Our Work
Thunderbird Partnership Foundation supports a variety of initiatives that advocate for First Nations culturally based substance use and mental wellness services. Thunderbird’s vision is to cultivate and empower relationships that connect us to our cultural strengths and identity within wholistic and healthy communities.
Thunderbird is a leading authority on Indigenous addictions and mental wellness research. We offer a variety of resources (guidebooks, toolkits, fact sheets, Thunderbird Wellness app, training curriculum) to support First Nations in their community planning. We offer training (self-directed and virtual) grounded in Indigenous Knowledge to National Native Alcohol & Drug Addiction Program (NNADAP) and National Youth Solvent Abuse Program (NYSAP) treatment centre workers and First Nations community wellness workers, to support special skills and knowledge needed to work effectively with First Nations communities.
Networking
To organize a national network of addictions programs and services through which the knowledge, experience and skills of its members can be universally accessed by clients, workers, managers, policymakers and partners; to ensure that community prevention and Treatment Centre personnel do not function in isolation from their colleagues; and, to develop a partnership between the National Native Addictions Partnership Foundation, the Regional Addictions Partnership Committees and FNIHB.
Research & Development
To support the effective operation and development of community prevention and Treatment Centre operations through pure and applied research with a focus on identifying individual, family and community need and improving programs and services.
Best Practices
To identify the best practices within the extensive base experience of community prevention programs and treatment centres; to capitalize on these experiences by documenting success and providing “hands-on” exposure for addictions personnel to methods and practices that are effective; and, to establish an accreditation process for community prevention and treatment centre programs.
Training
To establish a networked training system to support the development of the human resources required to ensure effective and efficient addictions services for Indigenous people regardless of where they live; and, to establish a national certification program for community prevention and treatment centre personnel.
Communications
To develop and implement a national program of communications, using state-of-art methods and technologies that provides timely information related to the addictions field to clients, workers, managers, policymakers and partners within the First Nations and Inuit Addictions network; and, to ensure communications support to Regional Addictions Partnership Committees.
Resources/Capital
To establish a funding base that supports an effective and efficient system of programs and services delivered by qualified personnel to Indigenous people regardless of where they live in Canada (including operational and capital requirements).
Continuum of Care
To develop a continuum of care within which services would be available to all Indigenous people wherever they live in Canada including primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention and intervention community services; community development programs; and a complete range of treatment services (detoxification, “first and second stage” treatment programs, specialized treatment services).
Frameworks and Core Documents
Our work is informed by the following frameworks:
Priorities
Harm Reduction is a way to keep individuals, families, and communities safe from the harms of substance use. Culturally safe approaches to harm reduction uses Indigenous values, ways of knowing and doing to take care of each other with kindness, compassion, and acceptance to ensure protection of the “sacred breath of life” so that those who use drugs, and their loved ones, continue to live.
Virtual services involves communicating with stakeholders through the internet rather than face to face, for example: training & education, meetings, hubs, tablets, webinars. Internally, this requires that Thunderbird has capacity to function in this environment and effectively deliver services to stakeholders.
Life promotion aims to honour First Nations culture, resiliency, strengths, while building capacity and access to resources, supporting connection to land, family, and community. Life promotion attends to suicide prevention and trauma of suicide, while cultivating an attitude towards living life, setting a foundation for mental wellness for the next seven generations through Hope, Belonging, Meaning, and Purpose.
Taking a trauma informed approach to organizational and employee wellness means a commitment to continuous awareness by approaching everyone knowing we have no idea what they have been through. We are aware of the importance of not making judgments on a person or belittling what they have experienced. Instead, we endeavour to be compassionate and respectful.
Ongoing planning and responding to the ongoing and emerging needs specific to mental wellness, both internally and the needs of stakeholders. Manage change to increase capacity for safely operating through the pandemic, by:
• Monitoring trends to determine what changes can be made & better understand needs
• Assessing capacity needed to engage stakeholders
• Monitoring trends to determine what changes can be made & better understand needs
• Assessing capacity needed to engage stakeholders
Training Overview
Thunderbird’s training courses are developed from a culture as foundation, strength-based trauma informed approach. We continue to expand our training to build a national network of regional First Nations trainers across Canada.
Resource Library Overview
Our Resource Library is where you will find our guidebooks, toolkits, fact sheets, and annual reports. These are available to download free of charge and hard copies are also available by filling out the resource request form, available here.
Check back regularly for new additions and updates.
Check back regularly for new additions and updates.
Promotes a strengths-based, trauma informed approach to supporting Indigenous wellness. Download the app for free, to have culturally based information about wellness and support for substance use and addictions at your fingertips.
This podcast aims to seek and share insight about Indigenous addictions and mental health issues. This podcast (free) takes a fearless approach in exploring the tough issues with some of the leading voices in Indigenous wellness.