Aboriginal Symposium
Space is limited for this Symposium, so please register early with your name and email/phone at childrenfirst@thekoop.ca.
The Symposium will be held Thursday, May 18, Friday, May 19, and Saturday, May 20 at the Selkirk College Castlegar Campus.
Moving Beyond Grief and Loss: Honouring Our Emotions and Reclaiming our Spirit
At Selkirk College, Castlegar
(Saturday event will be at the MIR Centre)
9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. daily
Registration Form: Download the form and return it to Kim Adamson.
Admission:FREE (Lunch included)
A time to gather and a time to heal.
Thursday, May 18 for service providers
9:30 - Opening and Welcome Marilyn James, spokesperson for the Sinixt Nation
9:45 - Cycle of Abuse with keynote speaker, Jean Aquash, Ojibway Elder
10:30 - Coffee break
10:45 - Cycle of Abuse continues
Noon - Lunch
1:00 p.m. - Workshop options:
- A. Taking it to the Water with Marilyn James
- B. Kootenay Restorative Justice with Christine McLellan
- C. Helping Families Deal with the Cycle of Abuse with Jean Aquash
4:00 p.m. - Closing Circle
Friday, May 19 for Aboriginal and Metis families
9:30 - Opening and Welcome Ed Pongrasz Lower Columbia All First Nations
9:45 - Reclaiming with keynote speaker, Jean Aquash, Ojibway Elder
10:30 - Coffee break
10:45 - Reclaiming continues
Noon - Lunch
1:00 p.m. - Workshop options:
- A. Healing Shame and Guilt around FASD with Marlowe Martell
- B. Traditional Parenting with Marion LeRat
- C. Helping Families Deal with the Cycle of Abuse with Jean Aquash
4:00 p.m. - Closing Circle
Saturday, May 20 Celebration and Healing Everyone Welcome
9:30 - 4:30
- Pot luck, Traditional celebration and feasting
- Opportunity to spend time with Jean Aquash one-to-one
- Opportunity to spend time with Marion LeRat one-to-one
- Meet John LeRat Firekeeper
- Children's games and activities
Registration limited. Please register early by email to Kim. You can download a registration form HERE.
Participants
Jean Aquash - is a traditional Elder from the Ojibway Nations. She has facilitated intensive and extensive healing for the past two decades in communities all across Canada. Her work focuses on issues of trauma and grief that result from loss of culture, language, land and identity. Jean is the lead facilitator for the Trauma Program at the Enahtig Healing Lodge and Learning Centre, Victoria Harbour, Ontario. She currently resides in Alberta.
Marilyn James - Marilyn is spokesperson for the Sinixt Nation. She works as a counsellor at Selkirk College in Castlegar and is on the West Kootenay Early Years Council for Success By 6 in the West Kootenays. Her workshop Taking it to the Water will give a traditional teaching that helps people deal with emotional issues and the stress of our often-hectic lives.
Christine McLellan - lives in the Slocan Valley and is the program coordinator for Kootenay Restorative Justice. She will give a presentation on Restorative Justice and Circle Sentencing which engages a traditional Aboriginal approach for dealing with conflict and legal issues.
Marlowe Martell - is an addictions counsellor working in Trail. She has a BSW and MSW from the University of British Columbia. Marlowe is Shuswap from Spallumcheen Nation in Enderby. During her workshop, she and members of her FASD support group, will lead participants through defining what FASD is and looking at positive characteristics of having FASD.
Ed Pongrasz - is the Executive Director of the Lower Columbia All First Nations (LCAFN). He is also the Employment Training Coordinator for the LCAFN. Ed is from the Haida Nation, is a board member with Interior Health Aboriginal Health, and is the urban representative for the Aboriginal People's Family Accord. He is currently involved in a new piece of work in the West Kootenays around suicide survival.
Marion LeRat - is Cree and works for Native Social Services in Calgary, Alberta. She is an Elder, ceremony keeper and traditional and Pow Wow dancer.
John LeRat - is a Cree Elder and has been a Fire Keeper for many years. He resides in Calgary with his partner Marion.
