Wawa Family Health Team Land Acknowledgment
Wawa Family Health Team Land Acknowledgment
The Wawa Family Health Team would like to acknowledge the land in which we hold our practice of medicine on and the land of the people we serve. We are grateful to reside on the lands and home of the Anishnaabae and Cree. We respectfully acknowledge that this land is Indigenous land and has been inhabited by Indigenous people from the beginning. We are grateful for the opportunity to connect here, and we thank all the generations of people, who have stewarded and cared for the land for thousands of years. We recognize and deeply appreciate their historic contributions of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples both in shaping and strengthening this province and country. The WFHT promotes a healthier community through creating a safe space that welcomes diversity, inclusion, and acceptance for everyone. We are committed to the challenge of Truth and Reconciliation, and we are learning that acknowledgment of the past and current traumas will aid us in providing equitable and culturally appropriate care. We promise to express humility in our daily practices to provide the utmost patient-centered care we can.
Wawa Family Health Team Unveils New Artwork
Friday September 21, 2022 at Naturally Superior Adventures, the Wawa Family Health Team (WFHT) celebrated the unveiling of the clinic’s new painting. The WFHT staff were joined by members from Michipicoten First Nations: Lena Andre, daughter Leanne Andre and granddaughter, Indigenous artist Zoey Wood-Salomon, and her partner.
In 2021 at the clinic’s annual retreat the WFHT decided to form a committee to work towards addressing some of the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action, regarding the services that they as primary care providers can attend to. In collaboration with community Indigenous partners Gina and Margaret Simon and Michipicoten First Nation member Evelyn Stone, the committee is working to recognize and change how our local Indigenous patients receive care at the Wawa Family Health Team.
The painting serves to represent the journey of the WFHT and is a commissioned piece completed by Zoey Wood-Salomon, of the Wiikwemikoong Unceded Territory. It can be seen at the entrance to the Wawa Family Health Team within Lady Dunn Health Centre.
The painting is not meant as a finale but a visual reminder that our journey is ongoing and can only move forward with continued collaboration.
The WFHT Truth and Reconciliation Committee invites Indigenous patient/community members to partner in our reconciliation journey. Please contact: Silvana Dereski at 705-856-1313 ext. 5 or Katherine Turmelle at 705-856-1313 ext. 4 for information.