Room: Foyer A

Room: Mozart 

An informal lunch to connect, meet fellow participants, and ease into the Summit. Open to all attendees registered for the Pre-Summit sessions.

Room: Mozart 
Speakers: Yvonne Olivier (Thunderbird), Majd Radhaa (Thunderbird), Stephanie McConkey (Thunderbird), Shawna Oslon (Thunderbird)

Join us for a participatory and insight-driven session where we’ll explore what innovative care coordination could look like for First Nations wellness programs. We’re inviting frontline workers and service providers to dream big, map out real-world needs, and identify the features, functions, and cultural considerations that matter most.

We’ll brainstorm what would make digital tools genuinely helpful – from workflows and reporting to cultural safety and community ownership – and co-create a vision for care coordination that supports the workforce, strengthens collaboration, and reflects the way First Nations deliver care. Join us in a collaborative space to shape the tools for our work!

Room: Foyer A

Room: Julien/ Gagnon/ Walker

Visit the Tradeshow area to connect with partnering organizations and exhibitors offering programs, services, and tools that support substance use, mental wellness, and community care. This space is an opportunity to learn, ask questions, and make new connections – and to pick up resources and goodies along the way.

Room: Morris

This space is available throughout the Summit for Elders and participants who may need a calm, supportive environment to rest, reflect, or ground themselves. The room offers a place to debrief big feelings, sit in quiet, or reconnect during a full and emotionally meaningful gathering. All participants are welcome to use this space with respect and care.

Room: Krieghoff

Are you a First Nations language speaker? Thunderbird is incorporating First Nations languages in our Complex Trauma Model of Care and we need your help! Visit our registration table to learn more and sign up to share your language. Honorarium will be provided.

7:30am – 8:30am – Breakfast

Room: Mozart
Speakers: Elder Kistabish, Eagle River Singers, Pam Charlong (YSAC & Thunderbird Partnership Foundation), Jennifer Novak (ISC)

The Summit will open in a good way with Eagle River Singers drum group, a prayer by Elder Kistabish, and territory acknowledgement, grounding us in respect, gratitude, and connection. Pam Charlong (Chair of Youth Substance Addiction Committee & A/President of Thunderbird Partnership Foundation) and Jennifer Novak (Director General, Mental Wellness & Health Promotion, ISC) will provide some opening remarks. This ceremony will set the tone for the gathering; honouring culture, community, and our shared commitment to healing and wellness.

Room: Mozart
Speakers: Claudemier Bighetty, Deidra Bighetty

Join us for an inspiring keynote presentation featuring Claudemier and Deidra Bighetty as they share their powerful journey of transformation – from experiencing homelessness and addiction to rebuilding their lives with resilience, strength, and community support. Their story highlights the interconnectedness of wellbeing, housing stability, relationships, and hope, and offers deep insight into what truly enables healing beyond crisis.

Through honest reflection and lived experience, this presentation will explore how courage, connection, and cultural grounding can be pathways toward wellness and belonging. Their story underscores the importance of hope, meaning, belonging and purpose in creating pathways to wellness.

Break

Room: Mozart
Speakers: Dr. Chris Mushquash, Dr. Esther Tailfeathers, Elder Reg Crowshoe, Elder Rosemary Crowshoe

First introduced in 2011, Honouring Our Strengths marked a turning point for First Nations-led approaches to substance use and wellness, creating a shared vision for a culturally grounded continuum of care. Since then, the landscape of substance use, trauma, and community wellness has shifted.

This session marks the launch of the renewed Honouring Our Strengths Framework, updated to reflect today’s realities and reaffirm the commitment to culture as foundation, spirit-centred care, and First Nations self-determination in wellness.

A panel of national leaders, including Dr. Chris Mushquash, Dr. Esther Tailfeathers, as well as Elders Reg and Rosemary Crowshoe, will share reflections on the journey since the original framework, the lessons learned from more than a decade of community-led innovation, and how this updated framework strengthens and expands supports for the workforce at a time of rapid change.

Room: Mozart
Lunch

Room: Suzor-Cote
Speakers: Katie Hoffman (Thunderbird), Nya Elijah (Thunderbird)

This workshop will introduce Thunderbird’s forthcoming Complex Trauma: A First Nations Model of Care, a culture-based approach to healing the layered and intergenerational impacts of trauma. Participants will learn how the model reframes healing beyond the individual to include families, communities, and connections to culture and land.

