Community Programs and Initiatives

Cree for “bringing them home.”
Through the development of culturally grounded housing support services, Ka-pe-kiwehtahat seeks to support access to safe, affordable housing options and prevent housing breakdown for Indigenous people in the Calgary community.

Supports Offered
The Ka-pe-kiwehtahat Housing Support Team supports Indigenous people at risk of homelessness to assess existing housing challenges and risk factors, provide available resources, create a plan for housing security, and build strategies to prevent homelessness in the future. One-time financial support is available for qualifying youth, families and single adults. Ongoing connection to cultural and social supports is provided upon request.

Who is Eligible?
Ka-pe-kiwehtahat is a barrier-free shelter prevention and diversion program for youth, families and single adults seeking short-term housing support to remain housed and/or be supported access to safe, affordable housing.

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Cree for “healing lodge.”
The Healing Lodge treatment program integrates traditional cultural values with other non-Indigenous approaches to create a holistic approach toward healing.

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Miskanawah’s land-based ceremonies and activities focus on protecting the smudge, healing the spirit and building relatives by engaging with traditional languages, songs, stories, and teachings within the natural surroundings of Mother Earth.

Miskanawah currently offers a range of land-based activities to children, youth and families at our Wahkotiwin-Home Fire. Miskanawah’s land-based ceremonies and activities focus on protecting the smudge, healing the spirit and building relatives by engaging with traditional languages, songs, stories, and teachings within the natural surroundings of Mother Earth. Many of Miskanawah’s programs and services include land-based healing as a key component of service delivery, as connection to the land remains an important priority for Miskanawah to support the continuation of Indigenous traditions, ceremonies, and healing practices. Our Elders remind us that our land-based strategies and cultural offerings are also opportunities for Miskanawah and our community partners to create ethical space between Indigenous and Western world-views.

For more information, please contact Jacqueline Shaw

Planet Youth is a long-term, upstream approach originating in Iceland in 1996, to support environmental change and reduce substance misuse for youth in their community. During the development of the Planet Youth Calgary model, the Indigenous Parallel has been engaging with youth, Elders and community agencies to incorporate Indigenous protocols, processes and youth voice into services for youth.
Indigenous Youth Engagement in Planet Youth Calgary began in 2021 through collaborative discussions with youth, United Way of Calgary and Area, Miskanawah, Trellis Society, USAY, and The Social Impact Lab. Youth Wellbeing Circles were established to engage Indigenous youth, their Elders, and mentor youth (“Youth Elders”) together, over a sustained period of time in a “design lab” process. Youth Wellbeing Circles explored current issues faced by Indigenous youth, and creative solutions from an Indigenous perspective. Several Elders were consulted in the creation of the Youth Wellbeing Circles, and guided the facilitators to create parallels between Western concepts and Indigenous teachings.
Miskanawah is honored to be working closely with the United Way of Calgary and Area to develop a Planet Youth model in Calgary, to meet the unique needs of Calgary’s Indigenous youth.

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