Kin 306 - Mental Wellness

disparities in health

- when compared to non-aboriginal people on almost all social indicators in Canada, First Nations, Inuit and Metis people are on the bottom of the national statistics in education, employment, and health, while also being on the top for rates of incarceration, foster care, and metal and physical issues

mental health commissions of Canada

- mental health is different from the absence of mental illness, and is integral to our overall health
- mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his own community

native mental health association of Canada

- mental health is a sign of balance, harmony, and connectedness among the interior aspects of the human person (spirit, mind, and body) and the world he or she lives in
- it is a characteristic of families and communities, as well as individual human beings

mental wellness

- not necessarily viewed in the same way as Western concepts of mental wellness
- broad and complex term within Indigenous communities where it is associated with overall wellness, inherently includes strength and functioning in life as well as purpose, hope, belonging, and meaning
- is achieved through core attributes that honour both identity and intuition
- can be affected by both those factors in the environment and the unseen

mental wellness (process)

- operated on a continuum across all lifespans
- includes lifelong learning about one's physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual self - where balance between all is essential to one's mental wellness
- dynamic process; something you do

learning and mental wellness

- Elder Danny Musqua emphasized that learning is the purpose of life
- an integral part to any one individual is learning how to put the teachings of the Medicine Wheel into action (for those who follow it)
- needs to be wholistic

indigenous ways of learning

- have been suppressed and disrupted through punitive and assimilative practices
- intent of colonial practices was to eradicate traditional ways of knowing, languages, and Indigenous culture
- beginning with first contact and carrying to present day, the effects of assimilative, westernized educational systems have had prolonged, traumatic effects

hard truths

- the sum experience of Indigenous peoples with the education system and learning in general has been wrought with challenges and disruptions in traditional. forms of education, culture, language, and identity for over 500 years

educating for change

- western education sees and does education differently from Indigenous education
- Indigenous peoples tend to view post-secondary education and university differently from the university itself
- university knowledge based in and built from empiricism, objectivity, and compartmentalization
- Indigenous knowledges based on subjectivity, considers many truths, and many ways of learning
- impact of scientific method, positivism and Christianity

the 4 Rs

- Indigenous people are seeking a better education
- respects them for who they are
- relevant to their views of the world
- offers reciprocity in their relationships with others
- helps them exercise responsibility over their own lives
- framework/approach for better education through respect, relevance, reciprocity, and responsibility
- opportunity is created to expand beyond current systems and paradigms

respect (4 Rs)

- 1 of the 7 sacred teachings held by many nations
- Indigenous peoples worldviews and identity they bring to the classroom cannot be left at the door
- create spaces that allow for Indigenous students to retain their value systems
- bridge university/institution knowledge and human knowledge
- empiricism and literate knowledge with relational knowledge

respect (why bother with it?

- through academia recognizing (and including) knowledge of Indigenous worldviews they are demonstrating value, recognition of, and acceptance of multiple ways of knowing that extend beyond their own criteria
- opens the door to multiple ways of knowing and being in the world, which enables the possibility of co-creating new knowledge
- students are better prepared for the world in which they live

relevance (4 Rs)

- "re-value" forms of knowledge not found in books
- asks "how are people impacted?", "why is this important?"
- advances in video, television, and film creates oral/auditory/visual possibilities
- opportunities for Indigenous learners since it partially approaches traditional wholistic approaches of teaching and learning

reciprocity

- the giving and receiving, or mutual exchange of knowledge (rather than hierarchical)
- create opportunities for reciprocity
- allows the teacher to become the student and student to become the teacher to promote enriched learning opportunities

responsibility

- shared to provide Indigenous peoples with equal access to power, authority, and opportunity to exercise control over and manage their own everyday lives
- provide systems and opportunities for Indigenous learners to receive quality, relevant education that will enhance and support growth within own communities
- may include: providing "border crossing" opportunities, working together, shared commitment, individual commitment

stereotype

- stigma
- fixed images
- conventional images
- judgement
- inaccurate beliefs
- generalizing
- racism

knowing who you are

- The role of family is essential for Indigenous peoples’ wellness (individual and collective wellness)
- Many Métis peoples, and other groups, have protocols rooted in wahkootowin
- Miyo-wicetowin is the principle of getting along, having good relations created, nourished, reaffirmed
- The relationship with the land, for example, is linked with sense of self

Indigenous worldview (relation with land)

- The land is sentient, meaning it has its own agency, spirit, and rights that are to be respected
- Humans are caretakers of the land
- Survival depends on how we interact with everything around us

western worldview (relation with land)

- the land, including rocks, minerals, and water are often considered inanimate objects
- often a hierarchical approach, with the land as an inanimate thing that humans can take from

hard truths

- Institutional/legal processes to create categories of “Aboriginality” negatively impacted and damaged authenticity of various Indigenous peoples and groups
- Through our colonial past and present, Indigenous peoples have been encouraged/compelled/forced to disassociate with their culture

Indigenous women

- were granted legal status only in relation to their fathers’ or husbands’ status (not of their own right)
- Historically, status women who married non-status men had their status revoked (and their children)!
- Fortunately this was revoked through Bill C-31 in 1985

moving forward

- some Indigenous Elders refer to education as the new buffalo
- education for Indigenous children generally falls under provincial/territorial governments
- mainstream education includes pedagogical approaches that lack any real use of Indigenous methodologies, worldviews, etc., this curriculum does not address needs of Indigenous peoples

respect (implementing)

- collaboratively co-create ground rules (i.e. in class) or processes (i.e. leadership) that incorporate everyone's voice

relevance (implement)

- given the diversity of tribes, nations, and communities, increase the diversity of Indigenous content

reciprocity (implement)

- student presentations to teach about their cultures; peer-based evaluations

responsibility (implement)

- individual student/teacher and collective efforts (i.e. entire school/unit) to promote knowledge about Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing

ongoing challenges

- the provincially-approved educational curriculum is culturally biased and inadequate to meet Indigenous educators' and students' needs
- little support is proved to preserve, protect, and promote Indigenous scholars to use, practice, and develop Indigenous knowledge through education
- disproportionate funding given to on-reserve schools vs. urban schools