‘It is who I am, deeply rooted in me’: York Region hospitals empower Indigenous Peoples with healing, smudging – York Region
June 26, 2023
Mackenzie Health, Oak Valley establish new smudging policies, Southlake introduces new Indigenous patient services
When there’s smoke, there may not necessarily be fire. Instead, smoke may mean there’s healing and smudging with sage, cedar, sweet grass and traditional tobacco.
Recently, all the hospitals in York Region established policies to allow for smudging ceremonies in dedicated spaces and outdoor gardens to better enhance the Indigenous patient experience.
“Smudging provides Indigenous Peoples with a way to gain spiritual protection and improve their spiritual health,” said Jennifer Trumble, a member of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation.
Through her lived experiences on and off reserve, Trumble is building bridges between western medicine and Indigenous healing as the new Indigenous patient navigator at Southlake Regional Health Centre, through knowledge, understanding and acceptance.
