Mino Bimaadiziwin

Dr Andrea Sereda is Carol Hopkin's guest discussing safer opioid supply, addiction and recovery on this episode of Mino Bimaadiziwin. Dr Sereda is the lead physician at the London, Ontario Intercommunity Health Centre’s Health Outreach program and she is the founding physician for Safer Opioid Supply, which provides pharmaceutical grade opioids to people dependent on unregulated street fentanyl. In her work, Dr. Sereda focuses on caring for people who use drugs, people deprived of housing, women in the survival sex trade, as well as medical street outreach and care in non-traditional settings such as shelters and jails.Her program, Safer Opioid Supply, is a Health Canada recognized and funded, Substance Use and Addiction Program.It is considered a pillar of the Federal government’s approach to the overdose crisis.To learn more about safer supply, please visit the National Safer Supply Community of Practice website at https://www.nss-aps.ca/ (https://www.nss-aps.ca/)For more on the work of Thunderbird Partnership Foundation, please visit our website at www.thunderbirdpf.org (www.thunderbirdpf.org) You can find us on social media by searching for ThunderbirdPF  Mino Bimaadiziwin is produced by the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation and David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions.  Our theme music is by Courtney Riley, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation.

Carol is thrilled to be joined by Gilbert Whiteduck andJamie Carle for another in our series of discussions about successful Indigenous Treatment Centres and what lessons they provide. Gilbert and Jamie are the Program and Services Team Lead and Nurse, respectively, delivering harm reduction programing at Wanaki Centre, located in the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg community next to the town of Maniwaki, Quebec. Under their leadership, Wanaki was granted Accreditation of Exemplary Status in the Qmentum program of Accreditation Canada, an impressive achievement. The Wanaki Center provides an important wellness program that supports First Nation and Inuit people to discover the strengths they carry and learn how to balance life's challenges, seeking to heal from alcohol and substance addiction.​The center first opened its doors in 1991 with the mission to provideprogramming for substance abuse and to promote the physical,mental, spiritual and emotional well-being for First Nations and Inuitpopulations. The wellness services are provided over a 4-weekperiod in French and English on a rotational basis.Gilbert Whiteduck is Anishinabek from the Kitigan Zibi First Nation. He has served as chief of his community. He holds a bachelor of social work, a bachelor and masters of education, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa. He is currently completing an Indigenous law certificate from University of Ottawa. He has worked as a clinical coordinator, residential counselor and now as the program and services team lead at the Wanaki Centre.Jamie Carle is a nurse from the Kitigan Zibi. Jamie has been a nurse for over ten years in her community and is passionate about Indigenous health. Her work has included acute care palliative care, community care, maternal and child health, midwifery and she now works in treatment of substance abuse..For more on the work of Thunderbird Partnership Foundation, please visit our website at www.thunderbirdpf.org (www.thunderbirdpf.org)You can find us on social media by searching for ThunderbirdPF  Mino Bimaadiziwin is produced by the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation and David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions.  Our theme music is by Courtney Riley, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation

What role does Virtual Treatment play in drug and alcohol addiction rehabilitation? A fire four-and-a-half years ago at the Native Horizons Treatment Centre in the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation meant they had to find that out well before COVID made virtual care a widespread reality. Their Executive Director, Wanda Smith, joins host Carol Hopkins for a discussion on what she and her team have learned in those years, including what differences virtual outreach treatment services have made to programming and clients, are thereinnovations arising from virtual treatment delivery, and how have connections to culture been facilitated through virtual services?For 35 years Wanda Smith has been the Executive Director for Native Horizons Treatment Centre. Her career in the field of First Nations addictions has spanned 45 years in various positions from Community Youth Counsellor, to Native Addictions Program Teaching Master at Northern College in Timmins, to Executive Director for White Buffalo Youth Treatment Centre, Sturgeon Lake, Saskatchewan. Native Horizons focuses on healing individuals, families andcommunities challenged by substance use and the related mentalhealth issues for over thirty years. It does this with virtual andResidential, culturally-centered services in a nurturing, home-likeatmosphere, ideal for long-lasting healthy lifestyles.For more on the work of Thunderbird Partnership Foundation, please visit our website at www.thunderbirdpf.org (www.thunderbirdpf.org%C2%A0)You can find us on social media by searching for ThunderbirdPF  Mino Bimaadiziwin is produced by the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation and David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions.  Our theme music is by Courtney Riley, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation.

