Elders affirm Native way

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Positive mental health needs to be nurtured from the moment of birth, according to a great-grandmother from Rainy River First Nation. Elder Ann Wilson shared her experiences in an Oct. 28 workshop entitled Traditional Approaches to Mental Health during a Native mental health conference.

A member of the Bullhead Clan, Wilson, whose Native name is Bebaamijiwebiik, is immersed in the language, traditions and culture of her extended family.

"We need to listen to our story right from the time we are born; that's where we have to start," she told a gathering at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Sudbury.

She stressed the importance of passing along cultural teachings to the next generation. In her view, children blossom and grow when they absorb a sense of history and family.

"I raised children who had lost their mother," she said, "and I raised them the way I was raised. I put love in them and I never scolded them. I would sit them down and tell them stories of how they were born. You have to tell them the story of their beginnings."

Wilson said the birthing experience itself should be a happy and pain-free time. She stressed the importance of proper food and exercise during pregnancy.

"I don't agree with surgery and hospital births," she noted. "The idea should be to let a child out without pain. All the screaming and crying and cursing is not natural."

From her years living on a trapline, she gained an intimate knowledge of the habits of animals. Today she still smokes fish, makes pemmican and teaches school children to appreciate and crave "wild food."

"I take the food to the schools to give them a taste of what they are missing," she said. "I feel I am feeding the spirit when I take the food to the schools."

She urged the workshop participants to make sure they get the Elders of their community involved in passing on teachings. "Our eyes are our teachers and our ears are there to hear the good things. You will hear good news if you listen to the teachings."

Wilson's co-presenter Michael Thrasher shares her love of First Nation heritage. He too stressed the importance of building a child's sense of identity.

From his youth spent in remote parts of Ontario and British Columbia he developed a lifelong reverence for nature and the teachings of the Elders. Early childhood experiences are imprinted and will be with a child throughout his or her life, Thrasher said. He advises parents to "pull the plug" on television and video games and to take them in the bush instead.