University of Regina: Healing on the Land with Horses
FIRST PERMANENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS – UPDATE
Presenting our first permanent Board of Directors:
Throughout 2020, based on the recommendations in the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation Survivor Engagement Report, we recruited the first permanent Survivor-led Board of Directors for the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation. Our first official Board of Directors represent compassion, strength, unity and healing.
Throughout 2020, based on the recommendations in the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation Survivor Engagement Report, we recruited the first permanent Survivor-led Board of Directors for the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation. Our first official Board of Directors represent compassion, strength, unity and healing.
November 12, 2020 Virtual Event
Official Launch of the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation and Board of Directors Announcement. Captions in French and English will be provided in the future, but for now, the video is available for viewing in its entirety.
Official Launch of the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation and Board of Directors Announcement. Captions in French and English will be provided in the future, but for now, the video is available for viewing in its entirety.
Carolyn Bennett
Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
Minister Bennett shares remarks on the new permanent Board Members of the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation and their vital work to address the legacy of the Sixties Scoop.
Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
Minister Bennett shares remarks on the new permanent Board Members of the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation and their vital work to address the legacy of the Sixties Scoop.
Ontario Akwesasne, March 20, 2026
Healing on the Land with Horses: Reconnecting Through Culture, Land, and Healing
Across the Prairies, innovative Indigenous-led programs are helping Sixties Scoop Survivors and their families reconnect with culture, identity, and community. One such initiative is Healing on the Land with Horses, a program developed through a partnership between University of Regina, HMS LearningThrough Equine, and the Nanatawihowikamik Healing Lodge and Wellness Clinic.
Across the Prairies, innovative Indigenous-led programs are helping Sixties Scoop Survivors and their families reconnect with culture, identity, and community. One such initiative is Healing on the Land with Horses, a program developed through a partnership between University of Regina, HMS LearningThrough Equine, and the Nanatawihowikamik Healing Lodge and Wellness Clinic.
Website: https://horsebasedhealing.ca/
Located on Treaty 4 and Treaty 2 territories, the program offers culturally grounded counselling and horse-basedhealing workshops designed specifically for Sixties Scoop Survivors, their families, and descendants. Through a combination of land-based activities, equine-assisted therapy, and culturally guided support, participants are invited into a healing environment rooted in Indigenous knowledge and relational care.
Located on Treaty 4 and Treaty 2 territories, the program offers culturally grounded counselling and horse-basedhealing workshops designed specifically for Sixties Scoop Survivors, their families, and descendants. Through a combination of land-based activities, equine-assisted therapy, and culturally guided support, participants are invited into a healing environment rooted in Indigenous knowledge and relational care.
Image provided by: Ridgeside Photography
Healing Through Relationshipswith the Land and Animals
At the heart of the program is the belief that healing happens through connection to the land, to animals, to culture, and to each other. Horses play a central role in this process. Their calm and responsive nature provides a non-judgmental presence that helps participants build trust, regulate emotions, and develop confidence.
Healing Through Relationshipswith the Land and Animals
At the heart of the program is the belief that healing happens through connection to the land, to animals, to culture, and to each other. Horses play a central role in this process. Their calm and responsive nature provides a non-judgmental presence that helps participants build trust, regulate emotions, and develop confidence.
Image provided by: Ridgeside Photography
For many Survivors who experienced displacement, trauma, and separation from family and culture, this relationship with horses becomes a powerful pathway toward healing and self-discovery.
Unlike conventional clinical settings, the program takes place in natural environments where participants can reconnect with the land in meaningful ways. Activities such as walk-and-talk counselling, equine interactions, and water-based reflection experiences like kayaking create space for reflection and healing in asupportive and culturally grounded setting.
For many Survivors who experienced displacement, trauma, and separation from family and culture, this relationship with horses becomes a powerful pathway toward healing and self-discovery.
