Culture and Health Research Project, Alert Bay Rural Aboriginal Maternity Care Project(2003-2006) Vera Newman Barbara Cranmer Helen Brown Kali-Olt Sedgemore Trevor Isaac

1. The Big House is Kwakwa’kawakw Medicine
Vera Newman
Barbara Cranmer
Helen Brown
Kali-Olt Sedgemore
Trevor Isaac
National Aboriginal Health Organization National Conference, 2009
Our People, Our Health
Nov 24-26, 2009

2. History
Rural Aboriginal Maternity Care Project
(2003-2006)

3. Kwakwaka’wakw, Culture, Tradition, Health and
Well-Being in Alert Bay
2007-2009
Project Goals:
 To understand the
relationship between
Kwakwaka’wakw culture
and health;
 Create strategies and
recommendations to
enhance the health of the
community through the
connection to culture

4. Logo on scenic
Youth Artists & Research Assistants:
Trevor Isaac & Kali Sedgemore

5. 38 Research Participants:
20 females, 18 males (ages 14-83)

6. “We believe when we are strong in
our culture, we are healthy, and
well-balanced as a people”

7. History and Tradition as Methodology
The Kwakwa’kawakw
Teachings

8. Data Analysis
 Beginning with the wisdom of the elders – line by line
reading, asking “what is important? “How does this
insight compare and contrast with what others have
said?” “Where are the contradictions?”
 Honoring stories and experiences, knowing that how
we read the transcripts is shaped by our own ideas
about the topic, and our biases and assumptions

9. “Culture and health
have to go together,
you have to be healthy
to be present, and
being present is
strength in culture”

10. Findings
 We’re Kwakwaka’wakw
and we have laws that
are spiritual that will
sustain us through time.
If we go by the mamala
it will destroy us. We
will be the healthiest
when we can give
expression to that.

11. I think health and culture should be inseparable. It’s actually
essential because culture is the medium, or the forum or the
process that allows us to give full expression to who we are,
mentally, physically, spiritually, collectively as friends and family,
individually, historically looking forward…

12. Implications for Health Services in
Alert Bay
Importance of language as
foundational to health
and well-being  “ People might not
complain since they feel
The importance of they are just lucky to
community driven have services at all”
change
The necessity of effective (participant)
implementation plans

13. Recommendations
 Evolving health programs to better account for how health and
culture go together in local contexts
 Reducing the incidence of illness, disease, and trauma through the
riches of culture, connection and community
 Drawing on history and tradition to mitigate the impacts of illness,
disease, and trauma.
 Whose voices need to be heard? How will we work together?

14. The knowledge is here, the capacity is
here if we start to think holistically
about we can resolve some of the
problems. I think the community starts
with good leadership, we see the big
picture and we see how we can
maximize all those resources, we have
it all throughout our community.