Haven Family Connections-Indigenous Family Wellness has launched a Men’s Traditional Teachings Program aiming to provide Indigenous teachings and cultural healing to men in Saskatoon and the surrounding area.
The men joining the program will learn a variety of skills such as traditional parenting, drum making, land-based teachings and more.
“We don’t judge or discriminate everyone is welcome in the spirit of reconciliation because our people need helpers that can relate and understand the obstacles and issues that they face because we’ve been through them, myself as a facilitator and my co-facilitator,” explained facilitator and registered social worker Myron Neapetung.
The main goal of the program is to bring back the traditional teachings that were taken from many Indigenous peoples during the Sixties Scoop.
Neapetung hopes that if more Indigenous individuals foster traditional ways, it will build healthy families, relationships, and communities.
“High addiction rates, domestic violence, families that have broken down, we need to impower our people with these traditional teachings because it was stolen from us with the residential school system,” said Neapetung.
The Men’s Traditional Teachings Program will be co-facilitated by knowledge keeper Gilbert Kewistep. Beginning January 10 there will be weekly program sessions on Wednesdays from 6:30-8 PM up until the end of March. Registration is now open for the program and there are about 18 available spots in the program.
You can register for this program and other programs on the Haven Family Connections website. Indigenous Family Wellness – Haven Family Connections
(Photo courtesy of Haven Family Connections Facebook.)