This session will focus specifically on adult wellness and healing, exploring how complex trauma shows up across the adult life course and what supports are needed to foster safety, connection, and long-term healing. Grounded in Indigenous worldviews, participants will be invited to share insights on how this model can best support adult wellness and strengthen the mental wellness workforce serving them.

Room: Chopin
Speakers: Deb Dell (YSAC), Stephanie McConkey (Thunderbird), Majd Radhaa (Thunderbird)

Existing assessment tools often fail to capture the full picture of First Nations wellness – overlooking the cultural, spiritual, and community contexts that shape healing. This workshop will explore the development of a new assessment model designed specifically for First Nations, grounded in culture, strengths, and self-determination.

This session will focus specifically on adult wellness and care pathways, exploring how an assessment tool can reflect the lived experiences, responsibilities, and healing journeys of adults across diverse community contexts. Participants will discuss what a culturally relevant, trauma- and strengths-informed assessment could look like in practice – one that honours both clinical insight and Indigenous knowledge systems, and supports equitable pathways to care, prevention, and recovery. Through shared dialogue, this session will help define the principles and priorities for building an assessment approach that truly reflects First Nations ways of knowing, being, and doing.

Room: Delfosse
Speakers: Yvonne Olivier (Thunderbird), Shawna Oslon (Thunderbird)

This session will explore how regionally based centralized intake systems can strengthen access, coordination, and continuity of care for First Nations adults seeking substance use and mental wellness supports. This workshop will look specifically at adult care pathways, including how centralized intake can streamline referrals, reduce delays, and ensure individuals are matched with culturally and clinically appropriate services.

Participants will review emerging models, share regional perspectives, and help identify the key information needed to finalize the business case for an adult-focused centralized intake approach. Together, we’ll consider how this system can reflect First Nations control, cultural safety, and seamless, person-centred pathways to care.

Room: Beethoven
Speakers: Pamela Charlong (Walgwan), Angela Carter (Ka-Na-Chi-Hih)

This session will introduce Life is Sacred, an Indigenous-designed suicide prevention and intervention training program created in response to YSAC treatment centres identifying that mainstream models were costly and not culturally congruent for the communities they serve. Rooted in Indigenous Wellness Frameworks and built from community-developed suicide fact sheets, the Life is Sacred program offers culturally grounded tools for prevention, life promotion, and intervention.

Participants will learn about both the 1.5-day national training and the newly developed 1-day intervention model, including its Risk Resilience Assessment and the Life is Sacred Care Tree, designed to support long-term, integrated addiction treatment. The session will conclude with space for questions and participant feedback to help shape ongoing development of community-based suicide intervention supports.

Break

Room: Mozart
Speakers: Yvonne Rigsby Jones (Snuneymuxw First Nation), Deadly Aunties

Join us for an evening of celebration honouring 50 years of the National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program (NNADAP), a milestone in community-led healing, prevention, and wellness. Since the 1970s, NNADAP has empowered First Nations and Inuit communities to lead their own programs and shape holistic approaches to substance use and recovery.

This special banquet will hear from keynotes speakers, including Yvonne Rigsby Jones, and recognize leaders, service providers, and community members whose dedication continues to strengthen wellness across the country. Guests will enjoy a comedy performance by Deadly Aunties, a shared meal, and the presentation of awards honouring excellence and cultural leadership in substance use and mental wellness.

An evening to reconnect, reflect, and celebrate the generations of people who have walked together on the path of healing.

Room: Julien/ Gagnon/ Walker

Visit the Tradeshow area to connect with partnering organizations and exhibitors offering programs, services, and tools that support substance use, mental wellness, and community care. This space is an opportunity to learn, ask questions, and make new connections – and to pick up resources and goodies along the way.

Room: Morris

This space is available throughout the Summit for Elders and participants who may need a calm, supportive environment to rest, reflect, or ground themselves. The room offers a place to debrief big feelings, sit in quiet, or reconnect during a full and emotionally meaningful gathering. All participants are welcome to use this space with respect and care.

Room: Krieghoff

Are you a First Nations language speaker? Thunderbird is incorporating First Nations languages in our Complex Trauma Model of Care and we need your help! Visit our registration table to learn more and sign up to share your language. Honorarium will be provided.

