‘I’ll cry with you, laugh with you’: Finding hope through traditional Indigenous healing – TVO

At Misiway Milopemahtesewin, in Timmins, counselling is grounded in traditional teachings — helping people process a shared set of traumas and reconnect with their cultures

Jan 21, 2021

Jules Tapas is telling a story about how his younger brother once shot him with a rifle after a particularly nasty fight. “I died twice that night,” Tapas says to the sharing circle gathered in the basement of Misiway Milopemahtesewin’s traditional-healing facility. “If somebody ever tells you there’s a heaven and hell, there’s none of it. You just go in a dump.”

He pauses. “Nah, just kidding!”

The other five people in the room laugh, and Tapas — a traditional healer — continues his story, mentions the scars on his body. “Say Jules, those marks weren’t from bingo dabbers, eh?” says Gary Martin, Misiway’s traditional-healing coordinator, to more laughter.

Read More: https://www.tvo.org/article/ill-cry-with-you-laugh-with-you-finding-hope-through-traditional-indigenous-healing