'Dene can heal themselves'
KFN's Dene Wellness Centre getting near to opening in defunct treatment centre
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Monday, August 29, 2016
HAY RIVER
K'atlodeeche First Nation (KFN) has a plan for the closed treatment centre on the Hay River Reserve.
And that plan is getting close to becoming a reality as the Dene Wellness Centre.
The First Nation held a workshop on Aug. 16 and 17 to explain the concept and get input on ideas, including from other communities in the NWT.
"What it all boils down to is this statement - the Dene can heal themselves with their own culture," said Beatrice Lepine, a consultant working on the project for KFN, during the workshop.
Lepine said her work is to develop a plan for how the First Nation is going to operate the centre in order to make it self-sufficient by generating income.
She said the biggest next step is to negotiate with the Department of Health and Social Services to lease the former Nats'ejee K'eh Treatment Centre.
"My job will be to complete this development plan, finalize the lease arrangement with Health and Social Services, which is underway, and begin fundraising," she said. "That's going to be a very tough job, fundraising."
The GNWT has said there will be no alcohol and drug addiction treatment in the building.
However, Lepine said the KFN leadership hasn't given up on continuing to lobby for residential treatment programs.
"But it will not be covered in the plan," she said. "For now, it will focus on wellness and healing."
The centre will be rooted in Dene culture to offer people four positive outcomes of hope, belonging, meaning and purpose.
"We're hoping that to get youth and other people back out on the land allows them space to think about the future and their choices," said Lepine, adding the focus will be on creating a feeling of mental wellness. "We know, all of us, what that feeling is like when we're on the land."
All activities and programs will be based upon Dene culture and values.
Those programs will cover a wide variety of things, including basic alcohol and drug awareness programs for youth, suicide prevention, aboriginal language revitalization, conflict resolution, cross-cultural training for government and organizations, traditional arts and culture, painting, photography and writing.
Lepine told the participants at the workshop that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the residential school system recommended the NWT and Nunavut establish a healing centre.
"This is one of the goals," she said. "We want it to become that healing and wellness centre."
The idea is that the Dene Wellness Centre will attract people from communities all over the NWT.
Lepine said the hope is that eventually the centre can collect enough tuition and accommodation charges to become self-sufficient.
It will be a tough couple of years as the centre gets going, she said. "I believe KFN can do it."
The income from accommodation is possible because there will be a residential component to the Dene Wellness Centre. The building of the former treatment centre can house 35 people.
Lepine asked for the support of people at the workshop.
"We cannot allow the government to take over again and decide what's best for us," she said. "You already know what's best for us."
About 35 people attended the workshop, including 12 from communities such as Fort Smith, Yellowknife, Fort Simpson and Fort Providence.
At the conclusion of the workshop, Dave Poitras of Fort Smith sounded optimistic about the possibility of a return to the Dene way of healing.
"We've got to put it back on the right track," he said.