Breakfast

Room: Mozart
Speakers: Keenan Bird, Marissa Moar, Jacob Genereux, Alyssa Trick (Youth Council Members)

This panel will bring together First Nations youth to share their experiences, insights, and priorities related to mental health and substance use. Youth will speak to the barriers and stigma they face when seeking support, and the ways family, peers, culture, and community connection contribute to healing and resilience.

The session will also highlight the importance of youth leadership in shaping future approaches to prevention, harm reduction, and wellness programming. Grounded in lived experience and hope, this panel creates space for youth voices to guide how communities and systems can better support the next generation.

Room: Mozart
Speakers: Nicole Semenoff (HOSW Conference Coordinator)

For over 30 years, the Healing Our Spirit Worldwide (HOSW) gatherings have brought together Indigenous leaders, youth, and wellness practitioners from around the world. As we prepare for the 10th Gathering, this interactive Mentimeter session invites participants to help shape its vision and focus.

Together, we’ll use real-time input to explore themes, priorities, and opportunities for cultural programming, youth engagement, and policy dialogue — co-creating the foundation for a truly Indigenous-led global event.

Break

Room: Suzor-Cote
Speakers: Katie Hoffman (Thunderbird), Nya Elijah (Thunderbird), Youth Council

This workshop will introduce Thunderbird’s forthcoming Complex Trauma: A First Nations Model of Care, a culture-based approach to healing the layered and intergenerational impacts of trauma. Participants will learn how the model reframes healing beyond the individual to include families, communities, and connections to culture and land.

This session will focus specifically on children and youth, examining how complex trauma affects young people and how the model can guide culturally grounded prevention, early intervention, and youth-focused healing pathways. Grounded in Indigenous worldviews, participants will be invited to share insights on how the model can best support youth wellness and the workforce that walks alongside them.

Room: Chopin
Speakers: Deb Dell (YSAC), Stephanie McConkey (Thunderbird), Majd Radhaa (Thunderbird)

Existing assessment tools often fail to capture the full picture of First Nations wellness – overlooking the cultural, spiritual, and community contexts that shape healing. This workshop will explore the development of a new assessment model designed specifically for First Nations, grounded in culture, strengths, and self-determination.

This session will focus specifically on children and youth, examining how an assessment tool can meaningfully reflect their developmental needs, family and community relationships, and the unique ways youth experience and express wellness and distress. Participants will discuss what a culturally relevant, trauma- and strengths-informed assessment could look like in practice – one that honours both clinical insight and Indigenous knowledge systems, and supports early intervention, prevention, and youth-centred recovery pathways. Through shared dialogue, this session will help define the principles and priorities for building an assessment approach that truly reflects First Nations ways of knowing, being, and doing.

Room: Delfosse
Speakers: Deb Dell (YSAC), Stephanie McConkey (Thunderbird), Majd Radhaa (Thunderbird)

This session will explore how regionally based centralized intake systems can strengthen access, coordination, and continuity of care for First Nations children and youth seeking substance use and mental wellness supports. This workshop will focus on the unique needs of young people and their families, including early intervention, family involvement, developmental considerations, and connecting youth with the right supports at the right time.

Participants will review emerging models, share regional perspectives, and help identify the key information needed to finalize the business case for a youth-specific centralized intake approach. Together, we’ll consider how this system can reflect First Nations control, cultural safety, and clear, supportive pathways for children and youth navigating care.

Room: Mozart
Speakers: Mary Deleary (Thunderbird), Jen Bridle (Thunderbird)

This session will explore the unique training needs of the Child and Family Services (CFS) mental wellness workforce, recognizing the complex and emotionally demanding contexts in which they support children, youth, and families. Participants will discuss the competencies, cultural knowledge, and trauma-informed skills needed to strengthen practice and improve outcomes across CFS settings. The workshop will highlight gaps, opportunities, and emerging approaches to workforce development, as well as tools and supports that can enhance confidence, safety, and effectiveness.

