Indigenous Peoples in Canada

Indigenous Peoples in Canada
Name
Date
Institutional Affiliations

Dr. Lynn Lavallee is currently the vice-provost of indigenous engagements in the University of Manitoba. She helped initiate the Ryerson’s Aboriginal Education Council and later was appointed the chair of the Aboriginal Council. She is an expert in the indigenous research. Jennifer Poole, on the other hand, is an associate professor and the graduate program director of the School of Social work at Ryerson’s school. Her research areas revolve around the racialized refugees and immigrant women, integration of anti-black movement and sanism, and mental health. The two researches on the social wellbeing of the aboriginal people in Canada include areas of their colonization, healing, and health. The stance of the author is that for there to be complete healing; the aboriginal people must not be separated with their cultures. Further, there require too many socio-political changes for them to feel associated. It also calls for incorporation of community education to their culture to gradually diffuse the irate cultures.
Aboriginal or indigenous people refer to the first or original inhabitants of the land now regarded as Canada. In their research, Lavallee and Poole (2009) assess how people respond to the mental health recovery when the indigenous experience is adopted as a means of healing and how the health of the aboriginal people in Canada can be discussed without coining in the subjects of colonization and identity.

The research reveals that it is undeniably complex for the indigenous people to recover beyond the Western cultures. They need to overcome social pressure, the notion of colonization, identity, and cultural-spiritual beliefs to integrate with the community. Indigenous culture requires the indigenous patient to understand the spiritual and cultural traditions (native pride). It is believed that healing must start with a cultural understanding of mental health to physical and cultural activity programs. These claims were confirmed by the respondents who ascertained that attending the NCCT (National Canadian Center of Toronto) and other cultural ceremonies, like sweats and drumming, contributed to their healing. It means that the aboriginal though living with other communities have maintained their natural heritages and consider them vital for mental and social recuperation.

References
Lavallee, L., & Poole, J. (2009). Beyond Recovery: Colonization, Health, and Healing for Indigenous People in Canada. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 8(2), 271-281. doi: 10.1007/s11469-009-9239-8