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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTYLER SEARLE \/ FREE PRESS
\n Dr. Melanie Morris, a pediatric surgeon and the leader of Indigenous health at the Health Sciences Centre Children\u2019s Hospital at the start of construction for the Indigenous Community Healing Space on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor too long, our Indigenous families come to these doors and feel like strangers.\u201d <\/p>\n
Dozens of Indigenous dignitaries, hospital administrators and stakeholders gathered inside an active construction site on the second floor of the hospital Tuesday, which will soon be home to the Indigenous Community Healing Space.<\/p>\n
The hospital has carved out a 2,000-square-foot room, which will be reserved for Indigenous children and families accessing health care.<\/p>\n
It will feature art and design elements reflective of Indigenous culture, including a space for traditional ceremonies. Plans include a library stocked with Indigenous-language books, a section for breastfeeding mothers and a private area where families can have important or difficult conversations, Morris said.<\/p>\n
The goal is to create a space that feels familiar and welcoming to Indigenous families, and one that can serve as a cultural touchstone for those who travel far from their homes for health care, she said.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Janessa Dumas-Colomb, 17, a former patient who spent much of her youth at the hospital, said she wishes such a space existed when she was a child.<\/p>\n The teenager began experiencing kidney issues when she was just six years old, and was forced to move to Winnipeg from her home in Mathias Colomb Cree Nation as she waited for an organ transplant.<\/p>\n The community is located about 700 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, near the Saskatchewan border.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are some amazing people here at Children\u2019s\u2026 but I still felt really far away from home. I missed being out on the land, around my community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me and my younger siblings, this would have been a place for us to be together after my treatments.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Morris conceived the idea around 2015 and prepared the design plans in consultation with a panel of Indigenous elders, community leaders and kids. She pitched it to hospital leadership, but the project encountered repeated delays.<\/p>\n \u201cIt didn\u2019t take 10 years for nothing. The institutional barriers that our families face, this project faced, too. We certainly had to fight a lot of the time, because space is a critical essence in hospitals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe institutional barriers that our families face, this project faced, too.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cAt a certain point, I had to stand up to leadership and say, \u2018You know what? We can create more of the same rooms where they don\u2019t feel safe, or we can actually commit to\u2026 the care of Indigenous peoples in the way that they see healing \u2014 with access to their medicines, their ceremonies, their elders.\u201d<\/p>\n In January, the Manitoba government announced it would donate $4 million in proceeds from the sale of U.S. alcohol to local charities, including $1 million to the Children\u2019s Hospital Foundation.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Stefano Grande, the foundation\u2019s president and CEO, said half of those funds went directly toward supporting the healing space. Getting the project off the ground was critical because up to 60 per cent of the children who need care at the hospital are Indigenous.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not just about culture or capacity. It reflects the ongoing impacts of colonialism, the systemic inequalities and barriers to preventative care that Indigenous families continue to face,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we all see those numbers, we are called to respond\u2026. This is so much more than a capital project. It is a powerful act of reconciliation and a commitment to building a better future for kids.\u201d<\/p>\n A construction services tender has been issued and contract submissions are under review. It is expected to cost about $2.2 million in total. The foundation is still seeking about $1.2 million in donor support to help cover additional expenses, including furnishings for the space and developing cultural programming, Grande said.<\/p>\n Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the province was pleased to see the project come to fruition, noting it reflects \u201cyears of advocacy and partnership with Indigenous leaders and community members.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \u201dHealing looks different for everyone, and our health system needs to reflect that,\u201d the minister said in a statement.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cWhen a child is in hospital, care should support them not only physically, but emotionally and culturally. For Indigenous children and families, that includes access to ceremony, connection to elders and space for cultural practices that are part of healing.\u201d<\/p>\n The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs has also endorsed the project.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just so grateful that this is happening,\u201d Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said. \u201cThis means so much to our families, to our children, and I know this space is going to mean so much to our community.\u201d<\/p>\n Morris estimated construction could be completed within a year and said she hopes it will pave the way for other health-care facilities to introduce similar spaces that are Indigenous-led and designed.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Tyler Searle Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press\u2019s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic\u2019s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022.\u00a0Read more about Tyler<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSTANTEC
\nA rendering of the gathering circle at the Indigenous Community Healing Space at the Health Sciences Centre Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSTANTEC
\nA rendering of a gathering space within the healing centre. The healing space is set to feature art and design elements reflective of Indigenous culture.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSTANTEC
\nA rendering of the kitchen at the Indigenous Community Healing Space.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSTANTEC
\nA rendering of the library within the Indigenous Community Healing Space.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSTANTEC
\nA rendering of the play area.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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