#84- Indigenous Mental Health (with Alexia)

The Revolutionized Mind

Happy Friday! This week on The Revolutionized Mind, we are joined by Alexia who is an Auntie, Community Helper, Indigenous Advocate, Writer, and Dreamer. In this episode, we talk all about Indigenous mental health and well-being. Alexia shares some of the ways that colonial systems have impacted Indigenous folks’ ability to thrive in Canada, the importance of having sovereignty over wellness, and how we can all actively work towards reconciliation on both an individual and systemic level. She also highlights the effects of intergenerational trauma, explains why it’s crucial to move away from a monolithic approach in the mental health space, provides several practical ways that we can support/raise Indigenous voices in our everyday lives, and so much more! This conversation is complex, layered, and uncomfortable at times, but it is so necessary to educate ourselves on the ongoing injustices that exist in our country and learn how we can use our positions of privilege and power to better support Indigenous peoples across Canada. Don't forget to follow us on social media @therevolutionizedmind & @auntie.alexia, and remember to rate, review, and subscribe to the show on whatever platform you're listening on!

Check out our sponsor: Mental Health Declassified :)

Land Acknowledgment: I wish to acknowledge that the entire country of Canada resides on traditional, unceded, or treaty lands of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people. I strongly believe in the importance of this acknowledgment, so I encourage you to take a moment to reflect on the privileges that we hold today in living and working on these lands. Currently, I am in Newmarket, Ontario which is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. This area of land is covered by Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the Williams Treaties signed with multiple Mississaugas and Chippewa bands. As a guest and settler on these lands, it is my duty to unlearn inherent colonial systems, actively work towards reconciliation, and to raise Indigenous voices whenever I can.

Resources

- Local cultural centres or friendship centres

- Elders or Knowledge Keepers

- NIHB - non-insured health benefits for status-holding folks offers counselling and other health-related services

- Jack.org Indigenous Mental Health Resources: https://jack.org/IndigenousMHResources (supports, books, education, podcasts, etc.)

This episode is also available on YouTube!