Two Eyed Seeing: Bridging the Western and Indigenous Understanding of Health, Healing and Life. Being raised as a person of blended ancestry, Mohawk and European, I learned to see life from both worldviews. In becoming a Naturopathic Doctor, and Birth Doula I began to understand how Naturopathic Medicine can be understood as a bridge between the healing traditions of our Indigenous communities, and Western approaches to health and wellness. My goal in this podcast is to build that bridge, by bringing you information on various topics about health and wellness from both perspectives, so we can learn and grow together as we journey through life on this pace we call Earth, and Turtle Island.
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Culturally Focused Care and Why I Went Back to Doula School [Episode 27]
Episode 27
Monday, June 3, 2024 • Duration 56:42
In this episode, I will be sharing about about the importance of culturally focused care, and training within a cultural context. Sometimes people don't understand why we, as Indigenous people, ask for spaces, training and care that are specific to our cultural practices and traditions. They misunderstand this request as something that would be 'nice to have', when in reality it is absolutely essential. We also discuss some exciting new developments for the podcast!
TRIGGER WARNING: We do touch on pregnancy loss and abortion very briefly in this episode.
In This Episode:
[00:02:02] Revisiting Why I Created Two Eyed Seeing
[00:03:48] Returning to Doula School or Full Spectrum Doula Training
[00:13:55] Pregnancy is not an automatic medical emergency
[00:17:29] The difference between being in the culture and non-Indigenous approaches
[00:21:31] Why the issues are still an important factor today
[00:23:08] Why Culturally Focused Care Is Not a ”Nice to Have”, but Essential
[00:29:20] The Impacts of Trauma on Birth
[00:30:00] Speaking to Pregnancy Loss and Termination of Pregnancy
[00:33:41] Benefits of Indigenous Doula and Midwifery care
[00:38:51] Understanding the Impact of Culturally Appropriate Care and Training
Grandmothers, Elders, and All Our Relations with Dr. Kathy Absolon [Episode 26]
Episode 26
Monday, November 13, 2023 • Duration 01:25:34
In this episode, I will be talking with Dr. Kathy Absolon about the role of Grandmothers, relating to your Elders, and rediscovering healthy family relationships in our current times. Dr. Kathy Absolon is a grandmother, mother, sister, daughter and Associate Professor in the Indigenous Field of Study in the Faculty of Social Work at Wilfred Laurier University and Founding Director of the Centre for Indigegogy.
TRIGGER WARNING: We do touch on some challenging topics, in relation to MMIWG2S, residential schools and impacts of colonization.
About Dr. Kathy Absolon:
Dr. Kathy Absolon is Anishinaabekwe from Flying Post First Nation. Her academic journey has been a pathway of unlearning, healing, re-learning and finding who she is as an Indigenous woman & what her place is in the academy. Her Anishinaabe name is Minogiizhigo kwe which translates to mean Shining Day Woman, the one who brings goodness & beauty to the day.
In 2008, She received her PhD from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. "Kaandossiwn, this is how we come to know: Indigenous research methodologies in the academy" was her dissertation title with a focus on Indigenous research. She received her Masters in Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1991. Her Masters research was titled: “Healing the Fallen Eagle" with a focus on Indigenous knowledge in social work.
The Centre for Indigegogy: Indigenous Centred Wholistic Development
She is the Founding Director of the newly formed Centre for Indigegogy. Indigenous centred wholistic development. They are engaging in an Indigenous Educators' Certificate in Indigegogy commencing August 2017 and a Decolonizing Certificate for educators beginning in September 2017. What's unique about the Centre is that it offers experiences for learning steeped in ceremony, circle work and in the presence of medicines. Their approach is wholistic and transformative. Watch for the Centres' updates for emerging opportunities in Indigenous wholistic approaches. You can go to: https://www.wlu.ca/academics/faculties/faculty-of-social-work/centre-for-indigegogy/index.html to learn more about the Centre.
