Community Love Part Two: A Pacheedaht Youth Wellness Framework

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 and, therefore, that their healing is a matter of the whole community healing together. Reclaiming the art and ancestral teachings of carving a cedar dug-out canoe 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; the ceremonial and arts-based approach; the 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 that encourages wholistic perspectives on Indigenous mental health and informs mental health educators, practitioners, and policymakers working with Indigenous communities.