What Is Healing?

Healing is how someone finds the power within themselves to be whole again. An individual begins this journey by creating balance within their physical, mental, social, and spiritual selves. This could include ties to an Indigenous person's culture, land, language, and identity. However, healing is not only for one individual; it can be for a nation, community, family, and friends.

Healing is an ongoing process that takes many forms. The Indian Act restricted Indigenous culture and the laws prohibited Indigenous peoples practices of traditional healing. Today many Indigenous people heal through their cultural practices and their connections to the land. For example, sharing circles are a vital, safe, and open space for Survivors to tell their lived experiences, whether good or bad. There is time to reflect and listen while others talk, and the group will then come together in solidarity and support. Every Survivor has their own journey and must be respected in that journey.

The systems in place that continue to oppress Indigenous people need to be addressed and dismantled. Learning can be a tool to support healing and dismantling colonization. Decolonization can happen through education.