Women Warriors

Women Warriors Podcast Lisa Graham is the Provincial Coordinator for Justice and Solicitor General Victim Services, Government of Alberta. She is tasked with identifying and filling the gaps in services for families who are suffering through having a loved one who is missing, including making services available in a culturally… Read more

By Rhonda Kronyk You can also download this entire 2 part newsletter as a PDF by clicking here. Many of us have it within our power to make changes – even when we don’t realize we have that power.  For starters, we can lobby universities, health care providers, social agencies and… Read more

Nordic Walking with Vera Cardinal Last Tuesday, October 16th Dr. Sonja Wicklum and I went to Onion Lake early so that I could instruct Vera Cardinal on how to urban pole (also known as Nordic Walking). She was interested in joining the Women Warriors program, but due to time constraints… Read more

By Brandy-Lee Maxie I often overshare my life on social media, but I do it for various reasons. It’s a great tool to have a voice and be visible in a world where indigenous women don’t really have a voice and continue to be practically invisible to society. Growing up,… Read more

MA thesis learnings from our University of Calgary grad student, Megan Sampson It has been one year since I travelled to Lloydminster to conduct ethnographic research with the Women Warriors program. I will soon defend my MA thesis based on the results of that work, which explored the dietary practices of  Indigenous… Read more

Twelve Weeks to Healthy Living September 25th – December 11th.   On September 13th I welcomed our new OLCN facilitator, Jaeden Carter, our program and research coordinator, Alicia Oliver, and our backup facilitator and community health representative, Lori Lewis into my home for a full day of facilitator training. Onion… Read more

This past semester I undertook my own research project as part of my research methodologies course through the University of Athabasca. My exploratory study gathered preliminary information on smoking and cannabis behaviors, attitudes about upcoming legalization, opinions on community-driven tobacco interventions, and characteristics of the population, composed of participants from Women… Read more

On the 10th anniversary of the Government of Canada’s apology for the Residential School system and its legacy, I would like to share with you how I honor survivors and how I teach my daughters ages 8, 7, and 5 about reconciliation. Last summer we visited the Glenbow Museum in… Read more

A poem to celebrate all the amazing and inspiring Mother’s in our communities. I see you. The tired eyes.The leaky breasts. Yawns escape as we talk. Three hours of sleep. A cocktail of hormones and emotions. How is it possible to be drunk on love with borderline depression? No one… Read more

The Teachings of the Medicine Wheel. Losing weight is soul-crushing; it involves deprivation, shame, and guilt. Most weight loss programs, fads or diets require restricting calories, omitting food groups from your diet, and the sting of failure every time you step on that scale and it fails to reflect your… Read more

Our third guest writer in our truth-telling series identifies as Cree-Saulteaux, and grew up in the North End of Winnipeg, with family roots in Norway House Cree Nation and Peguis First Nation. Dr. Marcia Anderson (Power of Mentorship profile featured below) currently practices both internal medicine and public health and is… Read more

Women Warriors 8 Weeks to Healthy Living Pilot – Facilitator Training It was an honor to present our program and research findings from the past two years, including University of Calgary Master’s student, Megan Sampson’s preliminary findings on food security to City of Calgary managers and stakeholders on Friday, March… Read more

Understanding How Indigenous Women’s Health, Colonization & the Truth of Our History Are Interwoven As we put the final touches on the Women Warriors facilitators manual and I prepare my slideshow to train the new facilitators in Calgary on March 16th and 17th, I am reflective of the importance of… Read more

Insights from Indigenous Mothers Brandy-Lee Maxie is a storyteller, entrepreneur, and mother of three children ages 15, 12, and 9 from the White Bear First Nations in Saskatchewan.  Tonight is a hard night to feel like Reconciliation in Canada is a possibility – that concept just got further away from being achievable. Racism… Read more

A Story of How We Are All Connected   Yesterday, after Raymond Cormier’s acquittal of second-degree murder in the death of Tina Fontaine I watched as Native Twitter erupted: Heartbreak. Grief. Sorrow. Outrage. Anger. Frustration. Disbelief. I posted: My heart is broken for the family of Tina Fontaine. What does… Read more

My Insights as an Indigenous Adoptee On January 20th, 2018 I attended my first North Slave Métis Alliance (NSMA) annual general assembly. This AGA was important to me because I did not grow up with my Metis culture or with my biological family. I was adopted at birth and I found my… Read more

Insights & Resources for Non-Indigenous Community Members. When I first moved to Lloydminster in 2009, I came from Edmonton where I attended the University of Alberta during the school year and lived in Yellowknife during the summer months. My family is from Yellowknife and I visit them on a regular… Read more

January 17th International Mentor Day January is Mentoring Month and today is International Mentor Day. I asked guest writer, Helen Knott, to share her experience with mentorship. Her piece below highlights the importance of mentorship, within our Indigenous communities, and how mentors can come in the form of our family members,… Read more

The Arctic Indigenous Wellness Project Last Friday, November 24th I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Nicole Redvers, a Metis naturopath and Elder Be’sha Blondin at the Institute of Circumpolar Health Research in Yellowknife. I had reached out to Nicole in mid-September to discuss hosting an Indigenous health symposium. My podcast guest, Jean Cardinal and my cousin and… Read more