What Does Spirituality Mean For You? [Episode 17]
Episode 17
Wednesday, November 24, 2021 • Duration 22:01
Hello and welcome back to Two-Eyed seeing, we're going to be talking about all things to do with spirituality and what that means for you. So, stay tuned.
“ WE ARE NOT PHYSICAL BEINGS HAVING A SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE, WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS HAVING A PHYSICAL EXPERIENCE.”
In this episode, we are going to be talking about one of the things that I've often heard from my teachers in various ways of being and thinking is that we are not physical beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a physical experience. It can include religion, it cannot include religion, it can be more holistic in terms of all the different ways of thinking of thought, and just that kind of universal spirituality, I think it's a lot more open to interpretation than what we tend to think of when we hear the word spirituality Stay Tuned, and learn further as we go into this topic and conversation, always leave a comment if you have queries about this episode.
IN THIS EPISODE:
[0:04] Introduction and context for this episode - What Does Spirituality Mean For You?
[2:11] I talked about life’s journey.
[04:16] My thoughts on Spirituality.
[06:00] I shared on how I tend to think and approach life?
[09:01] I shared what spirituality looks like for me.
[13:48] What spirituality looks like for me in terms of how I practice it...
Birth, Life & Death: The Circle of Life [Episode 16]
Episode 16
Tuesday, September 21, 2021 • Duration 23:31
Hello and welcome back to Two-Eyed seeing, we're going to be talking a little bit about birth and death, and how the two actually come together and really complete the cycle of life. so stay tuned.
“ BIRTH, LIFE & DEATH ARE ALL CONNECTED. THEY ALL FLOW TOGETHER”
In this episode, we are going to be talking all about the circle of life, today and that life is full of both joy and sadness. That is what colors the canvas of our life in this physical existence. Stay Tuned, and learn further as we go into this topic and conversation, always leave a comment if you have queries about this episode.
IN THIS EPISODE:
[0:04] Introduction and context for this episode - Birth, Life & Death: The Circle of Life
[3:59] I talked about the concerns of giving birth.
[06:39] Giving birth is not something to be afraid of but it is something to celebrate and be happy about.
[11:50] I talked about the feeling of collective grief.
[13:58] What is Khan's teachings?
[17:33] I talked about what I find so beautiful about this circular view of life.
Hello and welcome back to Two-Eyed seeing, we're going to be talking all about stress. Because this is huge for all of us almost all the time, but especially right now, so stay tuned.
“REST IS ACTUALLY WHAT IS SHARPENING OUR CAPACITY”
In this episode, we are going to be talking all about stress today. We know that stress is something that we all deal with on an ongoing basis that we all have different times in our life when stress is higher stress is lower. But it's something we deal with every single day and especially in the climate that we're currently in still being dealt with the pandemic. Stay Tuned, and learn further as we go into this topic and conversation, always leave a comment if you have queries about this episode.
IN THIS EPISODE:
[0:55] Introduction and context for this episode - Stress and its Impact on Your Health
[1:45] What do we mean by stress?
[07:05] What actually significantly increases our productivity?
[8:20] What's going on in our body when we're experiencing stress and we're feeling really stressed.
[14:10] What are some strategies and some practical things that we can do to help us deal with stress?
[23:03] Tips that are easy to implement at home on help us deal with stress.
Understanding LGBTQ2SIA+ and Healthcare with Dr. Cyndi Gilbert [Episode 14]
Episode 14
Monday, August 30, 2021 • Duration 37:05
Hello and welcome back to Two-Eyed seeing, we are going to be speaking with Dr. Cindy Gilbert. She is a naturopathic doctor, author and faculty member of the Canadian College of naturopathic medicine, and is very focused on treating those in our society who are stigmatized and marginalized in our wellness circles. So stay tuned for this amazing episode about how we can potentially be better at supporting our LGBTQ community and our VIP OC communities and all the wonderful things that we're getting into in this episode.
