pihtikwê - Visits with First Nations Psychologists

Dr. Gwendolyn Villebrun characterizes her early work by the impacts of TRC on Indigenous peoples’ mental health. During TRC, the integrity shown by survivors of the residential school system were simultaneous with the reopening of emotional wounds. Dr. Villebrun shares many successes from her career, yet she sees psychology as being far from offering culturally safe and relevant services for Indigenous peoples. Accountability from powerful systems and collaboration with communities is needed to

Jeff Wastesicoot shares insight from decades of experience sharing medicine through traditional language and ceremony. With evidence and skilled storytelling – through retelling Indigenous histories and personal stories – Wastesicoot doubly demonstrates the power of language. The nêhiyawak language and culture, which Wastesicoot has dedicated much of his life to preserving, are infused with the laws of the creator. Indigenous languages offer access to spiritual learning and knowledge, and are vi

In this episode, Dr. Ansloos discusses the significant implications of his work pertaining to suicide. He discusses the complexities of caring for individuals with serious trauma related to colonial violence, including how their experiences may be at once deeply painful, requiring support, yet hotly surveilled and sometimes criminalized. He describes his work as harm-reduction. Dr. Ansloos also discusses his personal wellness plan as a psychologist, as well as his critique of the current state o

In this first episode our three hosts, Dr. Brenda Restoule (First Peoples Wellness Circle), Dr. Holly Graham (University of Saskatchewan), and Dr. Alanaise Ferguson (University of British Columbia-Okanagan) recap Season 1 and their vision for Season 2 of this podcast and their journeys into the world of psychology and mental health and wellness.

Dr Ethsi Stewart is a proud member of the Yellowknife Dene First Nation and a registered psychologist. She is Director of the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health, and the first Indigenous full Professor at the University of Toronto, in the Department of Social and Behaviour Health Sciences at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

Dr. Michael Yellow Bird is a proud member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation in North Dakota, and he is a Professor at the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba. There his research focuses on the effects of colonization and methods of decolonization, ancestral health, intermittent fasting, Indigenous mindfulness and the cultural significance of Rez dogs.