Host Carol Hopkins is very happy to be joined by Theresa Crow-Spreading-His-Wings and Sandra Malcolm from the Native Addictions Council of Manitoba, for a lively and fascinating discussion about the addictions workforce, specifically the certification in addictions core competencies and the investment their organization is making in their workforce. They also talk about the role of treatment centers in addressing the opioid and meth addiction crisis faced by many First Nations and the importance of traditional knowledge and ceremony in that. This conversation is part of a series of conversations highlighting the good work of First Nations treatment centres in offering quality services. Theresa is the Executive Director of NACM. She is a Blackfoot First Nations woman from the Blood Tribe in Treaty 7 Territory in Standoff, Alberta. Theresa grew up in the Child Welfare System, as part of the 60’s scoop and the heart-work of her healing journey has been anchored in being a mother of two adult children and two grandchildren. Theresa moved to Winnipeg in 2004 where she has been serving the inner-city community, as an advocate for adults, youth and families that are struggling with addictions, poverty and mental wellbeing.Sandra Malcolm is the Program Coordinator at NACM. Sandra’s background is in nursing and specialization in mental health and addiction. She obtained extensive experience working in a variety of addiction treatment centers, health sectors, and with marginalized individuals struggling with addictions and mental health challenges.  For more on the work of Thunderbird Partnership Foundation, please visit our website at www.thunderbirdpf.org (www.thunderbirdpf.org) You can find us on social media by searching for ThunderbirdPF  Mino Bimaadiziwin is produced by the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation and David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions.  Our theme music is by Courtney Riley, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation.

Host Carol Hopkins is thrilled to be joined by Deb Dell and Karen Main in a conversation highlighting the quality of addictions services for First Nations youth, how they know there is quality, what that looks like and their processes for facilitating continuous improvements.Karen and Deb both work with YSAC, a network of 10 First Nation Youth Residential Treatment Centres across Canada, offering holistic, culturally grounded addiction services that are centred in First Nations ways of knowing and being. For 27 years Debra Dell has been working at the Y-S-A-C and at its member centres. She is a founding member and currently the organizations Executive Director. She focuses on research and practises quality, as well as human resource training and competency work. She has a dual masters in counselling psychology and adult education and a doctorate in distance education. She is a first generation settler from Scotland who works in Treaty Six territory in Saskatchewan. Karen Main is Associate Director for the Y-S-A-C where her focus is providing support to their ten centres in accreditation, board governance and life promotion training programs. She spent 15 years as Executive Director of Leading Thunderbird Lodge – part of the Y-S-A-C network.She is a proud member of the Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation in southern Saskatchewan.***And related to this conversation, please take a moment to take part in The​ Standards Council of Canada and the Mental Health and Substance Use Standardization Collaborative, questionnaire related to mental health and substance use from the perspective of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis. The questionnaire can be accessed through the following link:https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VCMHZQL (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VCMHZQL)Mahihkan Management has been contracted to create awareness among First Nations, Inuit, and Metis knowledge holders, and mental health and substance use experts, and allied professionals to gatherinformation about mental health and substance use services. This information will be used to inform a report on standardization of Mental Health and Substance Use Health services and other future work.Please complete the survey before June 30th. Further engagement sessions will take place in the fall.For more on the work of Thunderbird Partnership Foundation, please visit our website at www.thunderbirdpf.orgYou can find us on social media by searching for ThunderbirdPF  Mino Bimaadiziwin is produced by the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation and David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions.  Our theme music is by Courtney Riley, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation.

We're thrilled to have Dawna Prosper on the podcast.She is Executive Director of the Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse and Counseling Association and a proud member of the Eskasoni First Nation of Cape Breton. Since 1971 NACADA has run addiction prevention and treatment programs in First Nations communities across Atlantic Canada. It has been accredited for the last thirteen years. In this conversation with Thunderbird Partnership Foundation CEO Carol Hopkins, Dawna describes both the challenges and benefits that come with accreditation in terms of funding, empowerment of staff, workload, and services delivered to clients. They also discuss the challenges of funding in terms of keeping staff by paying competitive wages, and the importance of cultural practices in treatment.For more on the work of Thunderbird Partnership Foundation, please visit our website at www.thunderbirdpf.org You can find us on social media by searching for ThunderbirdPF  Mino Bimaadiziwin is produced by the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation and David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions.  Our theme music is by Courtney Riley, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation.

