Ongoing Initiatives

September 29, 2020

Indigenous Voices, Stories, and Healthcare at the University of Northern British Columbia, Northwest Campus (Terrace)

  The HARC team was inspired and encouraged by the energy and conversations surrounding our most recent workshop, “Indigenous Voices, Stories, and Healthcare” held at the UNBC Northwest Campus (Terrace) on September 23rd. Warm thanks and appreciation to our presenters, storytellers, and helpers, Coco Miller, Nicole Halbauer, Erica Wilson, Sarah de Leeuw, and Lisa Striegler and to the Terrace Physician Initiative Group Society (TPIGS) team, as well as to all those …

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March 11, 2020

March Envisioning Health Art Night with Nadleh Whut’En

This month’s gathering of Envisioning Health with Nadleh Whut’En was attended by community members of all ages, who began working together to build a mixed media mural. To spark ideas for the mural, community members were asked the question, “What does health or wellness look like to you?” After a delicious dinner of roast chicken and baked potatoes, community members started creating different artistic pieces to become part of the …

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February 14, 2020

Indigenous Voices, Stories, and Healthcare at the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia

The HARC team was encouraged and inspired by the insights and conversations surrounding our most recent iteration of “Indigenous Voices, Stories, and Healthcare”, a 3-hour workshop created with the aim of working towards a more culturally humble healthcare system embracing Indigenous peoples and Indigenous knowledges. Experiences, critical discussions, and stories were shared by local Indigenous and non-Indigenous healthcare providers, health researchers, patients, nursing students, medical students, and writers. The workshop …

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January 20, 2020

January Envisioning Health Art Night with Nadleh Whut’En

We were so excited to see new and returning faces at the first Envisioning Health with Nadleh Whut’En Art Night of 2020.  After a nutritious and warm dinner together of moose stew, raw veggies, fruit and cake, the art activities began! This month’s project was string-nail wall art! Creating these beautiful art pieces involved using image stencils (some people creatively drew their own) to draw out different shapes on a …

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December 12, 2019

Art Displays, Food & Festivities for the Nadleh Whut’En Annual Holiday Event

On December 11th, members of the Health Arts Research Centre joined the community of Nadleh Whut’En for their annual holiday event! During the night, event attendees had the opportunity to walk through a stunning display of several artworks that community members created as part of Envisioning Health, an arts and strengths-based community partnership project. These artworks will be kept on display throughout the holiday season. The night was full of …

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October 17, 2019

September & October ‘Envisioning Health’ Art Nights with Nadleh Whut’En

The Envisioning Health partnership project with Dr. Terri Aldred and the northern BC community of Nadleh Whut’En continues to gather monthly to explore creativity, health and wellbeing.  The project began in the spring of 2018 and employs arts, community- and strengths-based approaches to explore what optimal health and wellness means to community members of all ages. Evening gatherings include socializing around a meal and participating in individual and group expression …

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Final Report & Video: Northern BC Indigenous Youth Science and Health Summer Camp

     This past July, 2019, the Health Arts Research Centre worked with First Nations Health Authority, Northern Health, and UNBC to organize and pilot a Science and Health Summer Camp for Indigenous youth from communities in northern British Columbia. The purpose of the camp was to introduce Indigenous youth from northern BC to a postsecondary environment and encourage them to learn more about health and diverse sciences, potentially inspiring …

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August 6, 2019

A.R.T. Show at the College of New Caledonia (Nechako) Campus in Vanderhoof

Participants in the A.R.T. (Art/Relationships/Therapy) Program, an initiative funded by the Health Arts Research Centre, are holding an art show at the College of New Caledonia (Nechako) Campus in Vanderhoof from July 29th – September 10th, 2019. The campus and art show will be open for visiting during the following dates & times: Weekdays from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm from July 29th to August 16th
Weekdays from 8:30 …

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August 1, 2019

The FIRST Science and Health Summer Camp for Northern BC Indigenous Youth was a HUGE Success!

From July 15th through the 19th, Indigenous youth from northern BC attended a Science and Health Summer Camp at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC). The purpose of the camp was to introduce Indigenous youth to a post-secondary environment and inspire them to learn more about and potentially pursue health and science-related careers. Campers stayed overnight in the Keyoh student residence building on the UNBC campus and ate meals …

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July 7, 2019

Upcoming A.R.T. Show at the College of New Caledonia Campus in Vanderhoof!

Participants in the A.R.T. (Art/Relationships/Therapy) Program, an initiative funded by the HARC, will be holding an art show at the College of New Caledonia (Nechako) Campus in Vanderhoof from July 29th – September 10th, 2019. The campus and art show will be open for visiting during the following dates & times: Weekdays from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm from July 29th to August 16th Weekdays from 8:30 am – 4:00 pm …

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May 21, 2019

Continuing to Envision Health with Nadleh Whut’En

  The “Envisioning Health” partnership project with Dr. Terri Aldred and the community of Nadleh Whut’En continues to gather monthly to explore creativity, health and wellbeing, and it’s always so fun and inspiring to see what is created during our time together! Here are some photos highlighting art made during our last few gatherings, where we created shadowboxes and painted rocks.  

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February 10, 2019

Notions and Bundles: The Biases and Gifts We Bring to a Blanket of Cultural Respect

              Notions and Bundles: The Biases and Gifts We Bring to a Blanket of Cultural Respect is a three-hour, open-ended and strengths-based workshop designed to encourage storied critical self-reflection about cultural respect, especially as enacted by non-Indigenous settler peoples with Indigenous children, families, communities and people. The workshop is anchored in two simple premises. First, every person has biases and gifts, both of which inform cultural relationships. Second, when heads, hands, AND …

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January 10, 2019

Northern BC Indigenous Youth Science & Health Camp

  Registration is open now through to May 31st, 2019 for the Northern BC Indigenous Youth Science & Health Camp! Successful applicants will be chosen based on first come first serve and with respect to geographic diversity, and parents will be contacted with the official camp registration forms in early June. See how to apply below:

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December 20, 2018

Continuing Conversations around Health, Community and Creative Expression: Envisioning Health with Nadleh Whut’En

The “Envisioning Health” partnership project with Dr. Terri Aldred and the northern BC community of Nadleh Whut’En continues to develop in exciting and creative ways as we close out 2018. We recently spent another evening together, sharing food and laughter, creating winter and holiday-themed cards, and talking about ideas and themes for future gatherings. As the evening came to a close, community members used colourful scrapbook paper to write ideas for future art and health topics, as well as …

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June 11, 2018

Envisioning Health with Nadleh Whut’En

The Health Arts Research Centre is very excited to share about a recently developed partnership project with Dr. Terri Aldred, Indigenous Family Physician, and the northern BC community of Nadleh Whut’En. ​The “Envisioning Health with Nadleh Whut’En” project began in the spring of 2018 and will gather monthly over the coming year, employing arts, community- and strengths-based approaches to explore what optimal health and wellness means to community members of all ages. Evening gatherings include socializing around a meal and participating in individual and group expression through a variety of …

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March 13, 2017

Community-based Learning Program for UNBC Northern Medical Program Students

First Nations Community Education Program (FNCEP):  Cultural Learning & Immersion The First Nations Health Authority, Northern Health, the Northern Medical Program, and the Health Arts Research Centre have partnered on a unique program that offers MD undergraduate students an opportunity to be immersed in a northern BC First Nations community. The opportunity is designed to have medical students deeply absorbed into a northern First Nation community and thus provide future physicians an …

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