Reconnecting Through Culture: Nenqayni Wellness Centre’s Cultural Wellness Week

Ontario Akwesasne, September 25, 2025

The Nenqayni Wellness Centre hosted Cultural Wellness Week, an inspiring program designed to help Survivors of the Sixties Scoop, their families, and community members reclaim and strengthen their cultural identity. Rooted in the understanding that culture is not just tradition ,but a way of life taken from First Nations peoples, this week-long gathering offered participants a meaningful path back to their heritage.

Throughout the week, attendees engaged in a variety of hands-on cultural activities that nurtured healing, learning, and connection to the land. Medicine picking and harvesting, storytelling with Elders and knowledge keepers, sweat lodge ceremonies, ribbon skirt and shirt making, beading, fishing and harvesting fish or wild meat, rattle making, and Equine Assisted Learning were all part of the experience. Each activity included an explanation of its cultural significance, creating opportunities not only to learn but to understand the deep spiritual and historical meaning behind these practices.
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The impact on Survivors and their descendants was profound. Many participants shared that reconnecting with culture in this way gave them a renewed sense of purpose and belonging. Families expressed their commitment to bringing these teachings home—passing on skills like ribbon skirt making, drum making, and sweat lodge ceremonies to their children and communities.

Feedback collected at the end of the week reflected the program’s success:
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92% of participants said the program was “very useful. ”The most meaningful activities included the sweat lodge, Elders’ stories, traditional medicines, and wild food harvesting. Suggestions for future gatherings included more youth-focused activities, childcare options for parents during ceremonies, language learning, and drumming classes.
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Nenqayni’s Cultural Wellness Week demonstrates the powerful role of culture in healing and resilience. By offering Survivors and their families a safe space to reconnect with traditional practices, the Centre not only fosters personal growth but also helps ensure that these sacred ways of life are preserved for future generations.