ReconciliACTION

The Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba began its journey of reconciliation, working towards ReconciliACTION, in 2019, when we reached out to Indigenous community members to listen and learn how we can best support them, their kids and their families in hospital. Since then, we have made significant progress, and also recognize there is more we can learn and do.

Working together in ReconciliACTION

Foundation and CHRIM staff visit Turtle Lodge along with IAC

2025 Initiatives

• The Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba continued to advance culturally safe care, capital improvements, research and front-line programs through 2024 and 2025 by actively supporting the Indigenous Community Healing Space at HSC Children’s Hospital and has embedded reconciliation activities into staff learning and donor outreach
• Indigenous-led design and input led to an increase in the scope of the project from 700K to 2.2 million, approved by the CHFM Board, as a priority
• CHFM led donor tours linking the Indigenous Community Healing Space to demonstrable improved Indigenous child outcomes such as culturally safe care, reduced stress for families and improved care experience
• Several donor tours with Indigenous leadership groups, from Treaty One to Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and other First Nation Governments
• Demolition of existing space in preparation for construction of the new Indigenous Community Healing Space in Children’s Hospital
• Held sacred ceremony with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Elders and grandmothers to honour the existing space and children cared for there in the past; Traditional elements included Pipe ceremony, water ceremony, Qulliq lighting by Inuit grandmother, Métis song, sharing circle, and feast
• Preparations for construction are now underway following this meaningful cultural transition
• Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs officially endorsed the building of the Indigenous Community Healing Space in August 2025
• This Indigenous-led project developed through community consultation, including Indigenous children’s voices is a first initiative of its kind in Canada for a children’s hospital
• The Indigenous Community Healing Space in HSC Children’s Hospital represents an important step forward in reconciliation efforts within Canadian healthcare and serves as a model for other Canadian healthcare facilities to follow
• The Foundation nominated 2024 Champion Child Janessa for two prestigious awards: Association of Professional Fundraisers Youth in Philanthropy Award and Future is Now Awards with Children First Canada
• Continued support for Janessa’s leadership development and opportunities
• Results are pending for both award nominations
• Children’s Hospital staff participated in KAIROS Blanket Exercise
• Manitoba Métis Federation provided history teaching to hospital staff
• Teddy Bears’ Picnic celebrated cultural diversity while bringing joy to children and families. It featured performances by First Nations, Métis, and Inuit performers on main stage and Teepee teachings provided in the field for families and children. The day began with song from former Chief Meeches and his niece

Indigenous Advisory Circle Updates

• Indigenous Advisory Circle membership has been updated
• Continued guidance from Indigenous leaders in Foundation initiatives and programming

Sacred ceremony with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Elders and grandmothers for the Indigenous Community Healing Space

2024 Initiatives

Champion Child Program

• First Champion Child selected from a Northern remote First Nations community
• Janessa from Pukatawagan represented 140,000 kids who rely on HSC Children’s Hospital annually
• Highlighted healthcare challenges faced by children in Manitoba’s remote and isolated communities
• Raised awareness of healthcare disparities for Indigenous youth who must travel hundreds of kilometers for life-saving care
• Advanced CHFM’s reconciliation efforts by involving a young Indigenous leader in the Foundation’s highest-profile advocacy platform
• Created lasting impact on healthcare awareness and fundraising across Manitoba
• Built bridges between communities that will guide systemic healthcare access improvements for Indigenous youth

Indigenous Community Healing Space

• Continued supporting development plans through community consultation with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit leaders
• Vital initiative recognizing that 60% of children who need HSC Children’s Hospital are Indigenous
• Elders, Knowledge Keepers, Indigenous community members, and medical leaders held meaningful meetings throughout 2024
• Developed framework and informed design options for the Indigenous Community Healing Space
• Will provide Indigenous patients and families with culturally safe space while away from home communities
• Designed to offer crucial cultural supports for healing journeys that nurture the whole self—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual

Cultural Brand Integration

• Launched reconciliation-focused brand enhancement emphasizing community engagement and culturally sensitive care
• Added graphic elements created by Indigenous designer Leticia Spence with input from First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples
• Design elements include beading-style florals (buttercup, wild rose, fireweed blossom, arctic cotton), traditional medicines (sage, tobacco, cedar, sweetgrass), and winding vines with mouse tracks and seeds
• Indigenous Advisory Circle provided guidance to ensure meaningful elements aligned with Foundation’s supportive tone for all children who need care

Better Futures Campaign Success

• Surpassed five-year goal of $75 million, reaching extraordinary $87 million
• All funds currently in active use supporting critical infrastructure, life-saving medical equipment and technology
• Enabled innovative programming to bring comfort to families in hospital
• Advanced leading-edge pediatric research at Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM)
• Benefits all children from Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario, and Nunavut who receive care at Manitoba’s only children’s hospital

35th Annual Teddy Bears’ Picnic

• Began with Indigenous drummers and special messages from Indigenous leaders
• Featured First Nations dancers, Inuit throat singers, and Métis fiddlers throughout the day
• Included Teepee with Indigenous Elders providing traditional teachings
• Celebrated cultural diversity while bringing joy to children and families

