We will be CLOSED Tuesday Sept 30th in observance of the National Day of Truth & Reconciliation. We will be back to regular programming Wednesday October 1st.
The H&H team will taking the day to reflect upon the ongoing colonization of the unceded Indigenous territories we reside upon. If you are a settler residing on Lekwengen Territories, please take some time out of your day to attend the South Island Pow Wow, hosted by Songhees Nation.
We encourage all of you to take the opportunity to learn more about the land we occupy, the original peoples who were stewards of this land and their respective histories. And this is a good opportunity to review the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action.
If it is within your means, we encourage you to support one of these organizations, in the spirit of reconciliation:
Support Victoria Orange Shirt Day Phyllis Webstad and Victoria Orange Shirt Day organizers Eddy Charlie and Kristin Spray are passionate about sharing their knowledge of Residential Schools and what that means for them today.
National Centre for Truth & Reconciliation The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is the archival repository for all of the material collected by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, purposed to compile the complete history and legacy of Canada’s residential school system.
Indian Residential School Survivors Society The Indian Residential School Survivors Society began in 1994 as a working committee of the First Nations Summit. We were known as the Residential School Project, housed out of and as a part of the BC First Nations Summit. Our work was primarily to assist Survivors with the litigation process pertaining to Residential School abuses. In more recent years our work has expanded to include assisting the descendants of Survivors and implementing Community education measures (Indigenous & Non-Indigenous).
XaXw Tenew Sacred Land Society Xaxe is non-profit organization is an Indigenous-led charitable society located on so-called Southern Vancouver Island. The people leading this work are Saltwater Salish people Indigenous to this region. We are focusing on the Rematriate Stewardship Project, which is an initiative for Land Back to house Saltwater Salish women to protect our right to learn our language, how to care for our land, heal through culture and being on the land, and to teach younger generations and our community these skills.
Victoria Native Friendship Centre The Victoria Native Friendship Centre (VNFC) has been in existence for over 45 years. VNFC provides services to an estimated 20,000 Indigenous people living off reserve in the greater Victoria area; as well as the 5,000 residents from the First Nations communities in the southern Vancouver Island region, in addition to a sizeable Indigenous population from across Canada. VNFC takes great pride in their exceptional approach to First Nation social issues.
Unist’ot’en Camp The Unist’ot’en Camp is an indigenous re-occupation of Wet’suwet’en land in northern “BC, Canada”. Year-round volunteer support is needed on the frontlines and beyond.
Sunday Jan. 20th,
learn the basics of the traditional technique of moxabustion in this simple workshop facilitated by Susan Shields, R.Ac.
Moxabustion is especially ideal in climates such as ours on Vancouver Island, which is generally characterized as windy, cold and damp for most of the year. It can help warm up and dry out our bodies.
Here is a very old and inspiring Tibetan story (and one that couldn’t be more relevant for our busy, disconnected lives of the modern world): Long, long ago when the world was young and the tiger walked with the deer, there was a rich king who had four wives. The king loved his fourth wife…
Our schedule is switching it up a little while Christina is in Vancouver for her first module of the Social Innovation Certificate at Simon Fraser University:
Thursday Sept. 20th, 10am – 2pm – Susan Shields is poking
Friday Sept. 21st, 3 – 7pm – Jenica Geisler is poking
Saturday Sept. 22nd, 9am – 1pm – Veronica Palmer-Jones is poking
Saturday Sept. 22nd, 2 – 6pm – acupuncture is CANCELLED
For folks who are hoping to get a flu vaccine for this particularly risky cold/flu season, they are now available and are FREE OF CHARGE down the street at STS Pharmacy at 820 Cormorant St. Just contact the pharmacist administering them, Tony Kim @ By phone: 236-562-8669 By email : info.higherhealth@gmail.com Or through his website, www.higherhealthinfo.ca
Sunday Nov. 18th,
Pain in the neck? Weight of the world on your shoulders? Are you a teeth grinder?
Learn this simple sequence of acupressure points with a partner and let your tension melt away. Facilitated by Veronica Palmer-Jones, R.Ac.
Hey nappers!We are in fact OPEN on Monday Oct. 12th on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, also known as Canadian Thanksgiving. Veronica will be poking Monday from 10am – 2pm, so book your post-turkey acunaps Back to regular programming Tuesday Oct. 13th! Heart & Hands would like to acknowledge that we make “our home” on the unceded…
