Indigenous elders speak about how things used to be historically, when we relied on our own natural laws and principles for our self-governance as Independent Nations. Colonization forced our people to suppress our traditional ways, however our culture was not entirely lost. The elders are now reminding us that these same laws which connected us to the land and sustained our livelihoods, need to be revisited so we can move forward with our survival as a people. It is further emphasized that it is our responsibility to take this initiative to move forward and give ourselves permission to do so, for we are no longer being actively suppressed from practicing our spirituality through our ceremonies.
For healing to take place we have to rely on our elders as the knowledge carriers to help us develop our own healing forums and strategies, and to design programs based on our own natural laws, that will accommodate the spiritual significance of what we need to do for our future generations to be healthy.
These forums for healing must accommodate discussions around language, ceremony, values and beliefs and most importantly our spirituality. As Indigenous people we have a spiritual connection to the land that is essential to our health and well- being, individually and collectively as Nations, therefore our designs have to include our own ideologies and principles based on a holistic approach for helping.
Finally, we have to recognize that the colonization process is in itself a formidable spirit that must be respected as such, for it continues to remain firmly ingrained into the existing governing systems, and within our own mentalities. Designing programs for our own people is essential for our continued existence, and of who we are as Indigenous people, not who we were forced to become through the colonization process.