miyomahcihowin
miyomahcihowin is an Indigenous student outreach initiative coordinated by the Wellness Supports team in the Office of the Dean of Students (DoS).
We build collaborative partnerships with Indigenous student groups and service areas on campus to provide mental health and wellness resources and host wellness events and activities for Indigenous students, including workshops, guest speakers, cultural activities, student meals, and more.
Campus Health + Wellness Services
Learn more about the many services on campus that support students’ overall health and wellbeing.
Indigenous Mental Health Community Supports
Here is a list of mental health supports available to everyone.
If you or someone you know is looking for Indigenous-specific mental health supports, you can use this list as a starting point:
- 211 Resource List for Indigenous Peoples open in a new tab
Resources include housing, parenting, and substance use support. - Aboriginal Counseling Services of Alberta open in a new tab
Services include family, personal, and group supports and programming for healing. - Alberta Indigenous Virtual Care Clinic (AIVCC) open in a new tab
Access virtual medical and mental health care consultations with clinicians including Primary Care Physicians, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, and Clinical Social Workers. - Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS) Elder and Cultural Support Line open in a new tab
Connect with Elders and Cultural Support Providers for advice and spiritual guidance between 5:30 - 8 p.m. MST, 7 days a week. Call 1-833-414-HEAL / 1-833-414-4325. - Indigenous Psychological Services open in a new tab
Offers inclusive psychological and counselling services for Indigenous, BIPOC, 2SLGBTQIA+ and non-Indigenous people, along with group therapy, circles, workshops, and training.
- Hope for Wellness Helpline open in a new tab
Provides 24/7 support, 7 days a week. Online chat is available in English and French and telephone services are offered in Cree, Anishinaabemowin, and Inuktitut upon request. Call 1-855-242-3310 or online chat at hopeforwellness.ca. - National Indian Residential School Crisis Line open in a new tab
Provides 24-hour crisis support to former Indian Residential School students and their families. Call toll-free at 1-866-925-4419. - MMIWG Crisis Line open in a new tab
Provides 24-hour crisis support to individuals impacted by the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Call toll-free at 1-844-413-6649.
Indigenous Wellness Media Resources
Podcasts
All My Relations by Matika Wilbur and Adrienne Keene explores our relationships to the land, its animals, and each other while discussing issues Indigenous peoples face today.
Episodes are 30 minutes to an hour long.
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Call Her Aunty By Grace and Qua is a podcast by “two Ojibwe chicks trying to live their best life in the city.” Topics include moon time, wellness and exercise, family, prayer, and health for Indigenous women during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Episodes are 20 to 50 minutes long.
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Coffee with My Ma by Kaniehtiio Horn features the lived experiences of Kahentinehtha Horn through the telling of stories.
Episodes range from 20 minutes to 40 minutes long.
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Presenting our Presence (POP) “is a monthly vodcast and podcast that amplifies the voices and visibility of the Indigenous knowledge-holders, learners and change-makers who enliven the University of Alberta community. POP's Indigenous-led protocols and ethics centre knowledge holders' sovereignty as stewards of their own stories.”
Episodes are 20 to 40 minutes long.
Storykeepers: Let’s Talk Indigenous Books by Waubgeshig Rice and Jennifer David discuss with First Nations, Metis, and Inuit authors.
Episodes range from 30 minutes to 50 minutes long.
Listen on Spotify open in a new tab
Also available on Amazon Podcasts and Audible.
Warrior Life Podcast by Pam Palmater “who is award-winning, Mi’kmaw lawyer, and author & activist, as she shares the stories of Indigenous warriors and activists on the front lines of protecting Indigenous lands, peoples, and cultures.”
Episodes range between 30 minutes and 1 hour and 30 minutes long.
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Listen on Apple Podcasts open in a new tab
Well for Culture by Chelsey Luger and Thosh Collins “an Indigenous Wellness initiative which focuses on reclaiming healthy, balanced lifestyles through ancestral knowledge and Indigenous ideologies.”
Episodes range between 20 minutes and 1 hour and 30 minutes long.
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Unreserved by Rosanna DeerChild is a podcast for Indigenous communities, culture, and conversation from those who make national headlines.
Episodes range from 40 minutes to an 1 hour long.
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Young and Indigenous discusses topics by tribal youth and “by listening to the voices of our ancestors, we are reclaiming our narrative and preserving our way of life.”