"In our communities we need to do more ceremony. Those ones that are lost, they can come to the ceremony, the doorway is not closed to anyone. If they need that help from ceremony, they are welcome." Elder Hector Copegog, spiritual teacher, ceremonial chief and healer is our guest in this second conversation on managing grief through ceremony. In this powerful talk, Carol and Hector discuss how ceremony can honour lost family members through the use of fire, food, tobacco and language as a way of connecting with those lost spirits. This can be especially powerful now, coming out of COVID, where people died without funerals being held. Wes says having a ceremony on the year anniversary, or two year anniversary of a death is a strong way to connect to those we lost and in managing our grief as individuals, families and communities. Hector is a fourth degree Midewiwin, or spiritual advisor and traditional healer and a spiritual consultant with the Barrie Area Native Advisory Circle.He has decades of experience practicing traditional ceremony and culture as part of the process of loss and healing. And he is a proud member of the Beausoleil First Nation in Ontario. For more on the work of Thunderbird Partnership Foundation, please visit our website at www.thunderbirdpf.org (http://www.thunderbirdpf.org) You can find us on social media by searching for ThunderbirdPF  Mino Bimaadiziwin is produced by the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation and David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions.  Our theme music is by Courtney Riley, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation.

"Whatever you are suffering with, don't give up. Hang in there. There's a lot of people who've suffered. Just look back at the history of our peoples, the things we've survived and come through. Don't give up. There is help and you will find your way."We're thrilled to have Wes Whetung on the podcast for this episode on the importance of ceremony and culture to manage grief, loss and many other challenges First Nations people are facing today.This conversation was sparked by the recent Thunderbird Survey on Grief and Loss Among First Nations People. And the number one thing respondents to the survey wanted was to better understand grief and loss through the lense of culture. Which is why we turned to Wes. He is a ceremony maker, Knowledge Keeper, teacher, and helper. He originates from the First Nation community of Curve Lake Ontario and resides in the community of Mississauga number 8.His training is extensive, but he says his most valuable skills are derived from the Sacred Teachings, and ceremonial healing practises of the Anishinabe Midewin. He has actively supported the Three Fires Society Midewin Lodge for over 40 years. And is currently working with Indigenous inmates at the Beaver Creek Institution in Gravenhurst, Ontario. In this smart and thoughtful conversation, Wes and Carol talk about the historical impact of the loss of land, language, identity among First Nations people, caused by Residential Schools and other forms of systemic racism.They discuss how a connection to culture helps us to move through grief and the experiences of loss. And the remedy through ceremony. What works best and what resources are available.This conversation was sparked by the recent Thunderbird Survey on Grief and Loss among First Nations People. And the number one thing respondents to the survey wanted was to better understand grief and loss through the lense of culture.For more on the work of Thunderbird Partnership Foundation, please visit our website at www.thunderbirdpf.org (www.thunderbirdpf.org)You can find us on social media by searching for ThunderbirdPF  Mino Bimaadiziwin is produced by Thunderbird and David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions.Our theme music is by Courtney Riley, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation.

"When they come in they are broken, they are so broken. That's why we use so much compassion at work and with what we do every day. And we tell them we're proud of them every single day. And that's when they start to regain that hope, is when we tell them 'You're one day sober and I'm proud of you.'" We're thrilled to have Barbara Michel-Ballantyne on the podcast, talking about a successful land based and traditional knowledge treatment program that has helped her First Nations Saskatchewan community overcome a devastating crystal meth addiction epidemic. She is the manager at Camp Hope, the Montreal Lake Child and Family Agency where she is Director for the Land Based Crystal Meth Rehab Centre. She has close to twenty years of First Nations Child and Family services experience, focused around mental health, addictions and recovery.  Camp Hope is a Land Based Therapeutic program, a family oriented facility located in a remote area of Montreal Lake Cree Nation in Treaty Six territory in Saskatchewan, that has helped hundreds of families with children to access recovery services. For more on the work of Thunderbird, please visit our website at thunderbirdpf.org  You can find us on social media by searching for ThunderbirdPF  Our theme music is by Courtney Riley, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation.  Mino Bimaadiziwin is produced by David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions and the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation.

As we continue our series on harm reduction, we are thrilled to be joined by three guests who are leading an incredible effort in drug harm reduction with their organization, "Fire with Fire," a response in eight First Nations communities in Treaty 1 territory in southeastern Manitoba to substance misuse causing harm and overdose."Fire with Fire" responds to individual needs of community members with the support of peer mentors who form quick response teams in each of the communities served. The main purpose of the peer mentors is to educate, support and train those in community toward more helpful health outcomes in dealing with opioid and meth addiction.Our guests are:Allen Contois is Project Coordinator of Fire with Fire and a proud member of the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation Tahl East is Fire With Fire mental wellness programs manager and developer. She was born in Jerusalem and is an ally of First Nations across Turtle Island.And Helene San Pedro is the Tribal Health Educator for Harm Reduction for the Southeast Resource Development Council and a settler to Treaty 1 territory from the Philippines.For more on the work of Thunderbird, please visit our website at thunderbirdpf.org  You can find us on social media by searching for ThunderbirdPF  Our theme music is by Courtney Riley, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation.  Mino Bimaadiziwin is produced by David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions and the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation.