THE

CENTRE
APRIL 2015 NEWSLETTER/FAMILY & COMMUNITY WELLNESS CENTRE

FELIX
WALKER
TALKS
CFS
MODEL

A cut for
Cancer:
honouring
loved
ones
NISICHAWAYASIHK FAMILY & COMMUNITY
CREE NATION WELLNESS CENTRE

in this
issue:
More than a decade ago Nisichawayasihk Cree
Nation elders were looking at the number of
children in care in the community.
They also looked at the behaviour or the parents
and identified it was them that needed
rediscovery and education.
The spoke with the NCN Family and Community
Wellness Centre and a relatively new CEO. They
wanted a new way to handle families.
Now in 2015, other First Nations are starting to
borrow the model developed at the Centre, and
media organizations beyond Manitoba are taking
notes.

APPREHEND Felix Walker

the parent speaks to the
NOT THE CHILD media

Apprehend the parents, not the child.

Its a concept thats turning heads in
family services branches, in provincial
offices and now in newsrooms beyond
Manitoba. The approach started right
at the FCWC where Child and Family
Services staff look towards parents
and caregivers to enrol in programs.
The elders looked at me and said Mr.
Walker, why are you removing children
from the home? The children arent the
issue, the parents are the issue. You
need to find a way to remove parent
so that parent can learn to be parents
again, said Chief Executive Officer
Felix Walker, during an interview with
CBC Manitoba.
I t s b e e n i n p r a c t i c e i n
Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation for more
than a decade. Walker started at the
FCWC in 2001, he says it was the
death of a 15-year-old girl later that
year that triggered changes with how
the Centre deals with trauma. The teen
died of alcohol poisoning and
agencies werent available to help the
community afterwards.
We b ro u g h t t h e m a l l t o g e t h e r t o
address that initial trauma that all of
us were experiencing with the death of
this young girl, said Walker. That
became the impetus for a lot of the
changes and innovative programming
that weve since developed over time
at the Wellness Centre. Its one of
those things where, if you deal with
the initial trauma, you dont have to
deal with it into the future. And most
of our cases that we have on reserve
are neglect causes.

The practice is now getting national

attention. Along with the CBC
interview, Walker has spoken with The
W innipeg Free Press and The Globe
and Mail about the practice that has
seen 65 parents removed from the
home. When the decision is made to
remove parents, band Constables
a s s i s t i n a p p re h e n d i n g t h e m . T h e
practice is legal on reserve where
Chief and Council essentially act as
landlords and no one owns their own
property. Walker points to a couple
who were removed and spent a month
in a retreat before their family was
brought in for a week.
We g o t t o w a t c h t h e i n t e r a c t i o n
between the parents and their
children, we got to see them be a
family. It was very enlightening, very
rewarding to see that. And we utilized
our own traditional lifestyle practices,
which is living off the land, gathering
medicines, fishing with the gill nets,
etc., where you actually lear n to
rediscover who you are as an
Aboriginal person, said Walker.
Theyre now the FCWCs model family,
and the couple manages the
Rediscovery Program.
In 2010, 455
NCN children in permanent care. Last
year, there were 324. There have been
no apprehensions of children on
reserve since October, 2013.
-this article includes quotes from a CBC
Manitoba feature Revamping Manitobas
foster system by taking away parent
which aired April 10, 2015. Full interview:
http://www.cbc.ca/radio_template_2012/
a u d i o p o p . h t m l ?
autoPlay=true&clipIds=2663285156

FCWC NEWSLETTER/
APRIL 2015

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NISICHAWAYASIHK FAMILY & COMMUNITY

CREE NATION WELLNESS CENTRE

A CUT
FOR
CANCER

Almost anyone can say theyve been

a f f e c t e d b y c a n c e r, a n d N C N

community members are no different.

Yo u l i k e l y k n o w a f r i e n d o r f a m i l y
m e m b e r t h a t s b a t t l e d t h e d i s e a s e .
Thats why the FCWC held a special
event to remember those weve lost.
On April 24, community members
gathered at the Centre to share their
stories of loved ones. Cancer may have
contributed to their passing, but their
memories go far beyond the disease.
Some people took the extra step an
took more than a trim off their long
longs in a hair cutting ceremony.
C a n c e r i s c o n s i d e re d a s i g n i f i c a n t
health issue in Manitoba. Rates
incidences in both men and women in
the north are higher than in W innipeg.
A c c o rd i n g t o C a n c e r C a re M a n i t o b a
statistics from 2012, the rate for
incidences among women was at 425.2
cases per 100,000. The Winnipeg
Health Authority reported a 438.2 rate
during that year. Men had a 520.4 rate
per 100,000 in the north, compared to
W innipegs 465.3 rate. Its important to
note the figures from W innipeg also
include Churchill.

Cancer
rates:
-In 2012, 11,167
Manitobans were
diagnosed with the
disease.
-In the same year 2,704
d i e d f ro m C a n c e r. I t s
influenced by several
factors: the age of the
population, the size of
the population, risk
factors such as
unhealthy
living
(including smoking, poor
d i e t , i n a c t i v i t y, s u n
exposure)
some
e n v i r o n m e n t a l
carcinogens and a
genetic predisposition.

FCWC NEWSLETTER/
APRIL 2015

Draw the curtain

The Immunization
Carnival is back!

-photos from 3 years of

successfully preventing
illness
Theres an easier way to avoid the
doctor, just get youre shots. Thats
what parents did when they brought
their children to the FCWC during its
annual Immunization Carnival.
Public Health hosts the event, but it
gets plenty of help from the other
clowns around the office. FCWC staff
always look the party for the Carnivals
by dressing up, and hosting games and
activities. It takes a bit of the pinch out
of the process of getting immunized.

Public Health says preschoolers often

fall behind schedule for immunizations
because the last scheduled
immunization is usually at 18-monthsold. People who missed out can drop
by the FCWCs Public Health Clinic from
Monday Friday, and phone calls are
welcome. This is the third year Public
Health hosted the carnival.

FCWC NEWSLETTER/
APRIL 2015

DONT FEED
THE BEARS
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NISICHAWAYASIHK FAMILY & COMMUNITY

CREE NATION WELLNESS CENTRE

NISICHAWAYASIHK FAMILY & COMMUNITY

CREE NATION WELLNESS CENTRE

About
The Family and Community
Wellness Centre was established
to support holistic wellness by
providing different opportunities
to members of Nisichawayasihk
Cree Nation. The Centre
provides services in Public
Health, Child and Family
Services, Counselling and other
family and community needs
programs. It has sub-offices in
Winnipeg, Brandon, Thompson
and South Indian Lake.

Vision
Nisichawayasihk Mithwayawin

Mission
In unity, we promote community
awareness, empowerment, and
a safe environment towards
holistic wellness.

***For more information and

resources on the FCWC visit us
on Facebook and find links to
our website.

14 Bay Road Drive Nelson House, MB R0B 1A0 Phone: (204) 484-2341 Fax: (204) 484-2351