Episodes range from 20 minutes to 1 hour long.
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Books
- A Recognition of Being: Reconstructing Native Womanhood (2nd ed.) by Kim Anderson
- Becoming Rooted: One Hundred Days of Reconnecting with Sacred Earth by Randy Woodley
- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Decolonizing Trauma Work by Renee Linklater
- Healing the Soul Wound by Eduardo Duran
- Held By the Land: A Guide to Indigenous Plants for Wellness by Leigh Joseph
- Indigenous Healing Psychology: Honouring the Wisdom of the First Peoples by Richard Katz
- Journey to Eloheh: How Indigenous Values Lead us to Harmony and Wellbeing by Randy & Edith Woodley
- Realizing a Good Life: Men’s Pathway out of Drugs and Crime by Elizabeth Comack
- Spirit Wheel: Meditations from an Indigenous Elder by Steven Charleston
- The College Student's Guide to Mental Health by Mia Nosano
- The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- The Seven Circles: Indigenous Teachings for Living Well
- You Are The Medicine: 13 Moons of Indigenous Wisdom, Ancestral Connection, and Animal Spirit Connection by Asha Frost
- Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
- There There by Tommy Orange
- The Theory of Crows by David A. Robertson
- Be A Good Ancestor by Leona Prince and Gabrielle Prince
- Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan
- Finding My Dance by Rita Thundercloud
- The Sharing Circle by Theresa Larsen-Jonassen
- Walking Together by Elder Albert Marshall and Louise Zimanyi
Websites
- Coping with a Stressful Event open in a new tab
- How to Level Up Your Self-Care Game open in a new tab
- How To Practice Mindfulness open in a new tab
- Indigenizing Movement and Mental Health open in a new tab
- Indigenizing Your Self-Care open in a new tab
- Setting Boundaries with Social Media open in a new tab
- Strengthening Holistic Wellness with Self-Care open in a new tab
- Tips on Mental Health open in a new tab
- Elizabeth Fry Northern Alberta open in a new tab
- Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women open in a new tab
- Native Youth Sexual Assault Network open in a new tab
- Native Women's Association of Canada open in a new tab
- Thunderbird Wellness App open in a new tab
- Thunderbird Wellness Bundles open in a new tab
- We Matter Campaign open in a new tab
- We R Native open in a new tab
Videos
- ABCs of Self-Care open in a new tab, 7:31 minutes
- Culture as Prevention open in a new tab, 3:01 minutes
- Connecting to the Spirit in the Land open in a new tab, 9:57 minutes
- Indigenous Perspective on Health & Wellness open in a new tab, 41:11 minutes
- Lifeways open in a new tab, 2:53 minutes
- Medicine Teachings with Elder Francis Whiskeyjack open in a new tab, 13:48 minutes
- Medicine Wheel Teachings with Elder Elsey open in a new tab, 3:33 minutes
- Practice as Ceremony: The Old Knowledge open in a new tab, 10:35 minutes
- Sacred Relationship open in a new tab, 52:31 minutes
- Traditional Medicines and Your Health open in a new tab, 2:34 minutes
- Wahkohtowin: Cree Natural Law open in a new tab, 23:47 minutes
- What is Smudging? open in a new tab 10:08 minutes
Worksheets
Resource Guides
- A Wellness Guide for Indigenous Families open in a new tab
- Filling our Tipis: Fostering Bridges to Mentally Well Urban Indigenous Adolescence open in a new tab
- Indigenous Wellness Framework open in a new tab
- Medicine Wheel for Self Care open in a new tab
- Faculty of Native Studies Self-Care Guide
- Tools of Resiliency: Addressing the wellbeing needs of Indigenous People by Honouring Culture as Treatment open in a new tab
- Revitalizing Culture and Healing: Indigenous Approaches to FASD Prevention open in a new tab
miyomahcihowin Wellness Corner
Look for the miyomahcihowin Wellness Corner in the First Peoples’ House monthly newsletter! The Wellness Corner will spotlight wellness resources and share tips, teachings, quotes, and more to support you in nurturing your well being throughout the school year! Visit the First Peoples' House website.
Contact Us
For more information about miyomahcihowin, contact us at miyomahcihowin@ualberta.ca.
Are you part of an Indigenous student group or student service area at the U of A and interested in collaborating with us on wellness programming? Email us at miyomahcihowin@ualberta.ca.