A message from Carla Lewis, FNHA Traditional Wellness Specialist
The reconnection to land and the reclamation of our sacred places is foundational to our Indigenous identity and cultures. Through land-based healing and wellness we can revive our spirit, relearn our traditional practices, and revitalize our sacred connection to all our relations.
Many of us are incredibly fortunate to be able to continue to access our traditional territories and spend time on our lands and waters whether we are living in our ancestral territories or if we have to travel to reconnect. During this unprecedented time, the land will undoubtedly continue to be a major source of wellness and healing that can lift up our spirits and provide a sense of connection and purpose.
Ideas for supporting land–based wellness and healing during COVID-19:
• Support food security through harvesting, hunting and fishing. If your community has easy access to the territory, individuals and families who are familiar with these practices can continue to go out harvesting plant foods or traditional foods. It can be unsafe for people who are entirely unfamiliar with harvesting to go out independently without guidance. As many more people may be accessing the territory at this time, you may want to monitor overharvesting in your area.
• Support land-based healing. Spend time out on the land by going for walks or hikes, meditation, and spiritual reconnection. If your community has easy access to the territory, individuals and families who are familiar with these practices can continue to go out harvesting traditional medicines. A special reminder from traditional teachings: take only what we need (no pandemic hoarding).
• Provide online classes/workshops to your community members on topics such as:
o Encourage storytelling. Focus on the importance of the land, e.g., land-based values, knowledge, governance, and oral history. Many of our stories relate us back to the land. Encourage discussion after these teachings to make these connections, which may not always be stated clearly in our stories.
o Provide language/song/drumming lessons. Teach language, traditional songs, drumming, etc. online. Focus on land-based teachings. Where or whenever possible, offer or practise these teachings in outdoor spaces, practising physical distancing.
o Coordinate online ceremonies, teachings, prayers, songs. Highlight the teachings on caring for or connecting to the land, including the animals, stones, water, and plants.
• Plan ahead for warmer days. Support fishing, swimming, canoeing, kayaking in the lakes, berry picking, camping, and other fun spring-summer land-based activities that can be done in self-isolated small groups.
• Support individuals with addiction or in recovery. Provide ways for these individuals to access the land for healing combined with cultural and mental wellness supports. Problem solve collaboratively to help troubleshoot access and transportation when needed or complete activities in walking distance to include more vulnerable members who may not have vehicles or means to access the territory. Land-based and cultural grounding is often the most helpful part of treatment for these members, so please find ways to include them in these opportunities, especially during this time of limited programming and support, combined with more isolation and stressors.
Learn more here about Precautions and Safety Considerations to support land-based healing and wellness.
You can also learn more about land-based healing and other resources here.
