Through our own eyes : a study of healing as elucidated by the narratives of First Nations individuals

• Main Author: Loft, Michael.
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: McGill University 2007
• Subjects: Off-reservation boarding schools > Canada; Indian children > Abuse of > Canada; Healing; Canada; Indian; First Nations
• Online Access: http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=100742

For some Aboriginal people, healing is a relatively new word that seems to have emerged and taken on a life of its own only after the 1990 Mohawk Crisis and the ensuing Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP, 1996). In spite of the massive 4000-page RCAP report, some mainstream authorities (Brasfield, 2001) still believe that the meaning of Aboriginal healing has not been fully explained. In this study, an attempt will be made to widen the meaning of Aboriginal healing by examining ancient Haudenosaunee (People of the Longhouse) philosophy, historical cultural upheaval, and narratives from First Nations survivors of Indian residential schools and a Holocaust survivor. The results have shown a connection between Aboriginal healing and Canadian society. Healing can only occur if the wound is not continuously reopened such as when long-standing land claims remain unsettled, Indigenous language and culture programs are neglected, and a People are ignored.