Atlantic Indigenous Children's Healing Initiative - AICH

10/29/2026

Read AICH's recent feature at IWK Health!

"It started off as a pain discussion, and it's turned into a healing discussion."

Drs. John Sylliboy and Margot Latimer have spent years working alongside Mi'kmaw communities, Elders, knowledge carriers, clinicians and researchers to better understand the health experiences of Indigenous children and families. That work has grown into a research program that is improving access to care, advancing cultural safety and creating community-led solutions across Nova Scotia.

https://iwkhealth.ca/news-and-stories/pain-healing-how-treaty-based-research-changing-care-indigenous-children

10/29/2026

Last month, we gathered with over 45 of our healthcare, postsecondary, research, community and Health Director partners from across Mi’kma’ki at our annual Etuaptmu’k W’loti Partnership Gathering in Digby, Kespukwitk.

This was an opportunity for us to share updates from our Research Nova Scotia-funded, Etuaptmu’k W’loti project which centres on improving Indigenous child and youth health care outcomes through community-led, result-focused research, expansion of our cultural safety course, and development of a cultural safety toolkit for healthcare settings.

Our mobilization and research have been affirmed as groundbreaking by healthcare leaders. Swipe to see what else our partners had to say in Gathering feedback. We are now taking next steps, following the gathering’s closing, to concretely organize the implementation of our discussions, alongside our partners.

Follow along to learn more!

10/23/2026

The AICH Initiative would like to congratulate our Project and Community Research Lead, John R. Sylliboy as he walked across the stage this week as a PhD Graduate from McGill University.

October marks Mi’kmaw History Month and John R. continues to be an inspiration not only to our team but to all L’nu in his prioritization of L’nu’wey knowledge to inform best practices in health, research, and education for L’nu.

John R. reminds us that wanqwajite’teken keskmna’q ne’tata’suaqan (humility before wisdom) is essential in L’nu research and he leads by example.

Mekite’lmulek (We are proud of you) and honoured you are part of our team!

10/06/2026

Continuing with our new team member series, we are introducing Daully Patterson!

Daully, who is a non-Indigenous team member, completed her Honours Bachelor of Arts in Health & Society, with a specialization in Mental Health & Addictions and a minor in Indigenous Studies, at McMaster University. She is currently enrolled in her Master of Arts in Health Promotion at Dalhousie University.

Daully is supporting AICH by working on a scoping review looking at cultural safety within the healthcare system, with a focus on the experiences of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. The goal is to better understand how cultural safety is experienced and measured across different levels of care, and to use these findings to help inform the development of Cultural Safety Indicators.

We are grateful for her energy, and contributions to our team!

10/01/2026

October 1st, Treaty Day, is the day we recognize the Peace & Friendship Treaties signed between the Wabanaki Confederacy and the British Crown.

A day to reflect on how we are honouring the treaties.

09/30/2026

Today, on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we encourage all Canadians to learn about residential schools and the lasting impacts they have on Indigenous people. We honour and uphold the truths of Residential School Survivors and encourage you to learn their stories, as we move towards Indigenous healing and reconciliation.

September 30th is also Orange Shirt Day, which promotes awareness of the intergenerational impacts that Residential Schools had on individuals, families and communities. AICH centres our work on Indigenous youth and child health and wellbeing, and on this day, we ask you to reflect on the many children who were deeply harmed by Canada's residential school system, as well as the ongoing impacts that this policy, and other colonial policies have on Indigenous peoples.

AICH is committed to fulfilling the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation's recommendations through our community-led clinical research on improving Indigenous youth and child healthcare, and through our cultural safety and research ethics courses, which have objectives of creating safer healthcare for Indigenous peoples.

Learn more about the importance of Truth and Reconciliation as explained by our Indigenous clinician collaborators, on our blog: https://aichinitiative.ca/2026/09/september-30th-national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliation-day-etasiw-mijuajij-mekitetasit-day/



Chronic Pain Network IWK Health Tajikeimɨk - Mi'kmaw Health and Wellness

09/25/2026

This week, the AICH team is in Digby, Kespukwitk, Mi’kma’ki, for our annual Etuaptmu’k W’loti Partnership Gathering.

This has been an opportunity for AICH to meet with our healthcare, academic, community and funding partners to update teams on our progress, collaborate on project implementation, and strengthen strategic bonds.

Our Research Nova Scotia Focused-Research Investment, co-hosted by Tajikeimɨk and IWK Health, has enabled this extraordinary opportunity for collaboration. We are grateful to them for their support, and each and every one of our partners for contributing to this process.

We look forward to sharing details of our next steps for mobilization.

09/14/2026

Continuing with our New Team Member series, we are introducing Krista Thompson!

Krista Thompson, MBA, BSW, is the Etuaptmu'k W'loti Education Lead with the AICH Initiative. In her role as the Etuaptmu’k W’loti Education Lead, Krista is helping expand our cultural safety course offerings throughout the province through healthcare and education partnerships, with the goal of achieving culturally safer care for Mi'kmaq and other Indigenous peoples.

Krista is a member of Paqtnkek Mikmaw Nation and graduated from CBU. She is a mother and Mikmaq craftsperson. She is passionate about justice, health and knowledge sharing.

Her work is guided by a commitment to improving the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples through respectful research, relationship-building, and lifelong learning. She is interested in Indigenous Cultural Safety, Two-Eyed Seeing (Etuaptmumk), and collaborating with communities and healthcare partners to support meaningful and lasting change.

09/02/2026

Featured next in our series on our wonderful new team members is Daisy Peter-Paul. Daisy is the Junior L’nu Researcher with AICH.

Daisy is a Mi’kmaq professional and academic, originally from Metepenagiag Mi’kmaq Nation, NB. Daisy holds a bachelor's of Psychology and Native Studies, a diploma in Cybersecurity and graduate certificate in Indigenous Counselling Psychology.

In her role as the Junior L’nu Researcher, Daisy is gaining experience with a range of research related skills and applying her expertise in IT, Mi’kmaq governance and education related projects..

Daisy will be pursuing a Master of Information program this fall at Dalhousie University, focusing on data management and innovation from a Wabanaki lens. We look forward to supporting Daisy along her research journey.

08/26/2026

Our team has been growing over the past year, and in this series, we will be sharing some of our wonderful new colleagues!

The first team member we will highlight is Dylan Joudrie, who is the Research Coordinator with AICH.

Dylan is a Mi’kmaq Registered Nurse and a Research Coordinator with the Atlantic Indigenous Children’s Healing Initiative, with both Mi’kmaq and settler ancestry.

His work focuses on Indigenous health research, cultural safety education, and improving healthcare experiences through community-informed approaches.

Dylan contributes to the development, implementation, and evaluation of educational initiatives while supporting research that advances culturally safe, equitable, and responsive healthcare for Indigenous Peoples and communities.

We are grateful to have Dylan’s keen research skills and healthcare knowledge to drive our projects forward!