English - Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies

TEACHING AND TRADITIONAL HEALING PRACTICES
Elders are respected for their wisdom in the traditional culture and teachings of
the Creator, and as a role model and guide for their communities. Elders and
Traditional Persons share their knowledge and wisdoms through teachings and
“natural counseling” and are assisted through prayers and meditation, consultation
with peers and Traditional Teachers, Traditional Healers and the use of the
medicines (Morley & Schwenger, 2009).
Elders, Traditional Healers and Medicine People all had specific gifts and
responsibilities to the community. They were the helpers in the community that
could connect people to their emotions so that they could accept them and move
forward, could heal their physical ailments and provide them with a connection to the
spiritual world. The four primary medicines used in Traditional Healing are:
Tobacco, Sweetgrass, Sage and Cedar. Each is used for a different purpose. A
smudging ceremony opens a talking or healing circle during which one or some of
the medicines are burned to seek the protection and guidance of the Ancestors and
Creator, to show respect for all parts of creation, and to provide thanks.
The Inuit do not have the same medicine practices because none of the four primary
medicine plants grow in the Arctic. The Inuit do have Elders. Many of the Inuit Elders
practice a Christian spirituality, and also provide guidance in relation to the lessons
that are provided when people live on the land.
THE MÉTIS TEACHING: THE ENVIRONMENT AND LEARNING RESPONSIBILITY
TEACHING
We have a relationship with and
responsibility for the environment.
All Aboriginal traditions recognize individual responsibility to
the physical environment as a key relationship. Often the
lessons of responsibility and self-reliance that children and
youth need to learn are taught when hunting, trapping, fishing,
learning about animal and bird migration, gathering berries
and medicinal plants, and in preparing and preserving food.
One learns patience through these practices.
One also learns to share, not only with one’s family, but within one’s community, with
Elders and with those less fortunate because food that is caught is shared within the
community. Learning how to perform chores is related to learning values and accepting
of responsibilities to oneself, one’s home and one’s family.
THE TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE INUIT
Adapted from Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, 2006
There are six guiding principles of Inuit Qaujimajanngit (Inuit Knowledge) that have
evolved over time and inform Inuit counselling and any helping practice. The six
principles are as follows:
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