The Aboriginal Healing Movement - Aboriginal Peoples of Canada - Essay Example

The Aboriginal Healing Movement The Aboriginal Peoples of Canada (First Nation was not only informing but also an interesting one. My interest in the class began right from the first lesson when an introduction to the course was done. The class provided me with an opportunity to understand and appreciate the history of Canada. This was made possible through a study of the evolution of the traditional Canada and how it transformed to become what it is today. This evolution process of traditional Canada fascinated me very much and made me aware of where the Canadian society has come from. Due to the interest that I had in the course and my eagerness to learn more, I always strived to grasp everything that was taught and to also study on my own so that I could be able to grasp everything I could possibly get. This allowed me to appreciate the traditional Canada and the manner it has transformed over the years. The Aboriginal Healing Movement I developed a lot of interest in this course, right from the beginning, when the various topics that we were to study were introduced. The main reason as to why I had lots of interest in this course is due to the fact that it is a course that gave me an opportunity to understand Canada and the various historical aspects of the Canadian society. This was made possible through the studying of several topics that are associated to the antiquity of the Canadian society. Some of the topic that were studied in this course that were interesting included study of the original inhabitants of the land, settling of foreigners in Canada, emergence of conflicts among the traditional Canadian societies, the conflicts with the foreigners, mediation that led to the settling of the issues that had been raised and the reemergence of self-governance (Dickason & Newbigging, 2010). This course covered various aspects of the society that included human population issues, social cultural factors in Canada and the economic aspects of the traditional Canadian community and society. This is in addition to looking at the various systems that existed in the traditional Canadian society and the transformation of the society and the systems. The topic that best fascinated me in this class is the topic on the aboriginal healing movement. The major reason why this topic was so much of interest to me is due to the fact that it demonstrated how the conflict that had been experienced in the Canadian community was solved through reconciliation. This in turn transformed conflicts into peace and allowed various communities to live together. Aboriginal healing movement identified healing as one of the most important components of a continuum that could lead to reconciliation (Dickason & Newbigging, 2010). This was intended to help reconcile the Aboriginals and the Canadian society. The other components of reconciliation that were identified were acknowledgement and redress. The Aboriginal healing movements came up with steps that were used to reconcile the aboriginal and Canada. The first step that was identified was acknowledgement. This is a step that involves naming of the harmful acts and going ahead to admit and accept that these actions were wrong. This is then followed by taking the appropriate actions to be able to compensate those who were hurt by these actions. The second step was the healing process. The healing process was intended to restore mental, physical, spiritual and physical balances among the members of the society. The third step is the reconciliation step (Dickason & Newbigging, 2010). This is a step that entailed accepting one another and developing mutual trusts. It also entailed the perpetrators seeking forgiveness from those that they harmed. They had to acknowledge their acts and accept that they had wronged the victims. Reconciliation helps in reestablishing dignity and mutual trust in the community. I found these stages of reconciliation used by the Aboriginal healing movement very helpful and thoughtful. The steps that these movements used are steps that I can still apply today in various setting of conflicts. In addition to this, I found the steps very applicable in the in the society, and which are applicable in areas that have conflict. Through proper application of these steps, I believe that individuals and the current society can ensure that mutual trust and dignity is ensured in the community especially in situations where the society is trying to move away from conflicts. Another aspect of the aboriginal healing movement topic, which I came to realize that it was very inspirational and helpful to me and the current society, which made me have a lot of interest is how the movements studied the conflicts and is effects to be able to come up with the most appropriate ways through which healing could be done. In coming up with the healing strategies the Aboriginal healing movements studied and uncovered the healing needs of the society. I believe this was very vital as it was helpful in understanding and appreciating that when solving a conflict, it is important to look at the fundamental causes of the disaster and determine the needs so that the chosen program could be helpful and effective (Dickason & Newbigging, 2010). The aboriginal people suffered repeated shock and trauma. This is in additional to territorial displacement and loss of control over their lives. Loss of children also affected the people. Through the understanding of these problems and the healing needs, the Aboriginal healing movements were able to come up with effective ways and appropriate steps that were meant to help bring reconciliation in the society (Dickason & Newbigging, 2010). In the Aboriginal healing movements it was understood that the trauma and the problems that had been experienced were very complex. This therefore required the indigenous counselors and researchers to discover the most operative way that could help handle almost all the aspects of the conflict so that the society could move back to a state of mutual trust and dignity. I feel that the Aboriginal healing movements did a wonderful job when they decided to come up with healing programs and plans that targeted specific people and groups. The reason why I believe this was important is because through this targeting, the movement was able to effectively handle the trauma that had been experienced by the aboriginal communities and be able to bring back trust and dignity in the society (Dickason & Newbigging, 2010). I am of the opinion that had the movement failed to do this, healing may not have been achieved. One of the programs that were effective used by the aboriginal healing movement was the individual healing. This strategy was used owing to the fact that each and every individual suffered trauma with unique degree of severity. This, therefore, means that each and every person needed to be treated and healed at individual level. In order to do this, the program was designed to be individual oriented. I believe that this helped in establishing cultural safety and affirming individual identity in the society. This is a practice that I think could have not been neglected by the movements. Another aspect of the Aboriginal healing movements that I believe was very important and is community healing (Dickason & Newbigging, 2010). This was meant to help heal the community in general. I believe that the community had been faced by a serious conflict and this is the reason why it appeared to demonstrate destructive behavior. This community healing was therefore important and vital in helping heal the community. The community healing was therefore very important in helping bring back a sense of determination in the community. This was vital in helping the community overcome the various obstacles that it had faced during the time of the conflict. Finally, I was very much marveled and happy with the impact and implication of the healing processes that were initiated by the Aboriginal healing movements. One of the implications or results was that the Aboriginal people were able to transform their lives and became aware of their connection with the earth and with Canada (Dickason & Newbigging, 2010). In addition to that, it made it possible for the Aboriginals to make peace with themselves as they moved away from the conflict era. Moreover, it is very impressive and encouraging to learn from the study of the Aboriginal healing movement topic that the people and the community were able to use a language of empowerment (Dickason & Newbigging, 2010). They also used their inners strengths to be able to come up with effective collective action. This clearly showed that it is possible to rely on internal strength and collective strength to be able to transform the society. Generally, I believe that the Aboriginal Healing Movements had a very significant effect to the people. This is because it helped in transforming the Canada and ensured that dignity and mutual trust returned to the society. Therefore, this topic was very imperative and it certainly helped me appreciate and comprehend the prominence of healing in the process of bringing reconciliation in Canada. Reference Dickason, O. P., & Newbigging, W. (2010). A Concise History of Canadas First Nations (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. Read More