The Indigenous Peoples Institute Presented the First Annual
This event is student lead, faculty supported and nourished into existence. Our three panelists led the discussion on intergenerational trauma; specifically surrounding mandated boarding school and residential schools for First Nations and Native American youth in the 19th and 20th centuries. We explored its fall out and continuing effects on Indigenous communities across Canada and the United States. In sharing personal stories on health, healing and self-discovery on their journey back to their roots, the Indigenous speakers provided insight to current students from all backgrounds and majors.
.jpg)
Shίshάlh Nation & Ilocano
Elder and Therapist
Ktunaxa Nation
Professor of Leadership Studies
Ktunaxa Nation
Instructor, Indigenous Studies & PhD Candidate
Yetaxwelwet is her true name, passed to her from her Granny Cecile. Her name, roughly translated, means “woman who gives of herself”. Anna Hansen is her American name. She is the oldest child of six children. Her mother is Grace August, member of the shίshάlh Nation in British Columbia, Canada. Her father is Bernardino Rinonos, from the Ilocano people, Indigenous to Bagnotan, La Union, of the Philippine Islands. Yetaxwelwet’s (Anna’s) life work has been helping individuals, families, communities, and agencies understand the profound impact of Historical Trauma and ongoing colonization on a Nation’s health and wellness. She has worked throughout the U.S., Canada, and in Australia and Northern Ireland. Her work is centered on extending an invitation to help create trauma-wise homes, communities and work places while growing cultural humility, empathy, compassion and caring of self, community, Nation and Mother Earth. It is her belief that it will take all of us working and healing together to create a safe world for the children of today and tomorrow. Yetaxwelwet has 17 grandchildren and lives with her husband Gary on Bainbridge Island. Yetaxwelwet has an MA in psychology from Seattle University and a post-MA specialization training for certification in existential analysis and logotherapy.
Watch Misty Louie interview Anna Hansen here: Anna Hansen, MA, Elder and Therapist
Christopher Horsethief, or p̓i·q̓ in the Ktunaxa language, is from the ʔakisq̓nuk First Nation located at the headwaters of the Columbia river. He has spent the last 25 years conducting field research into the relationship between collective trauma, Indigenous identity resources and resilience outcomes. Christopher is faculty at several institutions including the University of Victoria‘s School of Nursing, Antioch University’s EdD program and UI&U’s doctoral program in Ethical and Creative Leadership, as well as an Indigenous Health researcher for UBCO.
Watch Dr. Horsethief talk about Colonization and Indigenous Resilience here.
Smokii Sumac is a poet and PhD Candidate in Indigenous Studies at Trent University, where his work centers on the question "how do we come home?" As an Indigenous adoptee, intergenerational residential school survivor, and two-spirit person, Smokii's lived experiences are deeply embedded into his art and research. His first poetry collection, you are enough: love poems for the end of the world, (Kegedonce Press, 2018) won an Indigenous Voices Award for published poetry, and Smokii has recently been named as a finalist for the Dayne Ogilvie Prize. Currently teaching at College of the Rockies in Cranbrook, BC, Smokii is extremely grateful to be living in ʔamaʔkis Ktunaxa (Ktunaxa territories), where he and his cat, Miss Magoo, have recently (and begrudgingly, on Magoo's part) added a new family member: a "big ole rez dog" named Kootenay Lou.
Watch Misty Louie interview Smokii here: Smokii Sumac Interview
Learn more about Smokii and read some of his selected poems on his website.