Searching for Indigenous Peoples

Operates an Indigenous Health Access Centre that provides health care services including:

• Assistance with medical devices
• Completion of medical and treatment forms
• Diabetes care
• Follow up with clients that have chronic diseases
• Foot care services
• Health, nutrition education and counselling
• Hospital visits
• Immunizations
• Mental Health Services
• Prenatal and postnatal care
• Referrals to other services or agencies
• Routine annual physicals
• Sexual health advice, counselling, testing and treatment
• Treatment of illnesses
• Well children and baby care

Health care team consists of a Physician, Nurse Practitioners, Mental Health Counselor, Diabetes Educator, Registered Dietitian, Registered Physiotherapist, and a Registered Practical Nurse

• Provides cultural support services to assist people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness to find housing
• Uses cultural assessments, traditional healing services and medicine wheel teachings to guide people in their quest for housing

Activities and supports offered can include but are not limited to:

• Advocacy
• Assistance to find housing and to stay housed
• Assistance with housing rental supplements
• Education about budgeting, writing resumés etc
• Financial planning
• Fishing
• Smudging and sweat lodges
• Referrals to Indigenous agencies

Provides community health services encompassed under the Environmental Public Health Services umbrella

• Provides training to Indigenous individuals to increase employability skills
• Provides 10 weeks of classroom training including but not limited to time management, goal setting, communication skills, employment skills and expectations, conflict resolution, customer service, telephone skills, computer skills, worker's rights and responsibilities, work ethics, resumé and cover letter writing
• Training is followed by an eight-week optional paid work placement

Also offers certification in:

• Service Excellence
• Smart Serve
• WHMIS

Operates as a program under the Healing and Wellness Branch

Delivers a parenting support program and promotes child development

• Offers individual prenatal classes on an as needed basis
• Provides information on the stages of pregnancy
• Offers parents handbook of pregnancy and baby care (Baby's Best Chance)

Program participants are provided with:

• Advocacy and support
• Emergency supplies for child's basic needs (diapers, formula, baby food and milk)
• Follow up via telephone within 48 hours of discharge from hospital
• Home visits pre-birth to prepare family for new arrival
• Home visits post birth to offer support to new mothers
• Home visits during child's early years to offer development guidance
• Referrals to other programs and services

Also offers:

• Educational and promotional workshops and presentations to schools, community groups and parents
• Hosts cultural events

Operates as a program under the Healing and Wellness Branch

• Promotes healthy lifestyles through culturally based programs and healing
• Aims to reduce family violence

Provides assistance for individuals to identify areas of concern and to develop action plans to address concerns through the following:

• Sharing of appropriate information with related health and social agencies and providing referrals
• Crisis intervention education and workshops
• Illness prevention and wellness planning, information and education
• Traditional sharing circles
• Community outreach education to promote cultural awareness

Also provides:

• Assistance with completing forms of any kind
• Accessing existing programs and services
• Peer counselling for any identified concerns

Operates as a program under the Healing and Wellness Branch

• Provides information, advocacy and support to assist individuals to remain in their homes as long as possible
• Acts as respite for informal caregivers such as extended family

Community Support Services offered include:

• Caregiver support
• Case management
• Friendly visiting
• Service arrangement and coordination
• Transportation for medical appointments within Sault Ste Marie and/or assistance with medical appointment arrangements
• Visiting for social and safety reasons, either in person or on the phone

Operates as a program under the Education and Training Branch

Provides a range of culturally appropriate programs and services for Métis people to enhance employability and related skills including:

• Apprenticeship support (financial and training assistance)
• Career counselling
• Employment readiness support and training
• Financial support/wage subsidies and opportunity through a number of programs which may vary by office locations; programs are listed on website
• Mobility assistance
• Self-employment coaching assistance such as business plan and accounting information and access to computers, photocopiers and other equipment
• Services for clients with disabilities