“IN A GLOBAL SCALE, INDIGENOUS AND TRADITIONAL CONCEPTS OF GENDER AND SEXUAL DIVERSITY IS ACTUALLY A GALAXY OF IDENTITIES”
In this episode, what we're actually going to be focusing on today is talking about the LGBTQ community, and how we can better support them as healthcare providers, and just as individual people within the world. Stay Tuned, and learn further as we go into this topic and conversation, always leave a comment if you have queries about this episode.
IN THIS EPISODE:
[1:12] Introduction and context for this episode
[3:28] One of the biggest things Dr. Gilbert is struggling with in terms of actually being the supportive health care providers and the supportive people helping LGBTQ2SIA+.
[11:39] Talking about the new consulting service that Dr. Gilbert and her colleague just recently started.
[14:36] Dr Gilbert highlighting their important service you need to know.
[18:24] Dr Gilbert talking about how important it is to create safe and inclusive clinic spaces in a deeper level for the LGBTQ2SIA+ community.
[22:24] Moving beyond the performative ally ship and going to the next level of helping and supporting in a deeper sense.
[24:31] Dr Gilbert talking about many analogies of identity and how that plays on some indigenous folks.
Simple Strategies to Support Your Family's Immune Health [Episode 13]
Episode 13
Monday, August 23, 2021 • Duration 28:37
Hello and welcome back to Two-Eyed seeing, we are going to be talking about all things to do with the immune system and supporting the immune system. So be sure to stay with us.
YOU CAN'T OUTRUN A BAD DIET, YOU ALSO CAN'T OUT SUPPLEMENT A BAD DIET.
In this episode,what we're going to be talking about today is to do with the immune system. During this time of the year, I typically talk to my patients, especially those with families and with young children about how we can best support their immune system. It’s dealing with our current climate of the pandemic. And it's not that the immune system is never important. I would argue that it's always important, especially in light of our current climate. I would argue it's potentially even more important in the sense that everyone is talking about it, and how we can best support our immune system. Stay Tuned, and learn further as we go into this topic and conversation, always leave a comment if you have queries about this episode.
IN THIS EPISODE:
[0:57] Introduction and context for this episode
[3: 49] Basic things that we can do on a day to day basis in our homes.
[4:39] Why is checking our nutrition intake important on a regular basis?
[6:56] How can we better balance our blood sugar levels?
[12:26] Supplements are meant to be a helping tool, not to replace eating.
[13:45] What supplements do we need to take?
[15:22] Herbs that are helpful for our immune system.
[22:11] Why is sleep very important for our immune system?
[25:25] Other ways to support our immune system
[26:27] [20:25] My final statements and takeaways.
We Need to Talk about Negative Emotions [Episode 12]
Episode 12
Tuesday, August 17, 2021 • Duration 22:20
Hello and welcome back to Two-Eyed seeing, in this episode we are going to talk about an emotional topic that most of us do not want to talk about. This is going to be a little bit of a tougher topic for most of us, because it's just easier to not talk about it. That's the easy way out. But we really do need to if we want to move forward in a more positive direction for all of us, so stay tuned.
WHAT IS SHAME AND FEELINGS OF SHAME?
In this episode, we’re going to talk about shame and feelings of shame and what we're going to get into is why it's actually better for us in the long run, if we're willing to face up to shame and look at shame, and deal with it, as opposed to running away from it. If we are actually willing to sit with an emotion and actually feel it fully for the length of time that it takes. Stay Tuned, and learn further as we go into this topic and conversation, always leave a comment if you have queries about this episode.
IN THIS EPISODE:
[0:51] Introduction and context for this episode
[1:27] Our perspective on negative emotions
[2:49] Why do I choose to talk about shame?
[6:44] A deep dive into knowing where my does my shame come from
[8:28] “Shame is Strongest when you're not willing to willing to look at it” - Bernie Brown
[8:32] Where does shame get its power?
[8:51] When is it more helpful to move through shame?
[11:10] The impact of shame for us as an individual.
[14.29] Direct impact to our immediate health and issues.
[16:36] Healing that I've heard from a number of elders in our indigenous communities
[20:25] My final statements and takeaways.
