First Nations

Helen

Helen Gartner is a retired First Nations Liaison Worker from the community of McLennan in Peace River country in Northern Alberta but has lived in the Yukon for over 40 years.

Inviting Spirit to walk with us

Helen shares how inviting Spirit to walk with us can provide comfort and companionship during loss. (1:54)

First Nations - Grief, Loss, Dying, and Death

Wiping the tears ceremony (1:58)
Traditions and grief (1:55)
Group help for grief (2:02)
The anger of grief (1:19)
Letting go (2:16)
Returning to my culture (0:53)
Honour and let go (1:33)
A time to cry (1:10)
Grief comes in waves (0:57)
Haida G'waii fire ceremonies (2:15)
Reincarnation (1:24)
After death beliefs (0:25)
Helping others mourn and heal (2:29)
Moving to the spirit world (1:37)
The comfort of ceremonies (1:31)
Go freely now (1:29)
Preparing the body for the spirit world (2:41)
One year to grieve (1:27)
Family grief and healing (0:39)
Indigenous Voices: Honouring Our Loss and Grief (23:07)
Burial traditions in my community (1:26)
Burial traditions in my community (1:26)
From the AIDS Crisis to COVID: The Importance of End-of-Life Rituals (1:28)
The sacred fire (1:27)
Symbols of remembrance (1:09)
The relationship continues (1:39)
The Memorial Quilt Project (2:03)
Erased in death: Honouring Two-Spirit identities (0:49)
Honouring and remembering our Two-Spirit community (1:26)
Responding to grief and loss in a tangible way (1:08)
Acknowledging caregivers (0:58)
Healing collectively as a community (1:30)
When we couldn’t speak our grief (1:12)
Two-Spirit lives and loss in the AIDS epidemic (1:49)
The trauma of loss (0:57)
Healing together (0:31)
We all grieve in our own way (2:31)
Taking time (0:37)
Take note of the drag queens (1:11)
A journey of letting go (1:04)
Life continues forward (0:37)
Remembering our missing sons (1:24)
Dignity for transgender patients (1:31)
Becoming an advocate after the death of a loved one (1:15)
Why we need to talk about loss (1:25)
Gifting an eagle feather (0:55)
Before colonization inclusion was our tradition (1:24)
Relationships continue after death (0:53)
The journey of life (1:44)
Transforming as we move through our lives (0:41)
Leaving a legacy (1:05)
Learning to laugh (1:20)
Celebrating life and death as a family (2:13)
Saying goodbye from above (1:09)
Sensing the passing of a loved one (1:35)
Finding strength in each other (3:31)
Breaking the cycle of trauma (1:46)
We carry the silence of hidden trauma (1:05)
The trauma and grief that our Elders continue to live with (1:06)
The gift of listening and being present (2:15)
Words of comfort in the face of loss (1:02)
The body remembers what the heart fears (0:49)
How I grieved the near-loss of my husband (0:56)
Learning to let go (1:50)
Addiction, loss and the need to stand together (2:18)
Living within an ongoing cycle of grief (1:31)
My sister was murdered: How Indigenous people are often treated as second-class citizens (1:42)
Facing my husband’s health crisis (1:21)
Connecting to the Creator during difficult times (2:42)
Returning to our spiritual self in times of grief (1:38)
Choosing our path and finding our peace (1:59)
Teaching and learning along our life journey (1:40)
When laughter brought balance to a tragic situation (3:29)
A different way to think about grief (1:41)
Grief and the loss of our spiritual self (1:03)
Honouring our grief (0:53)
Supporting connection and guiding healing (2:01)
Recognizing the weight of cumulative grief (2:40)
Grieving in the midst of crisis (2:58)
An invitation to healing (2:28)
Creation Stories can serve as guides for grief (2:36)
Colonization, grief and resilience (1:48)
The ongoing impacts of colonization (2:44)
Re-claiming teachings can help us heal (3:00)
Spirit first: Finding a path through grief (1:24)
Healing for future generations (2:02)
Supporting grief through re-claiming our teachings (2:17)
Tools and teachings for grief and healing (2:32)
Ceremony and healing after the death of my father (3:02)
Burning ceremonies connect us to the spirit world (1:57)
A brushing ceremony helps take away mistakes of those that have died (1:54)
A hospice ceremony helped me grieve my sister’s death (1:33)
Completing the brushing ceremony (1:58)
Wrapping loved ones in a blanket (0:33)
My first experiences of grief and funerals were overshadowed by the church (3:00)
How we support grieving families (1:35)
Our lost generations (1:28)
Unresolved grief and Indigenous identity (1:10)
Healing and balance (1:00)
Swallowing our emotional pain (1:00)
Climate change and grief (1:10)
When you carry unresolved grief, you carry heaviness (1:41)
Unresolved grief stresses our whole system (1:34)
Trauma, loss and carrying heaviness (2:20)
Forgiveness and removing negative energy (0:57)
One can grieve while not carrying the heaviness of grief (1:26)
It's common to live with the fear of losing someone (1:10)
You’re never alone (0:36)
Forgiveness and grief (3:58)
Racism, grief and loss of identity (2:06)
Racisim and Canada’s medical system (3:07)
Ignorance and racism (0:52)
My sister taught me about death (2:03)
Healing the Nations: My Hummingbird Song (2:11)
Rituals and ceremony could be called “no-talk therapy” (0:37)
Reincarnation and the human spirit (2:23)
The Brushing Ceremony: Releasing grief, restoring Spirit (3:57)
From Head to Toe: Letting Go Through the Brushing Ceremony (2:16)
We had a sustainable way of life for thousands of years (1:58)
Music is healing (2:37)
Medicine, music and healing (1:38)
Rejuvenating our Spirit (1:55)
Living in harmony ensured that we were healthy (2:10)
Music can free you from what’s hurting you (1:44)
Laughter and stories can help with grief (1:20)
Our teachings can help with trauma (1:01)

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