Operates as a program under the Education and Training Branch

• Provides additional educational and training opportunities in specific areas and sectors that offer current or future employment
• Delivers Labour Market Projects in areas as needed including apprenticeships, tourism and hospitality, energy, housing and mining
• Conducts ongoing research for future employment and training opportunities

Operates as a program under the Education and Training Branch

• Advocates for Métis people in the development of education policies and programs in Ontario
• Participates in community school boards, colleges and universities and other educational agencies/stakeholders
• Encourages academic skills development
• Provides training programs that enable individuals to attain their educational aspirations
• Administers the Métis Student Bursary Program and provides assistance in applying for the Métis post secondary education bursary (list of participating colleges/universities on website)

Operates as a program under the Healing and Wellness Branch

• Developed as a new program aimed at supporting healthy and whole Métis families
• Works to reduce family violence, the number of youth involved in the justice system and the number of children in care
• Focus is on providing direct one-on-one client services and educational resources and family wellness planning

Services provided can include but are not limited to the following:

• After school safe places and homework clubs
• Assistance in navigating the community support system
• Assisting children and youth to foster self-identity and to develop life skills
• Court-related supports
• Empowering parents to be their children's best advocates
• Ensuring families have their basic needs met
• Guidance for building healthy relationships and raising awareness of personal safety issues
• Peer support for youth involved in justice and correction issues
• Referrals for employment and training programs
• Supports for children and youth who have experienced or witnessed violence
• Supports for Métis youth to stay in school
• Support in case meetings and conferencing

• Offers child welfare services, ongoing support and education to enhance the lives of young children and families
• Provides services under the direction of Kunuwanimano Child and Family Services

Offers the following services:

• Intake and assessments to determine needs of families and community
• Case management
• Coordination of customary care and foster care
• Parental and family advocacy and support
• Referrals to outside agencies
• Coordination of events to enhance lives of children and families

Provides services and assistance with the registration system of all issues pertaining to membership

• Responsible for the implementation of the Membership Code
• Informs community members and leadership of current and evolving Indian status changes and issues
• Maintains updated population statistics
• Supplies forms, provides guidance for filling out applications and offers assistance in mailing to applicable departments

Provides assistance in the following matters:

• Birth Certificate Application
• Statement of Live Birth
• Assistance with Death Certificates, Marriage and/or Divorce documents
• Application for Native Registration
• Membership Application
• Status card issuance and renewal (laminate status cards available)
• Blood quantum letters

Secure Certificate of Indian Status (SCIS)

• Encourages all members to apply for the new Secure Certificate of Indian Status (SCIS) card, an initiative of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC)
• Applications can be mailed or presented in person at an INAC office
• Application and forms available on the INAC website

Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) initiative to assist each Indigenous community to design and deliver their own holistic, prevention-focused services/programs and cultural supports to promote a healthy community and support families as needed in the community

• Focus is on improving the overall health and well-being of communities and to empower families to build healthy relationships
• Works to eliminate family violence, the number of youth involved in the justice system and the number of children in care

Activities and programs provided can include but are not limited to the following:

• Activities that revitalize Native language
• Alcohol and drug abuse prevention and intervention
• Community events such as feasts
• Family circles, counselling and child/youth support groups
• Referrals to other programs and services
• School programs
• Traditional land-based healing events

Functions as the governing office for the community; oversees all community programs, services and facilities

Activities and services for community members also include but are not limited to the following:

• Operates programs and services from a Band Office in the city of Sault Ste Marie
• Awarded a land claim settlement and currently surveying allotted land area near Chapleau Game reserve to determine best place to establish new community
• Provides the Missanabie Cree Business Corporation
• Owns and operates a seasonal Island View Camp near the town of Missanabie
• Publishes a monthly community newsletter Bear Fax available online
• Operates Missanabie Cree First Nation Hub offices in Wawa, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Toronto and London

