Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Tungasuvvingat Inuit (TI) is an Inuit health and social service agency located in Ottawa, Canada that has gained significant experience in the design, development, delivery and evaluation of Inuit-specific addiction treatment and healing services through its program, Mamisarvik Healing Centre which provides a continuum of healing services from assessment through to aftercare in a culturally and linguistically relevant manner for Inuit. Mamisarvik is the only healing center of its kind in Canada and has been recognized as a center of excellence. The proposed joint oral presentation on the Mamisarvik Healing Centre model will highlight it as an Indigenous solution for recovery from the impacts of colonialism on Inuit culture and language, including the residential school experience, forced relocations, slaying of Inuit sled dogs as well as personal experiences of physical and sexual abuse. The presentation will start with the lighting of the qulliq, a traditional oil lamp, representing Inuit resiliency and strength to survive and thrive in their Arctic homelands. It will then flow into a presentation on how the innovative Mamisarvik program helps Inuit clients move towards healthy futures through participation in a therapeutic program that combines western and Inuit healing modalities while holding Inuit culture and language as primary tools for healing from addictions and trauma. The Inuit history portion of the program will be highlighted along with its de-colonizing and empowering impacts on participants. A key message of the presentation will be that Inuit can and have developed solutions and integrated services to address the destructive outcomes of the fast cultural and societal changes that have occurred over the last 2-3 generations and that Inuit are now moving forward, healing, regaining control and creating a flourishing future.