SIX NATIONS – A new project spearheaded by Six Nations Health Services Director Lori Davis-Hill takes community members on a tour of the history of health services on Six Nations.
Treating and caring for the health of Six Nations community members has been in effect long before Six Nations Health Services Department came to be 10 years ago. Davis-Hill wanted to use the 150th Six Nations Fall Fair and the 10th anniversary of Six Nations Health Services as a platform to show the community what the department has to offer.
“The project takes community members on a tour from as far back as health services has been documented on the territory,” said community member and project helper Erinn Monture. “Not just Six Nations Health Services, but health services in general.”
Also on board were summer students Mercedes Bomberry, 21, and Kaitlin Lickers, 21. Bomberry recently graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelors Degree of Medical Sciences and Lickers is in her fourth year at Queen’s University. Bomberry, Lickers and Monture set up the display inside the Gaylord Powless Arena for the Six Nations Fall Fair but Lickers was away at school by the time fair began.
“It took us three months of research to assemble all of the information and gather all the memorabilia you see around the display,” said Bomberry. “It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot of really cool things about our history and how health services came to be on the territory.”
The display is a series of information panels documenting the history of health services from the 1700s to present day. The team also borrowed and found several pieces of memorabilia and tools from as far back as the ‘30s.
“Lori wanted to show the community what Six Nations Health Services has to offer and what is available to everyone,” said Monture. “We also have feedback boxes so the community could let us know what they feel is working and what is not working at Health Services.”
After the fair the memorabilia went back to whoever owned it but the information panels, documents and more will be on display at the White Pines Wellness Centre in Ohsweken.
For more information on what Six Nations Health Services has to offer visit, www.facebook.com/Healthy-6Nay-188200901334755
