Calling my spirit back

Summary: Indigenous Peoples have always carried the knowledge necessary to heal. When our people heal, our families heal, our communities heal and our land will heal. You cannot have one without the other. These stories are teachings, prophecy and protocols shared throughout the years by elders, language speakers, medicine people and helpers. They have been the foundation to individual healing and learning self-love. I am Syilx and Secwepemc, and although many of my teachings come from these places, they also intertwine with indigenous knowledge shared through ceremony from many other nations. These teachings not only show us how to love and respect ourselves but they provide protocols and laws on how we are to plan for ourselves, our community and our economy, and they show us how to govern our people through matriarchal and egalitarian teachings. People from all backgrounds have embraced concepts from other parts of the world that promote self-love, healing and well-being through practices of discipline and meditation, yet very little has been shared about indigenous systems and their approach to healing. The stories shared here have taught me how to cultivate safe space for myself and others. It is these teachings that helped me call my spirit back. My story may be rooted in trauma, but it is not my only story.