Represents the community in lands and resources initiatives

• Liaises with all companies undertaking resource development in traditional Missanabie Cree territory including mining developments and forestry projects
• In 1996, under their specific claims policy, Canada finally accepted the Treaty Land Entitlement (TLE) claim for negotiation from Missanabie Cree First Nation
• Negotiations began with the government of Ont and a transfer of land was granted in 2010 consisting of 39 sq km of land about 200 km N of Sault Ste Marie near the Chapleau Game reserve
• Community awarded reserve status in 2018
• Land claim was settled with an award of $150 million by Federal gov't in 2020 as compensation for the 114-year old claim
• Currently surveying allotted area to determine best place to establish new community/reserve for the use and benefit of the Missanabie Cree

Assists Indigenous individuals prepare for, obtain and keep jobs

Employment Services

• Offers employment counselling
• Provides job information
• Offers resume/cover letter assistance

Employment and Training Program Interventions

Provides financial assistance for the following programs:

• Apprenticeship skills training
• Employment supports
• Income supports
• Labour market partnerships
• On-the-job training
• Purchase of training
• Self-employment assistance

Youth-Specific Interventions

• Stay in School Program
• Youth Internships

• Promotes increased participation in sport, physical fitness and recreation, and other programs that encourage healthy lifestyles
• Offers individual and group information sessions on fitness, traditional diets and healthy weight management

Offers specialized fitness and nutrition programs for:

• Children
• Youth
• Women
• Seniors and disabled adults

Offers the following programs:

• Healthy Eating, Healthy Weight
• Smoke Free Living/Smoking Cessation
• Youth Leadership

Provides individual, group and family counselling on the following issues:

• Domestic violence
• Relationship issues
• Child abuse
• Suicide prevention
• Drug and alcohol addiction

Offers the following cultural services:

• Cultural teachings
• Naming ceremonies
• Sweat lodge ceremonies

Provides support, tools and health programming to help build upon child's ability to make healthy choices

• Provides overall assessment of needs
• Develops action plan to address identified needs (addresses needs of child and parent/caregiver)
• Provides customized programs based on identified needs
• Provides appropriate referrals to community agencies to assist with identified needs
• Offers support to children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and disabilities who are at-risk of additional challenges

Focuses on the following:

• Provision of social supports to address poverty related self-esteem issues and peer pressure to engage in unhealthy behaviours
• Health and physical development

Program participants are offered the following:

• Assistance with homework
• Afterschool, evening and weekend activities
• Cultural crafts
• Elder teachings
• Outdoor activities

Provides a culturally based program to support and address concerns of Indigenous youth who are at risk of negative behaviors

Addressing Violence

• Provides education on how to end violence in Aboriginal communities
• Teaches about the effects of drug and alcohol abuse
• Offers the Kizhaay Anishinabe Niin Young People's Initiative (I am a Kind Man) program

Education

• Encourages youth to remain in school and provides support for obtaining high school diploma
• Offers homework assistance and time at the Centre to complete homework with access to computers and Internet
• Offers life skills guidance

Healthy Living and Physical Development

• Holds individual and group educational sessions on healthy lifestyle choices including good nutrition and traditional food preparation
• Offers recreational activities

Justice Intervention

• Accompanies any youth registered in agency programs to court proceedings if requested

Social Supports

• Provides individual and peer counselling for areas that youth may be struggling with such as socialization and peer pressure
• Offers Native craft classes and regalia making sessions
• Teaches Native dancing, singing and drumming
• Offers Street Wolf leadership skills

Youth in Care

• Provides cultural education and support for youth living in foster homes within community

• Promotes growth and healing for Indigenous people through culturally-specific services
• Reduces family violence and promotes healthy lifestyles

Provides the following services:

• Applying to healing lodges
• Elder visits
• Supportive peer counselling
• Traditional peer counselling

Programs provided:

• Anger solutions
• Weekly sewing circle
• Traditional health program