Strategic Plan 2023-2028

Purpose

The reason that we exist.

To walk with and support First Peoples and communities to share collective intelligence for healing, peace-making, and to live a good life.

 

Hope

Our vision for a better future.

A nation where First Peoples and communities experience holistic health and wellness, through living diverse cultural values, beliefs, and practices.

 

Meaning

The work we do to achieve our hoped-for future.

The FPWC advocates for collaborative transformative change to create pathways to wellness and whole health for First Peoples shaped by diverse Indigenous cultural lenses.

 

Belonging

We are all connected; these are the lenses through which we understand our relationships to the communities we serve, the work we do, and the world.

• Environments, communities, families, and individuals intersect and interrelate in complex, historical and dynamic ways – they are more than the sum of their parts;
• A cultural lens is the key to making meaning of Indigenous lived experience;
• Indigenous knowledge is the foundation for transformative change for First Peoples;
• A cultural lens and Indigenous knowledge are grounded in a holistic worldview;
• Sharing and building on a cultural lens and Indigenous knowledge leads to strengths-based actions and transformative change;
• Holistic approaches are relational – they honour relationships to the land and all other things of the Creator. Population health and health determinants are appropriate working tools;
• At all times, ceremonial and seasonal activities are important ways in which we acknowledge our relationships with all of Creation and the Creator;
• All people possess the ability to modify self and by finding their own voice can serve as effective advocates for change at the individual, family, and community levels;
• Fairness and justice for all are priority values; First Peoples’ programs and services should be resourced equitably and reflect a deep understanding of anti-Indigenous racism and the ongoing impacts of generational trauma.

 

Objectives and Priorities

1. Growth

   a. Provide mentorship and resources to mental wellness and crisis support teams and related workforce, building from ongoing needs

   b. Continue to build the capacity of mental wellness and crisis support teams

   c. Create a central resource hub to share wise practices and new and existing resources and tools

   d. Expand membership by designing and executing a membership growth campaign within and beyond First Nation mental wellness workforce and organizations

2. The Framework

   a. Implement the First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework into everything we do, internally and externally.

3. Relationships

   a. Build and expand relationships with Indigenous groups, scholars, and organizations and/or governing bodies to support wellness, healing and peace-making using Indigenous knowledge, including taking action on anti-Indigenous racism

   b. Develop criteria for relationships that are in (or out) of scope for FPWC:
   1. Provide clarity around expectations
   2. Manage external requests

   c. Continue to plan and deliver training with Thunderbird Partnership Foundation (TPF) to meet the needs of mental wellness and crisis support teams and related workforce

   d. Build relationships with non-Indigenous organizations, grounded in reciprocity, to work together to create equity and advance Indigenous mental wellness

4. Collective Intelligence

   a. Develop a research agenda that builds on the strength of Indigenous knowledge and evidence

   b. Share the wise practices of the workforce

   c. Influence policy makers and policy change to improve equitable access to services

   d. Advocate for strategies around peace-making, healing, life promotion and wellness amongst First Peoples communities and those with whom we interact

   e. Create an accredited Circle of Indigenous Knowledge and Relational Practices that supports lifelong learning and the sharing of collective intelligence

 

Enablers

1. Diversified sustainable funding.

2. More robust communication, branding, marketing.

3. Accountability and Quality Assurance

4. Operations – Human Resource Support, Workplace Wellness (Internal and External)

First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum (FNMWC) Framework