Unlike conventional clinical settings, the program takes place in natural environments where participants can reconnect with the land in meaningful ways. Activities such as walk-and-talk counselling, equine interactions, and water-based reflection experiences like kayaking create space for reflection and healing in asupportive and culturally grounded setting.
Image provided by: Ridgeside Photography
Indigenous-Led and Survivor-Informed
The program is guided by an Indigenous leadership team committed to culturally safe and trauma-informed care. Elder Angie McArthur-Delorme, counsellor Cindy McArthur, equine specialist Brittany Hodgson, and Indigenous wellness scholar Dr. JoLee Sasakamoose bring together lived experience, cultural knowledge, and professional expertise.
Indigenous-Led and Survivor-Informed
The program is guided by an Indigenous leadership team committed to culturally safe and trauma-informed care. Elder Angie McArthur-Delorme, counsellor Cindy McArthur, equine specialist Brittany Hodgson, and Indigenous wellness scholar Dr. JoLee Sasakamoose bring together lived experience, cultural knowledge, and professional expertise.
Image from left to right: Counsellor Sophie Littlechief-Carteri, Program Coordinator Brittany Hodgson, Elder Angie McArthur
Image provided by: HMS Learning Through Equine
Through this collaborative approach, programming is shaped by Indigenous values, emphasizing compassion, empathy, and respect for each participant’s journey.
Healing circles, family support programs, and individual counselling are also offered through the Nanatawihowikamik Healing Lodge and Wellness Clinic, ensuring that participants have access to both cultural and clinical supports when needed.
A Holistic Path to Wellness
Healing on the Land with Horses recognizes that healing is not only emotional it is spiritual, physical, and cultural. The program creates space where Survivors and their families can process generational trauma while reconnecting with identity, language, and community.
Image provided by: HMS Learning Through Equine
Through this collaborative approach, programming is shaped by Indigenous values, emphasizing compassion, empathy, and respect for each participant’s journey.
Healing circles, family support programs, and individual counselling are also offered through the Nanatawihowikamik Healing Lodge and Wellness Clinic, ensuring that participants have access to both cultural and clinical supports when needed.
A Holistic Path to Wellness
Healing on the Land with Horses recognizes that healing is not only emotional it is spiritual, physical, and cultural. The program creates space where Survivors and their families can process generational trauma while reconnecting with identity, language, and community.
Image provided by: Ridgeside Photography
By bringing together land-based healing, Indigenous knowledge systems, and relational care, the initiative reflects a return to Indigenous ways of healing approaches that honour the interconnectedness of all living things.
By bringing together land-based healing, Indigenous knowledge systems, and relational care, the initiative reflects a return to Indigenous ways of healing approaches that honour the interconnectedness of all living things.
Image provided by: Ridgeside Photography
For participants, the experience often becomes a journey of reclaiming what was lost through displacement and colonial systems: connection to culture, pride in identity, and a renewed sense of belonging.
For participants, the experience often becomes a journey of reclaiming what was lost through displacement and colonial systems: connection to culture, pride in identity, and a renewed sense of belonging.
Image provided by: Ridgeside Photography
Supporting Intergenerational Healing
Programs like Healing on the Land with Horses demonstrate the importance of culturally grounded healing opportunities for Sixties Scoop Survivors and their families. By supporting these initiatives, communities are helping to restore connections disrupted by the past while building pathways for future generations.
Supporting Intergenerational Healing
Programs like Healing on the Land with Horses demonstrate the importance of culturally grounded healing opportunities for Sixties Scoop Survivors and their families. By supporting these initiatives, communities are helping to restore connections disrupted by the past while building pathways for future generations.
Image provided by: HMS Learning Through Equine
Through the strength of culture, the guidance of Elders, and the healing presence of the land and animals, Survivors and their families are finding new ways to move forward together.
Through the strength of culture, the guidance of Elders, and the healing presence of the land and animals, Survivors and their families are finding new ways to move forward together.
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For more information on the National Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation of Canada, please visit our website here: https://www.sixtiesscoophealingfoundation.ca/