Returning to the Real You: Understanding Postpartum Mood Issues and Balancing Them Naturally [Episode 11]
Episode 11
Monday, August 9, 2021 • Duration 49:19
Hello and welcome back to Two-Eyed seeing, in this episode we are actually going to be covering a clip of a recent webinar/seminar that I delivered for one of the indigenous communities that I had the privilege to work with. What we covered in that particular webinar was actually about postpartum mood issues, which is a big issue for so many of you out there. I know a lot of you moms struggled out there and worrying about this even before your baby was born. This is a big issue and we’ll get into understanding why these things happen to us women and some of the natural things that we can do in order to address them and really get to the bottom of it so that we’re not bringing so many issues to us.
POSTPARTUM ISSUES
In this episode, we’re going to talk about postpartum issues. This experience is common to women who just gave birth. Hormones such as estrogen and progesterone, which are high during pregnancy are the primary reason for postpartum depression. There are a lot of things that we should be aware of when this occurs, things to take note of to be able to achieve a speedy recovery to this issue. Stay tuned to learn more!
IN THIS EPISODE:
[1:22] Introduction and context for this episode – A recent webinar that I delivered to one of the indigenous communities that I worked with.
[6:31] The wide range spectrum of Postpartum issues.
[11:00] What you need to know about antidepressants, the side effects after each dosage.
[16:18] Talking about nutrition: “If we don’t eat the right foods, then we’re not going to feel well.”
[19:42] Experiencing stress; the overproduction of cortisol, which affects our blood sugar.
[23:39] Why stress is so important to give attention to.
[28:18] The benefits of breastfeeding and its impact on your hormones.
[32:34] Things we should be aware of about hormonal imbalance, which could be worsened by pregnancy.
Why You Struggle to Release the Weight That No Longer Serves You [Episode 10]
Episode 10
Monday, August 2, 2021 • Duration 23:44
Hello and welcome back to Two-Eyed seeing, in this episode we are going to be talking about blood sugar balance and what that means for our weight, especially when we carry too much weight. And we will touch a little bit on emotional eating which is fair warning for anyone that does have emotional eating issues, you may want to either wait on this episode or choose another episode, just so you have fair warning if it’s a triggering topic for you.
MAINTAINING BLOOD SUGAR BALANCE
In this episode, we’re going to talk more about the importance of maintaining weight and blood sugar level. Carrying excess weight is a common problem for many. Also, emotional eating has been an issue for a long period of time for most people. This is the reason why we need to control our food intake to preserve a healthy body. Listen and Stay Tuned.
IN THIS EPISODE:
[1:01] Introduction and context for this episode – Weight and blood sugar relationship and the struggles of emotional eating.
[4:36] The common mistake of ‘sugar addiction’.
[6:25] What happens if we have too much sugar intake?
[9:30] The struggles of emotional eating.
[11:19] When I was young, I also struggled with too much eating, but developed a solution.
[13:50] The acknowledgement of self-love.
[16:48] Speaking from experience: The other side of breakdown is breakthrough.
[17:26] What I want to encourage you in this episode; Stop and Think about your daily struggles.
[19:43] There are so many things to potentially look at!
[20:52] My final statements and takeaways.
