Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (July 19/02) - There's just over a year remaining to apply for funding from the Aboriginal Healing Foundation

The foundation, headquartered in Ottawa, was established in 1998 with a budget of $350 million. It has since dispersed $5.5 million to 20 projects in the NWT, including two in the Deh Cho -- the Fort Providence Residential School Society and the Healing Through Arts and Crafts project in Fort Simpson.

The objective is to provide support to aboriginal "survivors" of residential school, according to Frank Hope, community support co-ordinator for the Western Arctic.

In the mid-1900s, many children were forcibly taken from their families, loaded into boats and placed in residential schools. There, some students were subjected to physical, mental and sexual abuse, not to mention the stripping away of their language, culture and identity, Hope noted.

This is considered to be a factor in the subsequent legacy of alcoholism and abuse. The Healing Foundation is hoping to help break that cycle, he said.

"And it starts with one's self," he said.

Hope, who is in the third year of his four-year term, is based in Yellowknife but originally was from Fort Simpson. He said the Healing Foundation encourages innovative approaches to healing, but the inclusion of a qualified counsellor is imperative to deal with "triggering," when victims re-live past abuse.

Some examples of accepted proposals include wilderness retreats, conferences and gatherings, day treatment centres and workshops focusing on things like parenting skills.

"It could be something as small as a behaviour change, an attitude change, learning parenting skills or learning about your tradition and culture," Hope said, adding it would be nice to see more initiatives happening in the smaller communities.