News Release
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Shaping Indigenous Healing and Wellness
(NORTH BAY, ONT.) – Canadore College’s Indigenous Wellness and Addictions Prevention (IWAP) program is hosting a discussion on Indigenous healing and wellness with Dr. Mike DeGagné tomorrow.
DeGagné was asked to address students to help them understand the history and traditions that have shaped various aspects of Indigenous wellness, and how this foundation will shape the future.
“So many times people ask me why First Nations people don’t just get over past hardships and get on with their lives,” said Dr. Barbara Waterfall, Coordinator for Canadore’s IWAP program. “This is an understandable sentiment when one doesn’t understand the history and the context of what has occurred with respect to Indigenous Peoples in Canada. However, the facts remain that the legacy of residency school is far reaching and instances of colonialism and oppression continue to take place in Canada.”
The IWAP program is based in Indigenous knowledge and students are taught both Westernized approaches and Anishinabe-based techniques. Canadore College continues to be a leader in the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge as a part of their higher education strategy. The College’s Indigenous Preparatory and Indigenous Pre-Health programs are also unique to Ontario.
DeGagné is the President and Vice-Chancellor of Nipissing University. He is the founding Executive Director of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, a national organization dedicated to addressing the legacy of Canada’s Indian Residential School System. DeGagné has given numerous presentations across Canada on issues of Aboriginal health, residential school, law, reconciliation and governance. DeGagné was appointed a member of the Order of Canada in 2014, was the recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 and was awarded the Order of Ontario in 2010.
The discussion will take place on Tuesday, January 20 from 12:30 – 2 p.m. in Room B201 at Canadore College’s College Drive Campus, 100 College Drive, North Bay, Ont.