Last week Megan, our graduate student from the University of Calgary doing her thesis on food security with the Women Warriors in Lloydminster (read her preliminary research findings here) and I attended Tamarack Institute’s “Evaluating Community Impact” workshop in Saskatoon, November 14th to 16th. Thanks to Rhett Sangster, Director, Reconciliation and Community Partnership, Office of… Read more

University of Calgary Graduate Student, Megan Shares Her Preliminary Findings from Lloydminster & Onion Lake Cree Nation As a graduate student from the University of Calgary’s Department of Anthropology, I have been partnering with Women Warriors over the past month and researching the nutritional realities of local Indigenous women (Cree… Read more

Three Female Candidates Share Their Insights From Running In Municipal & First Nations Politics Fostering Indigenous women leaders and building our participation in politics, and policymaking is an important form of reconciliation in Canada. According to the website Equal Voice, “the United Nations says that a critical mass of at… Read more

Three Female Canidates Share Their Insights From Running In Municipal & First Nations Politics The 88th anniversary of Person’s Day took place on October 18th, and celebrates the Famous Five’s victory to include women in the legal definition of “Persons,” thereby marking women’s entry into the public and political spheres… Read more

Letter to the Editor of the Lloydminster Meridian Booster & the Lloydminster Source How Can the Media Do A Better Job of Representing Indigenous Voices In This Community? Reconciliation is about learning the truth of Canada’s history with Indigenous peoples, examining the ongoing legacy of colonialism, and acknowledging that we… Read more

Holding Space for Honesty, Healing & Hope. As a bonus for signing up for the Women Warriors email list, you get the first two podcast episodes one day early! Please do us a favour and rate, review, and subscribe on iTunes! Please listen on our Libsyn account if you don’t… Read more

Our tentative plans to move the Women Warriors Program & Research January 2018 Last Friday myself, Onion Lake band councilor, Dolores Pahtayken, our Master’s student from the University of Calgary, Megan, Women Warrior participant, Ashley, Elder from the Ekweskeet Healing Lodge, Verna Buffalo Calf and gardening expert, Tracey Lepp met… Read more

Navigating Metis Identity as an Indigenous Adoptee *I have made a few addendums to the newsletter due to an email last night from someone respectfully asking that I remove their name. I’m a very accommodating person. Also, after I spoke with my dad last night he had a few excellent… Read more

Social Media Break by Shelley Wiart I took a social media break Because I was tired of being connected. I wish Katy and Nicki would remake Alanis Morisette’s “Ironic” Because they could never write their own intelligent lyrics “They don’t know what is what. They just strut. WTF.” WTF. I’ll rewrite it… Read more

I am a parent that believes in telling my children the truth. I don’t shelter my girls from the evils of the world, and I tell them the truth as much as I deem appropriate for their age and understanding. I do not consider these painting too explicit for them.… Read more

Why I Dedicated the Second Season of the Women Warriors Podcast to Healing. The first time I heard a residential school survivor speak was March of 2009 in my class at the University of Alberta Native Studies 380/Women Studies 494: Challenging Racism and Stereotypes. It is a vivid memory because I was… Read more

 Sharing my insights about the land, healing, Reconciliation & Canada 150.   Family Vacation June 15th-22nd Every year we visit my family for a week in Yellowknife to celebrate National Aboriginal Day AKA NAD2017 (now re-named by Trudeau as National Indigenous Peoples Day), and catch up with my family, the Enge’s.… Read more

 Sharing my insights about the land, healing, Reconciliation & Canada 150. The New Generation of Reconciliation  On the last week of school my seven year old daughter came home & told me what she learned about residential school in class. You can view the video I recored on my twitter feed which she stated, “the… Read more

 Sharing my insights about the land, healing, Reconciliation & Canada 150. Onion Lake Powwow 2017 Last Friday I welcomed two of our researchers from the University of Calgary, master’s student, Megan and summer student, Elsy to Lloydminster to attend their first powwow. Megan’s role in the Women Warriors research is investigating… Read more

Lessons learned from completing season one of the Women Warriors podcast & reflections on the Writing Stick Conference. My Top Seven Takeaways From Season One 1) No one will make your dreams come true, but you. Invest your own money into a project that you feel deeply about. If I had waited to raise all… Read more

Please listen and subscribe to the Women Warriors podcast on iTunes! Please help us reach New & Noteworthy by leaving a review on iTunes. Here’s a quick “how to.” If you have an android device, we highly recommend the Podcast Addict app, or you can listen to the podcast section of this website!… Read more

Please listen and subscribe to the Women Warriors podcast on iTunes! Please help us reach New & Noteworthy by leaving a review on iTunes. Here’s a quick “how to.” If you have an android device, we highly recommend the Podcast Addict app, or you can listen to the podcast section of this website! Helen… Read more

Please listen and subscribe to the Women Warriors podcast on iTunes! Please help us reach New & Noteworthy by leaving a review on iTunes. Here’s a quick “how to.” If you have an android device, we highly recommend the Podcast Addict app, or you can listen to the podcast section of this website! Women… Read more

Please listen and subscribe to the Women Warriors podcast on iTunes! Please help us reach New & Noteworthy by leaving a review on iTunes. Here’s a quick “how to.” If you have an android device, we highly recommend the Podcast Addict app, or you can listen to the podcast section of this website! Women… Read more