Community Love Part One: Bringing the Čapac to Life

Self-determination and cultural continuity are key determinants of Indigenous health. This two year university-First Nation partnership examined the revitalization of ceremonial teachings and cultural practices as an effort to minimize hardships for the young men in the community and to provide a means for them to regain confidence, transferable skills, and a deepened understanding of their roles and responsibilities as Nuu-chah-nulth men. We take the position that youth are healing from colonial disruptions to Indigenous identities that have presented in the form of intergenerational trauma; therefore, their healing is a matter of the whole community healing together. Reclaiming the art and ancestral teachings of carving a cedar dugout canoe, revitalizing language by creating bilingual community resources, and revitalizing cultural practices with the support of relative Nations and matriarchal wisdom enlivened the village during the global pandemic. In this two-part article, we will describe a ceremonial, land-based education and wellness project and its ceremonial and arts-based approach, focusing on stories of cultural resurgence in Part One and, in Part Two, the youth wellness framework that emerged, along with insights on self-determination and community wellness. This expression of community love is represented in a youth wellness framework to encourage wholistic perspectives on Indigenous mental health and to inform mental health educators, practitioners, and policymakers working with Indigenous communities.