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The Western Canadian Mental Health & Education Summit | Day Two [Calgary, AB]

$229.00

6 Hours  |   Pre-approved for CEU’s

Presenter
Presented by Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, Ph.D., and Samaria Nancy Cardinal, MSW, RSW
Date and Format
November 5, 2026
Categories: , , ,
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LIVE STREAM: November 5, 2026 from  8:30am – 4:00pm (Calgary AB) Please adjust your start time according to your specific time zone. 

ON-DEMAND: Recorded footage & course content (certificate, videos, quiz) will be available until December 20, 2027. Please allow 3 – 10 business days for footage to be processed. Extensions cannot be granted under any circumstances.

Day Two – November 5, 2026

3. Reclaiming Childhood and Adolescence in a Technology-Saturated World: Indigenous Perspectives on Development, Connection, Community, and Resilience
Presented by Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, Ph.D.

8:30am – 4:00pm   November 5, 2026

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION 

Children today are growing up in a rapidly changing world where technology, artificial intelligence, social media, and digital entertainment have become central parts of daily life. While these advancements offer many opportunities, they have also raised important questions about their impact on child development, social connection, emotional well-being, and overall health.

Many children now spend significantly less time outdoors, have fewer opportunities for face-to-face social interaction, and are increasingly exposed to online influences, violence, and digital content that may shape their perceptions of themselves and the world around them. Families, educators, and communities are witnessing growing concerns related to social isolation, emotional dysregulation, attention difficulties, anxiety, and challenges in developing empathy, compassion, and meaningful relationships.

This workshop will explore the influence of technology, artificial intelligence, social media, and violence on the healthy development of children and youth. Participants will examine whether modern technology contributes to impaired neurodevelopment and how increasing screen use may affect emotional, cognitive, social, and relational development.

Drawing upon Indigenous perspectives, participants will explore the importance of connection, compassion, empathy, community, culture, and relationships in supporting healthy development. The workshop will highlight the value of land-based learning and experiences in nature as important protective factors that promote resilience, belonging, identity, emotional well-being, and healthy growth.

Participants will be encouraged to critically examine the role technology plays in children’s lives while exploring practical ways to restore balance through relationships, community engagement, cultural connection, outdoor experiences, and opportunities for meaningful human interaction.

Through discussion, reflection, storytelling, and shared learning, participants will gain a deeper understanding of how Indigenous teachings and community-centered approaches can help support children and youth in an increasingly digital world.

4. Integrating Indigenous and Western Healing Strategies and Perspectives
Presented by Samaria Nancy Cardinal, MSW, RSW

8:30am – 4:00pm   November 5, 2026

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

This one-day, in-person workshop supports helpers and clinicians to integrate Indigenous-informed healing perspectives with selected Western approaches through a respectful, non-appropriative “both/and” lens. Participants will explore how Indigenous wellness is often heart-centred, relational, and grounded in story, land, and community, rather than primarily head-based or individually focused. We will introduce the Medicine Wheel as a non-diagnostic balance check-in (Physical, Emotional, Mental, Spiritual) to help participants notice “signals” instead of pathologizing “symptoms, and to guide collaborative, consent-based goal setting.

A core emphasis is relational accountability (“All My Relations”): understanding the person within a web of relationships: family, chosen kin, community, ancestors, and land. Participants will practise language and consent scripts that increase cultural safety, and learn how to hold a witnessing stance rather than an expert-fixer role. We will also build a practical stabilization toolkit that includes non-ceremonial land-informed grounding (natural elements as co-regulators) and seasonal awareness to normalize shifts in energy and capacity.

Important boundary: this workshop does not teach or replicate a ceremony. Instead, it supports ethical practice, clear scope, and relational referral pathways (e.g., Indigenous friendship centres, community programs, land-based walking groups, and appropriate cultural supports). Participants will leave with practical tools, worksheets, and an integration plan they can apply immediately, while staying accountable to humility, consent, and community connection.