2023 Initiatives

• Grand Chief Cathy Merrick visits HSC Children’s Hospital for a tour to learn about areas of need, endorsing support for the nephrology unit that predominantly cares for Indigenous children.
• Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs unanimously endorse advocating for $2M in funding at federal level of government for creating a centre of excellence for nephrology at HSC Children’s and Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM). 
• Foundation engages with Southern Chiefs’ Organization to collaborate on ways to further support areas of need at HSC Children’s Hospital.
• Foundation CEO meets at HSC Children’s with Manitoba Métis Federation to learn more about Métis community and begin collaboration.
• Foundation team engages Indigenous designer to develop graphic components for use in communication materials that represent the Indigenous populations we serve.
• Children’s Hospital Foundation staff visit Turtle Lodge, alongside members of the Indigenous Advisory Circle (IAC), to learn about Indigenous worldviews and incorporating traditional practices into health care.
• Indigenous Community Healing Space project continues, with continued community consultations.
• Foundation recognizes Orange Shirt Day with an update to all donors on #ReconcilACTION.
• Foundation attends the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Jingle Mingle, celebrating holidays alongside Indigenous community.
• Indigenous Advisory Circle members provide valuable input and feedback on Foundation program and fundraising initiatives at regular committee meetings.
• Rebecca Chartrand, Chair and Heather Berthelette, Vice Chair sit on Foundation Board providing direction and feedback and with an Indigenous lens.

2022 Initiatives

• Indigenous Advisory Circle Chair, along with the Spirit Horse Drum Group participate in the Foundation’s Better Futures launch event.
• Knowledge Keeper, Robert Maytwayashing, drummer, Jedediyah Swampy, and artist, Peatr Thomas, are part of the dedication of the new Travis Price Children’s Heart Centre.
• Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Acting Grand Chief, Cornell McLean, offers a meaningful gift for the new outdoor play space at HSC Winnipeg.

2021 Initiatives

• Collaborating with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs to raise funds and distribute a Spirit Bear-Dr. Goodbear mask to help protect Indigenous kids and youth from COVID-19, while also shining a light on Jordan’s Principle.
• Launching the fundraising campaign for the Indigenous Community Healing Space at HSC Children’s, which will provide families with a culturally safe space to heal away from their home and supports.
• Developing a Foundation-specific land acknowledgement through facilitated workshops to help build meaningful connections as Treaty Peoples.
• Supporting research teams at CHRIM, and their engagement with and commitment to Indigenous communities, including through exploration of health equity and structural inequalities facing Indigenous kids and families.
• Sharing the Foundation’s experiences with Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations and member corporations on engagement and relationship-building to help encourage all Canadian pediatric facilities and leading companies to honour Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action, particularly #22: “We call upon those who can effect change within the Canadian health-care system to recognize the value of Aboriginal healing practices and use them in the treatment of Aboriginal patients in collaboration with Aboriginal healers and Elders where requested by Aboriginal patients.”
• Foundation staff all take Indigenous Canada course offered through the University of Alberta.

2020 Initiatives

• Inviting, recruiting, and appointing members of Indigenous communities across all levels of the organization.
• IAC members leading staff and board training on the importance of reconciliation, including the KAIROS Blanket Exercise to build understanding of our shared history as Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. IAC members also facilitate ongoing learning sessions for staff and board on issues facing families in hospital, like Jordan’s Principle.

2019 Initiatives

• Creation of the Indigenous Advisory Circle to the Foundation, a group of leaders from First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities across Manitoba who provide counsel on Foundation activities, including informing key Foundation projects and programs through an Indigenous lens.

Indigenous Advisory Circle

In 2019, Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba created the Indigenous Advisory Circle. This group of leaders from First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities across Manitoba generously share their wisdom and counsel with the Foundation, as it supports culturally safe programming, resources and spaces in the hospital.

The Foundation’s Indigenous Advisory Circle has been involved in projects like the Spirit Bear Mask partnership with Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) and the creation of an Indigenous Community Healing Space at HSC Children’s Hospital.

Indigenous Advisory Circle members:

• Dennis Meeches, Chair 
• Heather Berthelette, Vice Chair
• Darrell Brown
• Tréchelle Bunn
• Lisa Squire Ducharme
• Ayodeji Falade
• Carol McCorrister
• Ryan Thomas
• Melanie MacKinnon
• Knowledge Keeper Robert Maytwayashing
• Renata Meconse
• Dr. Lisa Monkman
• Alyssa Monkman
• Nastania Mullin
• Melanie Morris
• Sidney Seymour
• Dr. Shelley Turner
• Noah Wilson
• Laura Matlashewski – Ex-Officio, Chair CHFM Board
• Stefano Grande – CHFM Ex-Officio
• Kathryn McBurney – CHFM Ex-Officio
• Mary Beth Taylor – CHFM Ex-Officio

Land Acknowledgment

For thousands of years, tiny feet have walked, run, jumped and played on these lands.

Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba acknowledges that the land upon which we are privileged to gather, work, and care for each other is located on Treaty 1 territory, the ancestral homelands of the Anishinaabeg (Ojibway), Ininiwak (Cree), Anishiniwak (Oji-Cree), Dakota Oyate (Dakota) and Denesuline (Dene) peoples, and the National homeland of the Red River Métis Nation. Inuit from ancestral northern territories also make their home here. We are proud to also serve children and families from Treaty 2, 3, 4, 5 and Robinson-Superior Treaty territories.

Every child deserves a life of health, dignity, kindness, and joy. We are sorry for the harms of the past and promise to do better and to do what is right. In the spirit and intent of the treaties, we promise to listen and learn, and to share what we have to serve children and families who need help, in harmony with and respect for each other and the land.

As a champion of children’s health and wellbeing, we will honour the tiny feet of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, as we walk together with First Nations, Métis and Inuit on a path of reconciliation and healing.