Room: Beethoven
Speakers: Felicia Allingham (CJAY), Evelyn Winters (CJAY), Tammy Michelin (CJAY)

This workshop will share insights from the Charles J. Andrew Healing Centre’s Harm Reduction Week—an Indigenous-led, community-focused initiative designed to create safe, welcoming spaces during high-risk times of year. The session will highlight how cultural teachings, ceremony, land-based practices, and Elder guidance were woven together with evidence-based harm reduction education to support safety, connection, and community wellness.

Participants will learn about activities such as sharing circles, traditional medicine teachings, craft-making, personalized safety planning, and the distribution of harm reduction supplies. The Centre will also share a video on their land-based treatment program, Nutshimit. The session will conclude with space for questions and discussion on additional opportunities for community-driven harm reduction supports.

Lunch

Room: Suzor-Cote
Speakers: Katie Hoffman (Thunderbird), Nya Elijah (Thunderbird)

This workshop will introduce Thunderbird’s forthcoming Complex Trauma: A First Nations Model of Care, a culture-based approach to healing the layered and intergenerational impacts of trauma. Participants will learn how the model reframes healing beyond the individual to include families, communities, and connections to culture and land.

This session will focus on specific population groups, such as 2SLGBTQIA+ community members, Elders, and others who may experience layered forms of trauma and unique barriers to care. Grounded in Indigenous worldviews, participants will be invited to share insights on how the model can best support these groups and guide the development of tailored, spirit-centred, and community-led approaches to healing.

Room: Mozart
Speakers:Dr. Carol Hopkins (Thunderbird), Dr. Brenda Restoule (FPWC)

The First Nations mental wellness workforce is the heart of community healing. The First Peoples Wellness Circle and Thunderbird are developing a National First Nations Mental Wellness Workforce Association Framework: a shared vision to strengthen, support, and sustain this vital workforce across the country.

In this interactive workshop, participants will explore the draft framework and share insights on its vision, priorities, and structure. Through small-group dialogue, attendees will help identify what’s needed to ensure the Association reflects and supports the workforce it represents, from defining roles and guiding principles to shaping governance and membership pathways.

Room: Delfosse
Speakers: Jo-Anne Packham (Wood Buffalo Wellness Society/Mark Amy Treatment Centre)

This session will explore the powerful connections between housing and health outcomes, and how stable, safe housing is foundational to wellness, substance use prevention, and successful aftercare. Participants will discuss the importance of cross-sector collaboration in addressing root causes of wellness challenges and strengthening supports across communities. The workshop will highlight practical tools, strategies, and partnership models that can improve coordination between health and housing systems. Together, we’ll consider what’s needed to create more integrated, culturally grounded pathways to care.

Room: Beethoven
Speakers: Nicole Semenoff (HOSW Conference Coordinator)

Through guided discussion and small-group dialogue, participants will build on the previous plenary and identify themes, program priorities, and partnership opportunities, including cultural and youth-focused programming, policy and leadership streams, and a call for abstracts. Together, we’ll co-create the foundation for an Indigenous-led event that celebrates the strength and diversity of healing practices across Nations.

Room: Chopin
Speakers:Danita Benjoe (Eagle Sky Healing Lodge), Cory Alexson (Kahkewistahaw First Nation)

This workshop will explore the vital role of community-driven withdrawal management centres in providing safe, culturally grounded support for individuals navigating substance use and early recovery. Drawing on experiences from Eagle Sky Healing Lodge (Kahkewistahaw First Nation) the session will highlight program models, the importance of longer detox periods, and the continuum of care that follows withdrawal management, including stabilization and treatment.

Presenters will also speak to the challenges and learnings from operating 24/7 healing lodges in their first years of service. The session will conclude with time for questions and participant input on community needs and priorities for withdrawal management.

Break

Room: Mozart
Speakers: Stan Wesley (Emcee)

Join us for the Innovations Circle, an engaging session that brings together leaders and community members working in First Nations substance use, healing, and wellness. Participants are invited to prepare a poster showcasing an innovative or promising practice from their community, program, or Nation. These posters will be shared through a world-café–style exchange, where attendees can circulate between tables, learn from one another, and spark meaningful conversations about approaches that are making a difference across the country.

Room: Mozart
Speakers: Elder Kistabish, Eagle River Singers

The Summit will close in a good way with a drum group and prayer, offering space to reflect, give thanks, and carry the learnings forward. Together, we will wrap up the gathering grounded in connection, purpose, and responsibility to continue this work in our communities.