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A central tenet of Tsek’ehne teachings, shared by many nations, is that if you don’t have a proper relationship with the land, the land may simply reject you. This teaching might seem irrelevant to health if we don’t view health wholistically. Switching our lens, however, allows us to bring the eroded relationship between us and the land into sharp focus and more closely examine how a decline in wholistic health has been shockingly regulated. At the National Gathering of the NCCIH last May, we reinforced the gravity of revitalizing wholistic approaches to health, with both Academic Co-Leads directly speaking about its importance. There was also much discussion about the smoke caused by the numerous wildfires raging in Western Canada in May and continuing to threaten the country today—a popular topic of conversation in the news media as well. We asked, have we become complacent in our views of climate change, normalizing changes as mere seasonal occurrences and disregarding how our actions of burning fossil fuels, manufacturing goods, and deforesting the earth impact our lands and ultimately our health?
The land, consistent with Tsek’ehne teachings, appears to be rejecting all of us. Climate change has contributed to a situation that negatively affects everyone’s health. Deforestation, the removal of wetlands, and other alterations to the landscape (e.g., paving) have made flooding worse. The colonial suppression of Indigenous silviculture practices has had serious ramifications on the health of the land and all living things. Natural disasters are abundant, and they affect everyone—even those who live in good relationship with the land. As always, our hearts go out to the victims, families, and communities affected by every natural disaster. At the NCCIH, the Academic Co-Leads’ shared vision is to unearth the teachings of our ancestors so as to revitalize and enact the importance of the relationship with the land and the interconnectedness of culture and wholistic health.
Summer is an ideal time to build relationships, not only with the land but also with each other. In academia, this season is also often a period of intensive research and knowledge mobilization. Both Drs. Blackstock and Sims can attest to this, as we have attended numerous conferences and engaged with our respective communities. Summer is here, and it has been a busy one!
Dr. Blackstock began June with a keynote welcome to the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing, a workshop on othering and allyship followed by a presentation on Decolonizing Nursing. She also presented on “Weaving strength: Indigenous determinants of health and wholistic health and well-being” at the Network for Sharing Indigenous Information and Research (NSIIR) meeting. The presentation reviewed the relationship of the social determinants of health with associated health care systems. It examined processes available to Indigenous peoples today and considered how those structures deconstruct wholistic Indigenous health into separate entities. Following this event, she connected with Indigenous health researchers at the BC NEIHR gathering in Terrace, BC. The next month, Dr. Blackstock travelled to Montreal, where she presented the e-poster, “Decolonizing nursing: The role of self-determination in the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples exploring factors related to enacting anti-racism practice” at the annual International Council of Nurses (ICN) Congress.
In June, Dr. Sims ventured north to Whitehorse, in the Yukon territory, to participate in an Indigenous Cultural Heritage Advisory Council (ICHAC) meeting. Members had the opportunity to provide advice on Parks Canada and Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada policy and Indigenization efforts, as well as on cultural heritage-related projects and initiatives. Back in Prince George, BC, Dr. Sims continues his work, leading four workshops over the summer months for Indigenous Studies 201 at the First Nations Centre Gathering Place on the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) campus. The series of workshops, in partnership with UNBC and Northern Health, focus on helping faculty decolonize and Indigenize course content. Between September 2023 and April 2024, Dr. Sims will host a series of webinars exploring Indigenous topics from an Indigenous perspective and providing a venue for faculty, staff, and students across the country to learn about Indigenous topics they may have missed in their educational journey.
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So, while the bears have their fun (sas ‘ukədis’əsneh), the berries ripen (mai ‘udijihlneh), and we await the “animals to getting fat” (ghədi nanehtsənneh) in preparation for yəsk’e (winter), we both, along with the staff at the NCCIH, look forward to autumn—the season of “letting go,” just as the trees let go of their leaves. It is a time to study and reflect on the structures underneath in order to appreciate the richness of wholistic health and gain wisdom from our relationships with the land and with each other.
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