Nutsihpiluwewicik began its journey in 2008 as the Aboriginal Nursing Initiative (ANI), which strived to provide culturally appropriate support and experiences that would assist Indigenous students at the University of New Brunswick on their academic journey.
In early December 2021, Nutsihpiluwewicik was recognized by Governor General, Mary Simon, for the efforts and work those members of our community are making. She acknowledged this through a written letter to the community, which is read aloud by the Nutsihpiluwewicik Peer Mentors of 2021-2022.
In 2017, Wolastoqiyik Elder Imelda Perley gifted us with the name Nutsihpiluwewicik, which is a Wolastoqiyik word for healing clan or clan of healers.
The name Nutsihpiluwewicik challenges us to think about its meaning and whether our actions are in line with its teachings. In 2020, work began to understand the meaning to ensure we are moving forward in a way that honors Nutsihpiluwewicik. Over the course of many conversations within our faculty about what Nutsihpiluwewicik means to them, there was opportunity to hear from our Indigenous Elders; Elder Imelda Perley and Elder Miigam'agan.
It became clear that Nutsihpiluwewicik includes a diverse community of teachers and learners who support each other and work together to understand and respect the diversity and sacredness of cultures in our practice.
Mi’kmaq Elder Marshall’s Etaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing) approach provides us with the framework to share Indigenous and Western perspectives in a collaborative way, taking the best from both worldviews
"To see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous ways of knowing, and to see from the other eye with the strengths of Western ways of knowing, and to use both of these eyes together."
(Bartlett, Marshall, & Marshall, 2012, p. 335)
“The sacredness is always there, and it is there for all of us. It is a sacredness that must be acknowledged and shared amongst all of us..."
-Brian J. Francis (Mi'kmaq)
Nutsihpiluwewicik honours the support and guidance from our Indigenous Elders and our community, as well as our traditional grandfather teachings.
The Elder’s traditional Indigenous knowledge is placed at the core of our community, the inner most rings of our tree that are what tie our efforts and actions together as one and ensure that we all work together towards our next steps.
The Ojibway traditional grandfather teachings of love, wisdom, honesty, truth, respect, humility and courage are the roots of our tree.
Nutsihpiluwewicik was fortunate to receive support and attention to allow for the development of academic priorities and guidance statements that will provide us with direction on how to continue to move forward in a good way.
Our Nutsihpiluwewicik community is committed to actively supporting each other as we work together to understand and respect diverse and sacred cultures by building trusting relationships with each other and those we are caring for.
The community also identified that it is our responsibility to create opportunities to enhance the collaboration of traditional Indigenous healing knowledge with Western nursing knowledge, to ensure respectful nursing practices in the Faculty of Nursing program.
The outermost rings and the bark of our tree are our collective visions and commitments that will help us work in a forward sense and will support our people, our mother earth, and our environments, while being strong and resilient for our community.
Our tree is still growing, as is our community in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of New Brunswick. We will work towards ensuring that our tree is given the resources, support, encouragement and knowledge necessary to continue to blossom in the years to come.
Nutsihpiluwewicik would not be the community it is without the people and knowledge that has come before us. Read more about our alumni and past projects.
As Nutsihpiluwewicik teachers and learners, we will provide a meaningful and purposeful experience throughout our collective learning journey and beyond.
