Tansi!

I am a psychiatric nurse, a member of George Gordon First Nation, and an intergenerational Indian Residential School survivor. Being an intergenerational survivor means that I am among the first in my family not to be sent to residential school, as both of my biological parents attended Gordon’s Indian Residential School. At just 30 years old, this often surprises people, as it’s a powerful, tangible display of how recent this cultural genocide was. For me, Indian Residential Schools are not just a closed chapter in our country’s history, they are a source of persistent trauma and loss that my family and I are still learning to cope with today.

I currently work as a psychiatric nurse at St. Paul’s Hospital, located in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. This role has given me a front-line view of how trauma, particularly intergenerational trauma, has impacted not only my own life, but also our communities. We see a disproportionate representation of Indigenous peoples across healthcare systems, in homelessness, the Canadian foster care system, and in prisons. It wasn’t until my education that I began to fully understand that all of this stems from historical trauma, because it embeds itself in the mind, body, and spirit, and is inherently passed down from one generation to the next.

My education brought me the awareness I needed to learn to heal from all of this and gave me the tools to help others.

Recently becoming a mother has added another layer to my healing journey. I am more focused on breaking harmful cycles and creating a more stable, supportive future for my daughter, where every child matters. A future built on awareness, reconciliation, and healing.

I would love to share my story with you, along with my professional insights, particularly around Indigenous mental health, trauma-informed care, and how i’ve managed to navigate these systems as a care provider, a survivor, and a mother.