You Heal Me

Last week, I was honoured to spend the day in circle with my friends George and Jenn, facilitating a gathering for the BC College of Oral Health Professionals. Each time I join them, I am encouraged by the sincerity, curiosity, and courage people bring to the work of improving cultural safety in oral health care across BC. This organisation carries a great responsibility in shaping care, and I have been inspired by the way that responsibility is being taken up.

Immediately upon returning home, George shared his reflections on the day and invited me to share them for this week’s Teachings Tuesday.

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We recently did some work with the BC College of Oral Health Professionals up in the híwus Feasthouse at the top of Grouse Mountain. During this session I was filled with hope that significant work is taking place in this organization. This was my third time speaking with this group, and each time I have felt the momentum building. People are coming to the table now to help our people move forward in a good way.

People like their CEO, Chris Hacker, who are leading from the front, carrying the weight of responsibility with courage, and striving to make a better tomorrow. Chris has not caused me harm, but he is helping to heal me. He is taking it upon himself to help our people receive better treatment and care in this world. Chris is part of our healing journey. He is a part of my healing journey. It is not easy work, but it is necessary, and when I see leaders stepping up in this way, it reminds me that healing is possible, not only for individuals but for whole communities.

People often believe that the most significant scars are the ones we can see, the ones left on the outside for the world to notice. But some of the deepest, most painful scars are hidden. They live on the inside, in the quiet places of our hearts and spirits, where no one else can see. These are the wounds that shape us in silence, the ones that remind us of what was taken, what was lost, and what we have had to endure.

There are moments when our pain feels foreign even to us. We have been conditioned by society, by institutions, and by systems that were not built for our well-being, to push through quickly, to cover it up, to pretend we are fine. We are told to keep moving, to hold everything together, to “be strong.” But strength does not come from silence or suppression. True strength is born when we allow ourselves to slow down, to sit with what hurts, to acknowledge it without shame, and to ask ourselves where that pain comes from. Healing begins when we give ourselves permission to listen to the stories our pain is trying to tell.

If we want to heal from the mistreatment of our people, that mistreatment must end. We cannot fully restore ourselves while harm continues to fall upon us. Only when the cycle of injustice is broken can we begin the deep, intentional work of restoration. This work is about rebuilding not only ourselves as individuals, but also the families and communities that have been fractured. Healing is both personal and collective. It is about reclaiming our wholeness while also holding space for our loved ones, so that together we may rise.

Your life is yours. It belongs to you. The Creator gifted you this life with purpose, with beauty, and with responsibility. It is a gift that carries both joy and challenge, blessings and lessons. When we are holding onto hurt, grief, and anger, those burdens can feel heavy, almost unbearable. They are ours to carry for a time, but we were never meant to carry them forever. When we choose to release them, whether through prayer, through ceremony, through trusted loved ones, through counsellors, or by returning them to the Creator, we make room for something new to take root. That release is not forgetting. It is an act of faith, a declaration that our lives are meant for more than suffering.

We must also turn back to our culture, because it has always held the medicine we need. “Culture is healing” is not just a phrase, it is a lived truth. Our songs, our languages, our dances, our stories, they are not relics of the past. They are instructions for how to live well, how to walk in balance, how to remember who we are. Every time we speak our languages, every time we gather in ceremony, every time we honour the teachings of our ancestors, we are stitching ourselves back together. We are undoing the lie that the world tried to make us believe, that we were broken beyond repair.

We owe it to our ancestors to keep walking this path. They carried us through storms we cannot even imagine. They fought with courage, with vision, and with love, so that we could be here today. Healing does not erase the past. The scars remain, but they are not signs of weakness. They are living proof of what we have survived. They are reminders that resilience is in our bloodline.

Now it is our turn. Our turn to rise with courage. Our turn to live with heart. Our turn to love fiercely, even in the face of hardship. We must walk forward not only for ourselves, but for those yet to come. The next generation is watching us. They will learn from how we rise, from how we heal, from how we thrive. One day they will point to us as the ones who chose a better way, who refused to give in, who carried the teachings forward.

As you walk your path this week, remember that your life is yours. Your healing is yours. Your legacy is yours to build. Move forward with a relentless pursuit of excellence, not just for yourself, but for your ancestors who dreamed of you, and for your grandchildren’s grandchildren who will carry your name. You are the bridge between what has been and what is yet to come.

Walk with courage. Walk with heart. Walk with love. And never forget, you were meant to heal, you were meant to rise, and you were meant to thrive.

Huy ch q’u - Thank you

Wholwolet'za - George Harris Jr | Mentor

As I reflect on our time together, I am reminded that improving cultural safety is a journey, not a destination. The momentum, sincerity, and courage I witnessed that day give me hope—not only for the future of oral health care, but for the ways we can walk alongside communities in healing and care. Each step, each thoughtful action, moves us closer to a world where care is safe, respectful, and rooted in understanding.

🧡 Kim