BC Metis Federation is hosting a women’s circle dedicated to traditional Grandmother Moon Teachings. Join Sheila Nyman for a virtual circle on April 6th, which will be the 1st moon following the Spring Equinox, and is traditionally referred to as the Pink moon or Breaking Ice moon.
The circle will take place virtually via zoom, but we will keep the registration list small in order to ensure that the intimate nature of this circle is respected. Attendees are asked to keep their cameras on for this session.
These traditional knowledge circles are part of a pilot program at BCMF dedicated to cultural revitalization and sharing traditional knowledge. The circles are currently available to BCMF members only at no cost. If you have any questions, concerns, or feedback or would like to register, please email k.sison@bcmetis.com.
About Sheila:
Way’ my name is Sheila Nyman, I am a Syilx Metis member of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band in the South Okanagan and an associate member of the BC Metis Federation. I experienced the 60’s Scoop as an Intergenerational Indian Residential School Survivor and live my life as a single mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. I am a registered service provider with FNHA, and I have worked as a counsellor since 1996, advancing my skills and credentials both through academic training and guidance from Elders. I hold a Masters’s degree in Social Work from the University of Victoria in the Indigenous Specialization Program as well I attend numerous professional development trainings. My specialization is in the area of trauma survival by guiding individuals to their strengths and power as survivors. I have worked with the same Traditional healer since 1995 and have been put up on the mountain six times for fasting. My spirit name is “Stands Strong like a Rock BearWoman”. My Elder has taught me and passed the permissions to conduct Sweat Lodge as well as Moonlodge and many teachings using brushings, eagle fan, smudge, water and energy, to name a few. I have developed skilled ways to integrate our traditional ceremonial ways with western models of counselling therapies. My Elder is Many Buffalo Running, Aline LaFlamme, and she is well known in and around Vancouver and the North West Territories.
I have vast experience in my career in leading a healing house for women recovering from addiction and mental health in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Also, with Tsow Tun Le Lum and the TRC as a resolution health supporter with our people involved in the Indian Residential Settlement process. While there, I provided cultural and emotional support to the people as they told their truth about their experiences while in residential school. My earliest experience with IRS survivors was as a national phone counsellor with the Indian Residential School Survivors Society in 2003. I hold positions with a number of projects as their Elder as well as the first Traditional Elders Counsel with FNHA
I travel into community and into people’s homes as a flexible travelling counsellor. I understand the complications of getting to a counselling office and the need to feel safe and comfortable when delving into the generational struggles we live with as a people. I am located on Secwepemc Territory between Clearwater and 100 Mile and will travel and meet our people where it works for them and me. I do phone counselling and if people want, I can Zoom as well.
I believe we all carry the “knowledge” we need to heal ourselves. We were born with it and merely need to create an environment that supports “remembering that knowledge”. That is what the journey is all about.
All my relations
Phone: 250-618-6247
Email: bearrockconsulting@gmail.com
Maarsii Sheila, for your time and care.