spent the last 11 years working in the remote Northern Cree community of Moose Factory. With a master’s degree in counselling psychology, Ms. Biedermann also draws on the experience of her own family consisting of her husband and two children, 10 and 5. She is currently a prevention coordinator with Child and Youth Milopemahtesewin Services. Her presentation ‘Breaking Cycles Through Parenting’ looked at how residential schools impacted Anishinaabe family structures while acknowledging “the intergenerational resilience we all carry.” In her presentation, Ms. Biedermann encouraged her listeners to find the courage to break unhealthy cycles.
The second day’s keynote speaker was Ms. Peltier, who is currently a PhD candidate in Clinical Child Psychology at the University of Toronto. A psychological consultant at Kinark Child and Family Services, Ms. Peltier provides psychological intervention and assessment services. Her presentation ‘Strengthening Parent-Child Relationships Through Emotion Coaching and Self Compassion’ noted that loving reliable and responsive parent -child relationships form the foundation of positive child development and further, can support overall parent child well-being.
The two-day conference covered a wealth of subjects including: building support systems; Neuro-divergent individuals, strengths, needs and supports; family planning through birth control; traditional parenting and the roles we carry; feather carriers program and traditional life promoting approaches and infant mental health (complete with painting activity).
