Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society is a large, non-profit organization in Edmonton that draws from Indigenous values and teachings to provide culturally safe programs to urban Indigenous peoples and communities.
Bent Arrow’s kahkiyaw program means “all people, especially traditional peoples, are related”. The kahkiyaw program was created to support Indigenous children and families whose lives are affected by child welfare intervention. Drawing on the work that had been completed with Calgary FCSS, Bent Arrow worked with Elders to develop the kahkiyaw Program Indicators. These indicators were adapted to reflect the teachings on balance and living a good life – miyo pimâtsiwin through the four realms (Mental, Emotional, Spiritual, and Physical). The kahkiyaw Indicators focus on assessing the families’ needs as well as supporting building relationships between family members and kahkiyaw workers. The Indicators guide families and workers in discussing what it means to live miyo pimâtisiwin or seek a balanced Indigenous life.
More information on the kahkiyaw program can be found here: https://bentarrow.ca/kahkiyaw/
Additional information on the kahkiyaw Program Indicators can be found in Chapter 3: kayiwatisi Indigenous Program Indicators and Chapter 4: ayahpatisi Practice as Ceremony in our book “ohpikinâwasowin: Growing a Child”.
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To be advised.
ohpikinâwasowingrowing a child
We’re published
Western theory and practice are over-represented in child welfare services for Indigenous peoples, not the other way around. Contributors to this collection invert the long-held, colonial relationship between Indigenous peoples and systems of child welfare in Canada.
Recommended by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation “Educational Programs” in their ReconciliACTION Plans, ohpikinâwasowin/Growing a Child is suggested as a primary resource for the “Calls to Action Sample Plans” for Child Welfare.
