Treaties Recognition Week highlights the importance of Treaties and the relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in Ontario. Treaties are agreements established between Indigenous groups and the Government of Canada, provincial and territorial governments.

They outline the ongoing rights and responsibilities of all parties involved and are central to the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Treaties may seem like historical documents, yet the obligations and commitments within them remain just as relevant today. The land we live and gather on is Treaty land, and everyone in Canada shares the rights and responsibilities related to upholding Treaties. We are all Treaty People.

Treaties promised access to health and wellness. Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Centre’s Traditional Wellness Coordinator supports Indigenous patients, families, and staff by ensuring access to traditional and spiritual care within the Hospital. Working with Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and health care teams, the Coordinator helps create a culturally safe environment that supports the whole person, spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical. Traditional wellness is about caring for the whole person, mind, body, spirit, and community. It is more than just cultural; it is a Treaty right. As health care providers, it is part of our responsibility to honour these commitments. For Indigenous Peoples, traditional healing is a part of that promise.

For more information about Treaty Recognition Week, click here.

Check out INformed throughout the week to participate in Treaty Recognition Week trivia, for your chance to win one of two $50 gift cards to Mamakeesic Roots.

Click HERE to complete today’s trivia. 

Each submission will be entered into a draw to win prizes! Winners will be announced next week in Your Daily Informed Newsletter on November 10.