ᓇᓇᑕᐃᐧᐦᐃᐁᐧᐃᐧᐣ ~ nanâtawihiwêwin ~ healing
Estimated read time: 2 minutes
As a meaningful reminder of CPSA’s journey of Truth and Reconciliation, we commissioned a work of art by Cree/Métis artist Karlee Fellner. Below, Karlee describes her creation in her own words:
This piece depicts the healing that takes place in the context of compassionate, holistic care of the person-in-relation. In the centre is the person seeking medical care. This person, as with all people, is interconnected with their family, their communities, their nations, the land and the cosmos, and with 7 generations of ancestors and 7 generations of descendants. Whatever the dis-ease that brings this person to need help does not belong only to that individual, but is a reflection of this web of relationships. Healing also echoes through this web. The 4 directional quadrants in the background of this circle remind us that the dis-ease, and thus healing, are also holistic and reflect balancing of spirit, heart, mind, and body. Each of these must be brought into balance for the person-in-relation to experience fulsome wellness.
This holistic person-in-relation is held by the hands of the healthcare providers who are supporting them. These are the hands of the earth, of this physical realm, and it is through the compassion and love of those providers that healing is made possible. These providers are supported through the hands of the ancestors, holding the person-in-relation with love from the cosmos above. We are never alone, and when we allow spirit to move through us in a good way in our work, we transcend our human limitations and channel powerful medicine and healing to those coming to us for help. We are made of land and water, and the metaphysical is always with us, supporting. The most powerful healing takes place when the person-in-relation is held in this way, feeling loved and nurtured.
This piece also depicts the interconnection of all humans with the land and the cosmos, our dependence on water and earth to live, on night and day, sun and moon. These dualities are depicted as an inevitable part of the work of healing. The bear represents our traditional Indigenous medicines, just a few of which are painted here (bergamot, rose hips, strawberries, wild rose, dandelion, sage). The snake, whose head is lowered in humility and reverence, represents the roots of Euro Western medicine as connected to Asklepios, an ancient Greek god of medicine. The snake itself embodies duality through its capacity to hurt or heal, and its teachings of cleansing and rebirth. The bear and snake carry the landscapes of the territories that are commonly known as Alberta: the mountains, forest, prairie, badlands, and desert. Each of these landscapes carry powerful medicine.
This piece is offered in gratitude to all of those physicians and surgeons, and healthcare professionals and support staff, who hold those they serve in compassion and love. kinanâskomitin thank you. ay hay.
Dr. Karlee Fellner
ᒥᔪᑌᐦ ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ miyotehiskwew (Good Hearted Woman) katoyiis akii (Sweet Pine Woman) Dr. Karlee Fellner is a Cree/Métis professor, provisional psychologist, and visual artist. Karlee’s interdisciplinary work is based in Indigenous approaches to wellness and community healing, with broader focuses on Indigenous health, psychology, and social justice. She is an Associate Professor of Counselling Psychology Indigenous Education at the University of Calgary, and is founder of maskihkiy wellness. Karlee believes that each individual, family, and community has the medicine they need to live full, healthy lives, and this belief is at the core of all that she does, from her therapeutic work to her community-driven program development work to her art work. Karlee’s work crosses many disciplinary boundaries, spanning visual art, healthcare, psychology, academia, education, Indigenous governance, and community development. This work engages a holistic creative process grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing, invoking relationships with the land, cosmos, and other-than-human and more-than-human relatives to create work that is personally and collectively healing.