White Pine Healing Lodge Hosts Progress Meeting

(January 30, 2018) The White Pine Healing Lodge is continuing to progress in its development and future operation as a Not-for-Profit Addictions Recovery and Rehabilitation facility situated on Cornwall Island/Kawehnoke. The mission of the Healing Lodge is to help First Nations people in our community, as well as other First Nation communities, in their recovery from the addiction of drugs and alcohol. Drugs and alcohol leads to the emotional and physical abuse of family members, and this is not our way as Onkwehonwe people. Addiction is a complex but treatable disease that affects brain function and behaviour, and a treatment facility such as the White Pine Healing Lodge will help individuals on a path to wellness and recovery. The uniqueness of this Healing Lodge is the incorporation of traditional and cultural knowledge in the recovery program, inclusive of the sweatlodge, smudging and traditional medicines.

A partner in the research and development of the White Pine Healing Lodge is the Bruyere Research Hospital. Representatives of the hospital have been instrumental in the acquisition of research funding through the Canadian Institute of Health Research that the Healing Lodge was able to secure short-term employment for two Indigenous Researchers in the area of Traditional Knowledge and Justice. A meeting of sharing the research conducted to-date was held this past weekend between the White Pine Healing Lodge Steering Committee, the Indigenous Researchers and representatives of Bruyere Hospital. The result of the meeting provided a positive impact on the progressive development of the White Pine Healing Lodge.