Community Programs and Initiatives

Cree for “bringing them home.”
Through the development of culturally grounded housing support services, Ka-pe-kiwehtahat seeks to support access to safe, affordable housing options and prevent housing breakdown for Indigenous people in the Calgary community.

Supports Offered
The Ka-pe-kiwehtahat Housing Support Team supports Indigenous people at risk of homelessness to assess existing housing challenges and risk factors, provide available resources, create a plan for housing security, and build strategies to prevent homelessness in the future. One-time financial support is available for qualifying youth, families and single adults. Ongoing connection to cultural and social supports is provided upon request.

Who is Eligible?
Ka-pe-kiwehtahat is a barrier-free shelter prevention and diversion program for youth, families and single adults seeking short-term housing support to remain housed and/or be supported access to safe, affordable housing.

Intake Form:
Thank you for reaching out to Miskanawah’s Nipsisak (Cree for Willows) Housing Program. Our Ka-pe-kiwehtahat program has recently launched an online pre-screening form that will replace the intake phone line. If you are requiring housing or homelessness diversion supports, please complete the form through the link below. Submissions are reviewed weekly on Mondays. Any submissions that are received prior to 9:00am on Mondays will be reviewed and you will be contacted within that week to be informed if you are eligible for intake and further assessment. Please only submit one form. We appreciate your patience as we continue to grow and develop our Ka-pe-kiwehtahat offerings in a way that will best serve our relatives.
Please click here to access our submission form.

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Cree for “healing lodge.”
Miskanawah’s Healing Lodge, Nanâtawiho Kamik in Cree, offers culturally grounded mental health and addiction recovery supports for Indigenous people residing in Calgary. Fostering a holistic approach to healing and wellbeing, Nanâtawiho Kamik connects individuals, youth, and families to traditional healing practices as well as western therapeutic supports, as requested. This approach acknowledges the interconnection of wellbeing with community, ceremony, connection to Elders and Mother Earth, with an emphasis on land-based healing and wellness practices.

Upon completing an intake form, referrals are streamlined through a single point of access—the Mental Health Lead—who will then triage all support requests to specialized contacts and services within the collaborative. This includes:
   •  Mental Health and Addictions Counselling through contracted therapists connected to Miskanawah's community network
   •  Resource Navigation: Mental Health and Addictions Support, including referral to culturally-based addictions programs and treatment/recovery centers
   •  Ceremony and Cultural Supports
  •  Land-based Healing

The above services are intended for anyone who identifies as First Nations, Métis, or Inuit residing in the Calgary area. Individuals, youth, or families are welcome to self-refer by filling out the online intake form or a support worker may help them in completing the form.

Miskanawah’s land-based ceremonies and activities focus on protecting the smudge, healing the spirit and building relatives by engaging with traditional languages, songs, stories, and teachings within the natural surroundings of Mother Earth.

Miskanawah currently offers a range of land-based activities to children, youth and families at our Wahkotiwin-Home Fire. Miskanawah’s land-based ceremonies and activities focus on protecting the smudge, healing the spirit and building relatives by engaging with traditional languages, songs, stories, and teachings within the natural surroundings of Mother Earth. Many of Miskanawah’s programs and services include land-based healing as a key component of service delivery, as connection to the land remains an important priority for Miskanawah to support the continuation of Indigenous traditions, ceremonies, and healing practices. Our Elders remind us that our land-based strategies and cultural offerings are also opportunities for Miskanawah and our community partners to create ethical space between Indigenous and Western world-views.

For more information, please contact Jacqueline Shaw

Planet Youth is a long-term, upstream approach originating in Iceland in 1996, to support environmental change and reduce substance misuse for youth in their community. During the development of the Planet Youth Calgary model, the Indigenous Parallel has been engaging with youth, Elders and community agencies to incorporate Indigenous protocols, processes and youth voice into services for youth.
Indigenous Youth Engagement in Planet Youth Calgary began in 2021 through collaborative discussions with youth, United Way of Calgary and Area, Miskanawah, Trellis Society, USAY, and The Social Impact Lab. Youth Wellbeing Circles were established to engage Indigenous youth, their Elders, and mentor youth (“Youth Elders”) together, over a sustained period of time in a “design lab” process. Youth Wellbeing Circles explored current issues faced by Indigenous youth, and creative solutions from an Indigenous perspective. Several Elders were consulted in the creation of the Youth Wellbeing Circles, and guided the facilitators to create parallels between Western concepts and Indigenous teachings.
Miskanawah is honored to be working closely with the United Way of Calgary and Area to develop a Planet Youth model in Calgary, to meet the unique needs of Calgary’s Indigenous youth.

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"Honoring Our Lost Spirits" is a collaborative initiative between Miskanawah and the Elizabeth Fry Society of Calgary (EFry), aimed at designing, supporting, and delivering a culturally responsive support program for the survivors, families, and loved ones of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, men, boys, and two-spirit people (MMIWGMB2S). The program merges the strengths of both Indigenous community collaboratives to explore the specific and culturally relevant needs of those impacted by MMIWGMB2S, prioritizing a healing-centered approach rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Through ceremonial and spiritual integration, the initiative creates a safe space for healing and community-led guidance, acknowledging the deep connection to spirit, story, and recovery in Indigenous communities. The collaborative effort involves Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and Oskapewis (helpers) to provide a supportive circle for those impacted by missing and murdered loved ones, fostering a sense of community and empowerment through the power of storytelling. By amplifying the voices of MMIWGMB2S individuals, the program seeks to address historical and systemic issues within the context of Wahkotiwin (Cree for ‘living in relationship’): honoring lost spirits and building a resilient future rooted in Indigenous wisdom and cultural strength.