Shpuniarsky, Heather

Indigenous men are disproportionally incarcerated in the Canadian criminal justice system. A disproportionate number of Indigenous men who are incarcerated have also been through the foster care and adoption system. A good deal of them are disconnected from their cultures, traditions and communities. For many the prisons are the first times that they encounter Indigenous Knowledge (IK), Elders, and Knowledge Holders, and the introduction to IK can be a watershed moment for them. Reconnection is a critical first step in a healing journey that many Indigenous men begin in prisons. The healing journey is about healing from their history, traumas, and the actions that led them to prisons, but healing is also a process of healing towards a better life and better future. It does not stop once they are beyond the prison walls. This research project focuses on the Indigenous Healing Programs and Services that support the men that are on this healing journey. Using the Haudenosaunee framework of Kan'nikonhrí:io (the Good Mind) and Wake'nikonhrèn:ton (the Crooked Mind), this project endeavours to understand how these programs and services understand and support healing, how masculinity factors into the delivery of these programs.

Author Keywords: Community, Good Minds, Haudenosaunee, Healing, Social Programming, Social Work