Description
LIVE STREAM: May 12 – 14, 2025 from 8:30am – 4:00pm (Saskatoon, SK) Please adjust your start time according to your specific time zone.
ON-DEMAND: Recorded footage & course content (certificate, videos, quiz) will be available until June 2, 2025. Please allow 3 – 10 business days for footage to be processed. Extensions cannot be granted under any circumstances.
Registration will close May 11, 2025.
Monday, May 12, 2025 | Day One
Empowering Ourselves to Strengthen Our Future
This one-day workshop, facilitated by Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, will focus on the integration of traditional Indigenous healing and spiritual practices within mental health and educational frameworks. Designed for professionals working with children, adolescents, young adults, families, and communities, it will offer practical tools and culturally grounded insights that can be applied in clinical, educational, or community settings.
Participants will explore strategies for supporting cultural revitalization and community healing, with a particular emphasis on fostering sustainable, Indigenized practices. The workshop will provide opportunities for deep engagement with Indigenous healing traditions, encouraging reflection on both personal and community experiences. Through collaborative discussions and activities, attendees will develop actionable strategies for revitalizing and integrating traditional spiritual practices into contemporary mental health and educational approaches.
Whether you work with individuals, families, or larger community groups, this session will equip you with practical knowledge to enrich your work and support the healing and resilience of Indigenous communities.
8:30 am – 9:30 am | Keynote: “Empowering Ourselves to Strengthen Our Future”
Presenter: Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux
In this keynote, Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux will explore how empowering Indigenous communities to reclaim traditional practices can lead to stronger, more resilient futures. Attendees will gain insights into the intersections between mental health, culture, and spiritual practices, and understand the role of these elements in community healing and revitalization.
10:00 am – 10:30 am | Opening Prayer & Introduction of Participants
Facilitated by Resident Elder
This sacred space will begin with an Elder-led prayer to honor the spiritual traditions that shape the gathering. Following the prayer, there will be an introduction of participants, offering a chance to connect and share intentions for the workshop.
10:30 am – 11:15 am | Session Goals and Objectives: Unpacking and Restoring Foundations of Healing
Presenter: Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux
This session will examine the current state of Indigenous healing practices in communities, identifying strengths, challenges, and gaps. Participants will engage in a conversation about their own perceptions and the biases that shape how healing is approached. This will involve unpacking meta-cognition and beliefs around Indigenous health practices and how these ideas have evolved or been impacted by external systems.
11:30 am – 12:15 pm | What Does Planning and Strategy Have to Do with Healing and Spiritual Practices?
Presenter: Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux
This session will address the importance of strategic planning for community health initiatives. It will highlight the difference between creating a short-term plan and sustaining a long-term strategy for healing and spiritual practices. Participants will engage in a group discussion about their own experiences in planning and executing healing practices in their communities, exploring the disconnect between intention and actionable strategy.
12:15 pm – 1:00 pm | Lunch Break
A chance to reflect, network, and connect with others over lunch.
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm | Decolonizing or Indigenizing Relations?
Participants will work in small groups to explore the difference between decolonizing and Indigenizing relationships with community members, allies, and organizations. This interactive session will focus on practical examples from attendees’ experiences, with the goal of developing strategies that empower communities to take ownership of their healing processes while respecting traditional practices.
2:30 pm – 3:15 pm | Indigenous vs. Western Leadership: Expectations, Communication, and Collaboration
Presenter: Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux
This session will delve into the key differences between Indigenous and Western leadership models, examining how each informs community healing and spiritual practices. Participants will learn about Indigenous approaches to leadership, collaboration, and conflict resolution, particularly around peacemaking and healing. Through reflection and group activities, attendees will explore how traditional leadership styles can be integrated into contemporary systems of change.
3:30 pm – 4:15 pm | Practical Healing Tools: Dream House and “I Am” Exercises
Facilitated by Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux
This session will offer two interactive exercises: the Dream House Exercise and the “I Am” Exercise. The Dream House is a community-building and asset-mapping tool that encourages participants to identify strengths and resources within their communities. The “I Am” exercise invites participants to engage in group poetry as a way to connect and reflect on their shared experiences and vision for the future. These exercises serve as practical tools for fostering collaboration and resilience within communities.
4:15 pm – 5:00 pm | Closing Circle: Reflections and Commitments
Participants will gather to reflect on their learnings from the day and discuss how they plan to apply these insights in their work, whether in the classroom, clinic, or community. Cynthia will facilitate a closing discussion that encourages participants to make personal commitments toward integrating traditional healing and spiritual practices into their professional and personal lives.
Education and Clinical Professionals: K–12 Classroom Teachers, School Counsellors/Psychologists, Learning Assistance/ Resource Teachers, School Administrators, School Paraprofessionals including Special Education Assistants, Classroom Assistants and Childcare Workers. All other professionals who support students 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 Early Childhood Educators.
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.
| Registration | Early bird Fee | Regular Fee |
|---|
| Individual 1 Day Enrollment | $244.00 | N/A |
| Individual 2 Day Enrollment | $484.00 | N/A |
| Individual 3 Day Enrollment | $664.00 | N/A |
All fees are in Canadian dollars ($CAD) and per person.
Group rates and student discounts are available. Please contact webinars@jackhirose.com for more information.
Fees are per person, seat sharing is not allowed. Please respect this policy, failure to comply will result in termination of access without a refund. For group rates please contact webinars@jackhirose.com
