Aboriginal peoples in Canada have diverse cultures but share common social and political challenges that have contributed to their experiences of health and illness. This collection addresses the origins of mental health and social problems and the emergence of culturally responsive approaches to services and health promotion. Healing Traditions is not a handbook of practice but a resource for thinking critically about current issues in the mental health of indigenous peoples. Cross-cutting themes include: the impact of colonialism, sedentarization, and forced assimilation; the importance of land for indigenous identity and an ecocentric self; and processes of healing and spirituality as sources of resilience.

Laurence J. Kirmayer's profile page

Gail Guthrie Valaskakis was Distinguished Professor Emerita of Concordia University in Montreal and the director of research at the Aboriginal Healing Foundation in Ottawa. She was a founding member of the boards of Waseskun Healing Lodge, the Montreal Native Friendship Centre, the Native North American Studies Institute, and Manitou Community College and served on numerous boards dealing with issues involving women, First Nations, race, and culture. Her background is Chippewa and she was raised on the Lac du Flambeau reservation in Wisconsin. In 2002, she received a National Aboriginal Achievement Award for her contributions to Aboriginal media and communications. Her writing on the development and impact of northern and Native communications and on issues of Aboriginal cultural studies is widely published.

Gail Guthrie Valaskakis' profile page

Healing Traditions: The Mental Health of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada