Where are the Children?

The Healing Movement

As the civil rights movement swept through North America in the 1960s, organizations seeking to empower Aboriginal Peoples emerged. The American Indian Movement in the U.S and National Indian Brotherhood in Canada agitated for social change and, along with other developments, signaled the beginning of what is often referred to as the healing movement. Amendments to the Indian Act removed prohibitions that had forced traditional ceremonies underground. And, with the guidance of Elders, Aboriginal teachings and cultural practices reemerged in communities where these were lost or difficult to practice.

Many Aboriginal people sought out knowledge holders in other communities near and far to revive traditional spirituality, and to re-introduce healing practices like smudging, the sweat lodge, the use of the sacred pipe, fasting, vision quests, and ceremonies for naming, healing, and reconciliation. At times, these practices conflicted with Christian teachings that had become a part of some Native communities, but efforts were made to find common ground.

As these community-based healing efforts began to grow, personal growth programs also began to gain popularity. Alcoholics Anonymous made an important contribution to the healing movement by providing a structured path for individual healing. Later in the early 1970s, federally funded programs that addressed Aboriginal addiction, like the National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program (NNADAP), began working with Native communities. A grass root initiative, "The Four Worlds Elders Conference" of December 1982, brought together forty different tribal groups to discuss strategies to address Aboriginal addictions. And treatment centres, like the Round Lake Treatment Centre (Vernon, BC), incorporated Aboriginal concepts of healing in their addictions program. These and other initiatives brought a greater acceptance and sensitivity to the unique healing needs of Aboriginal peoples in Canada.

Later in that decade, mainstream perspectives on healthcare began to change, and this led to a movement that centred on health promotion and healthy communities. The Declaration of Alma-Ata in 1978 by the World Health Organization defined health as "not only the absence of disease" but also as control over those things which led to health, a view in harmony with traditional Aboriginal concepts of healing. Holistic approaches to health, which emphasize healthy lifestyles, relationships, and communities, together with personal growth programs and traditional spirituality and healing practices have all contributed to the efforts to heal the intergenerational impacts of Residential Schools.