The Culture and Wellness team is a branch of our Community Relations and Solidarity (CRS) department, and is dedicated to creating spaces for Indigenous youth to access programming that nurtures cultural connection and the concept of (w)holistic wellness. We believe that wellness is rooted in a sense of belonging and interconnection to all our relations, through finding ourselves within part of the greater whole. Our programming focuses on Traditional Knowledge, storytelling, land-based education, earth-working and arts-based workshops. We believe that these are the heartbeat and most vital elements for building confidence, a sense of healthy identity and strengthening community relationships.

Our Culture & Wellness Program team:

  • Offers responsive, nation-specific programming that values marginalized Indigenous youth experiences and self-determination
  • Provides the reclamation of traditional and creative learning spaces for Indigenous youth who hold a variety of identities
  • Empowers Indigenous youth through relationship and capacity-building programming
  • Connects Indigenous youth to Elders and Knowledge Holders within their own community and across Turtle Island

Our Initiatives

We provide spaces for youth who hold a variety of identities to engage in cultural knowledge and knowledge sharing. Many of our programs focus on the importance of creating spaces for those who may not feel included in conventional programming environments for any number of reasons. We believe that everyone’s bundle carries significance.

This is important because Indigenous traditional ways of knowing always focus on strengthening the whole community, and this can only be done when no one is left behind. Spaces designed with particular Indigenous youth needs in mind increase connection and engagement and allow us to support one another in more meaningful ways. In some situations, this may mean that this is the first time a participant feels seen, acknowledged and celebrated for who they really are.

Cultural Practices and Language Revitalization Programming

Our In Motion series is based on relationality, how we connect to “all our relations” and the moving pieces of the relationships we hold with all living things. We tend to all that surrounds us, with care, love and understanding. We learn to see each other and all living things as having a story — one that is deeper and connects us to a web of ancestral histories and future paths. Our teachings also remind us of the cycles of change and always being in constant movement. To be “in motion” is to understand that our actions influence the world around us, seven generations back and seven generations forward.

Our in-motion programs aim to reflect these teachings by showing us a way forward through generative and inspiring workshops and seasonal storytelling that reminds us of who we are.

Two Spirit Cultural Revitalization and Wellness Programming

Two Spirit Regalia Skills Program was developed to provide a culturally specific space for Two-Spirit youth to learn beginner skills in a patient environment and make their own regalia. Our programs arose from the feedback of focus groups and consultations with Two-Spirit community members of diverse identities and nationhoods throughout 2020-2021. During these sessions they expressed the need for more inclusive spaces to access culture, ceremony and regalia making. Our program addresses cultural safety by hosting a space that acknowledges the need for:

  • Safer virtual programming during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Respect and privacy of Two Spirit community members who are presently navigating identity and personal safety
  • A closed facilitation space that is mediated and trauma-informed
  • Peer-led spaces designed by and for Two Spirit voices

For More Information

Community Relations & Solidarity, Manager of Culture and Wellness

Our Programming is currently Closed – Stay Tuned!

  • Closed

    The Words in Motion program provides spaces for youth between 18-29 to reconnect to their traditional languages in an online virtual format. Young language speakers can facilitate an introduction in their Indigenous language to youth peers, creating leadership skills, community building and interaction, and developing their capacity for peer mentorship.

  • Closed

    In a Two Spirit-led environment structured around acceptance and lateral kindness, participants have the opportunity to complete guided, yet customizable short crafting projects in a live workshop setting.

  • Closed

    The Seeds in Motion program provides spaces for youth between 18-29 to learn about culture, grow a community, and explore traditional crafting. It focuses on teachings about plants, medicines, seed saving, and harvesting, hunting practices, lunar cycles, and storytelling. It aims to nurture a space for youth across nations to learn, grow, and connect with one another — in motion.

  • Closed

    This space was designed for youth to explore Two Spirit cultures and histories from futurist, peer-led perspectives, where they could learn beginner skills in a patient environment and make their very own regalia.

Upcoming Culture & Wellness Events

All About Black Joy-Panel Discussion

February 15 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm EST

Winter Legends: Haudenosaunee Star Teachings

January 25 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm EST

Moon & Me: How The Moon Cycles Effect Our Lives

December 15, 2023 @ 2:00 pm EST