Sacred fire offers healing for all in wake of residential schools: health care group – TBNewsWatch.com
September 26, 2025
“We’re creating the quilt of many colours. The squares have many different colours; we’re creating that. How do we sew that together, culture by culture, so we can work together?” said Elder Brenda Mason.
THUNDER BAY — In the lead up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation next week, St. Joseph’s Indigenous health inititive, N’doo’owe Binesi, hosted a four-day sacred fire.
“It’s healing for our people, for our ancestors that never made it back from residential schools. The ones who’ve had the trauma and the horrible experiences there. It’s for descendants like me, and my grandmother went to Spanish residential school, St. Joseph’s,” said Paul Francis Jr., the vice president of N’doo’owe Binesi.
“We have these lasting impacts that are going to be, unfortunately, around for a while until we heal from them.”