  • Examine the impact of technology, artificial intelligence, social media, and violence on child and youth development.
  • Explore current research and perspectives regarding technology and impaired neurodevelopment.
  • Understand how technology and screen-based lifestyles may influence children’s social, emotional, cognitive, and relational development.
  • Recognize the importance of empathy, compassion, connection, and community in fostering healthy development.
  • Explore Indigenous perspectives on child development, relationships, belonging, and wellness.
  • Understand the role of land-based learning and nature experiences in supporting resilience and well-being.
  • Identify protective factors that promote healthy development in children and youth.
  • Reflect on practical strategies for balancing technology use with opportunities for connection, culture, community, and outdoor experiences.
  • Develop approaches for supporting healthy development in homes, schools, and communities.
  • Describe two-eyed seeing as a “both/and” integration stance and name key cultural safety principles.
  • Use the Medicine Wheel as a non-diagnostic balance check-in to identify “signals” and strengths.
  • Explain relational accountability (“All My Relations”) and apply co-regulation concepts beyond individual self-regulation.
  • Demonstrate consent-based opening and repair language that reduces shame and increases safety.
  • Practice non-ceremonial, land-informed grounding and seasonal awareness adaptations for stabilization.
  • Create an ethical integration plan that avoids defaulting to CBT, clarifies boundaries, and strengthens community referral pathways.

Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, Ph.D. served as Vice Provost for Indigenous Initiatives at Lakehead University for three years. Effective September 2016 she was appointed as the 1st Indigenous Chair for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada for Lakehead University and continues to develop pathways forward to reconciliation across Canada. Cynthia was inducted as a “Honourary Witness” by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in 2014, and is the Chair of the Governing Circle for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba.

Cynthia was the inaugural Nexen Chair for Indigenous Leadership at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity where she remains a faculty member and is currently the Interim Director for the Indigenous Leadership Program. She is also Chair of the Teach for Canada non-profit which recruits teachers for remote First Nation schools in Ontario and Manitoba.

Cynthia is a member and resident of the Chippewa of Georgina Island First Nation in Ontario and has dedicated her life to building bridges of understanding. She sees endless merit in bringing people from diverse cultures, ages, and backgrounds together to engage in practical dialogue and applied research initiatives. She is deeply committed to public education and offers as many as 150 key notes, workshops, and training sessions annually to a variety of groups, organizations and institutions. She teaches on historic and contemporary Indigenous trauma and wisdom, treaties and right relations, active youth engagement, and Indigenizing education.

She is always interested in mentoring young people and co-founded a youth project out of the University of Toronto, the University of Saskatchewan and Lakehead University. More information on the Canadian Roots Exchange (CRE) can be found at: www.canadianroots.ca.

Samaria Nancy Cardinal, MSW (Clinical Practice), RSW, Candidate for RCSW, is a Blackfoot–Métis Mental Wellness therapist, educator, and the Owner/Lead Indigenous Therapy Specialist at Flower In The Wind Therapy in Calgary, Alberta. With over 20 years of experience across disability, addictions, and mental health, Samaria provides trauma-informed, culturally grounded care that weaves together Indigenous healing practices and evidence-based clinical approaches. She is EMDR certified and trained in modalities including DBT, narrative therapy, mindfulness, Indigenous-focused oriented therapy, and Indigenous Tools for Daily Living.

In addition to her clinical practice, Samaria is an experienced facilitator and instructor, supporting learning through workshops, guest lecturing, and post-secondary teaching. She is a Sessional Instructor at Mount Royal University and provides supervision support for Bachelor of Social Work students. Her work is rooted in cultural safety, relational accountability, and practical, strengths-based tools that participants can carry into their professional and personal lives.

Education and Clinical Professionals: All education and mental health or healthcare professionals who work with children or youth including, but not limited to K–12 Classroom Teachers, School Counsellors, Learning Assistance/Resource Teachers, School Administrators, School Paraprofessionals including Special Education Assistants, Classroom Assistants and Childcare Workers • All other professionals who support behavioural challenges and complex learning needs including but not limited to: Nurses, Social Workers, Psychologists, Clinical Counsellors, Family Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists, Addiction Counsellors, Youth Workers, Mental Health Workers, Probation Officers and Community Police Officers.

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