EPISODE RESOURCES
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[1:17] Introduction to the episode and smudge/ceremony in a good way
[2:21] Dr. Kathy Absolon introduces herself and the land she is from, and the land we are on while recording this episode
[5:35] Finding our way to talking about grandmothers and the role of our elders
[7:50] Kathy introduces a story she wrote about her community and her family and talking about being a Nookomis (grandmother)
[10:47] Kathy shares the story she wrote about her community and her family along the shore of the land
[15:30] Trigger Warning - Kathy speaks to some of the impacts of colonization and residential school on her family
[21:30] Kathy talks about finding her way/discovering her identity and purpose in this life
[22:30] Trigger Warning: impacts of residential school, touching on inter-generational trauma
[24:20] Talking about what life was like for her grandparents
[25:15] What does it mean to be a grandmother? How different Kathy's experience was visiting her grandparents, compared to being a grandmother to her grandchildren
[29:00] Kathy talks about her experience as a grandmother, and how she tries to be a present grandmother for her grandchildren
[34:10] I ask Kathy about what we have lost, and how we find our way forward in connecting with our Ancestors and Elders
[35:20] Kathy shares her perspective on our past, and finding a wholistic way forward
[37:20] Kathy talks about her connection to the land, and what that connection means to her
[38:17] Trigger warning - Kathy talks about how her family trauma was impacted by colonization/ 'western sterotypes of Indigenous people'
[39:40] Kathy shares about her first experience of the full moon ceremony and her connection to the Moon (Nookomis)
[42:50] Kathy talks about her Spirit/Spirit name and how she relates to herself and her gifts
[43:40] How we can relate to other women, other people in our lives in a good way
[44:50] "Canada is like a crime scene"; Trigger warning for talking about unmarked graves/residential schools/MMIWG2S
[46:30] "We All Belong", how we related by our roles in our communities and learning lessons from nature
[48:35] Kathy talks about our Creation Story, and how nature existed, and how we as humans have a place within it
[50:10] Kathy talks about watching creation and learning from creation that we all have a place and there is enough for all
[51:50] Protecting the land, protecting our Ancestors and what we stand for today
[53:10] Talking about protecting the place for future generations
[53:45] How we approach grandmothers/Elders and understanding the importance of Respect and Relationship
[55:05] How we can learn our teachings in a good way
[58:15] Kathy encourages parents to teach their children to be helpers to their grandparents and Elders
[59:30] Kathy shares her concerns about the impact of modern technology on healthy family relationships
[1:00:30] Kathy shares about her own children being helpers to their grandparents
[1:02:00] How we develop good relationships with our families and others
[1:05:00] Kathy shares about living the role of a helper to her parents and the struggles her family experienced in providing care for them in their elderhood
[1:11:00] "We can't just abandon our Elders", continuing to be involved in our Elders lives, even when they are in retirement care facilities
[1:13:00] Kathy shares her hope for herself and others as Elders, and still be included in family life
[1:15:10] Kathy shares her feelings about being torn between all her roles: being a good helper, mother, grandmother, academic, and being there for her father
[1:18:14] Kathy encourages all of us to spend time with our family/Elders in our life and that a little means a lot
[1:20:10] Gifts we receive from our Elders when we spend time with them
[1:20:43] Wrapping up the episode, Kathy's final thoughts and bringing us full circle
[26:39] Dr Gilbert answers on how we can start to show up more than just a flag carrying-supportive ally?
[35:54] My final statements and takeaways.
**Bio for Dr. Gilbert:**
Dr. Cyndi Gilbert, ND (she/they)
Cyndi is a naturopathic doctor, author, and faculty member at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. Providing care to those who are all too often stigmatized or ignored in wellness circles, Cyndi has a primary clinical focus working with LGBTQ2SIA+ and BIPOC communities, people who use drugs, are homeless, disabled, HIV+, precariously employed, and facing mental health challenges.
Co-founder of the IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Advocacy) Committee at the CCNM, Cyndi facilitates anti-racist anti-oppression / cultural competency training for healthcare providers. They advocate for a collaborative, anti-oppressive, and harm reduction approach that centers patients' voices and experiences. She is also the co-founder of Heal All Consulting, an LGBTQ2SIA+ education and consulting resource for health and wellness practitioners.
In addition to clinical work, Cyndi is the author of several books, including "Forest Bathing: Discovering Health and Happiness Through the Japanese Practice of Shinrin Yoku," published by St. Martin's Press. She is the Associate Editor of the CANDJ and a Board member for the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors.
Cyndi is a queer/spawn, mad White Ashkenazi settler and lives in Toronto with their family. When she isn't working, Cyndi can often be found gardening, hiking, camping, canoeing, traveling, and just generally being outside in nature.
