Indigenous Voices, Stories, and Healthcare Workshops in Dawson Creek and Fort St John

In June, the HARC team finished accredited Indigenous Voices, Stories, and Healthcare workshops in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John with the Northern Health Pharmacy staff. We had 10 attendees in Dawson Creek and 12 in Fort St. John. Elder Maizie Metecheah and Joanne West from Halfway River First Nation attended in Fort St. John to open our workshop in a good way and share their hopes for continued commitment to improving the care of Indigenous peoples seeking healthcare in northern BC.

These workshops used a variety of art-based methods to help people engage with their hearts to work towards cultural agility in their work. Participants engaged in forum theatre, Indigenous storytelling, one-cut book, blind contour drawing, narrative medicine, and “pocket” crafting to create a wall hanging.

One participant shared that they were surprised at how good the workshop made them feel. They shared that they arrived thinking the workshop would make them feel guilty, but instead they felt like, “I’m not a bad person, and I can always try again when I mess up.”