New Healing Lodge to be built in Yellowknife

N.W.T. MP Micheal McLeod announced that $7 million through the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program will go to build an eco-sensitive Endacho Healing Lodge in Yellowknife.

MP McLeod made the announcement on behalf of the Honourable Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities on March 21. 

MP McLeod affirmed that the funding will support local projects to build safe and welcoming spaces to deliver Indigenous programming and services.

“Across the Northwest Territories, many Indigenous peoples, families and communities are deeply affected by trauma and its health and social impacts,” said McLeod in a statement posted on social media.

“In this place, Indigenous people who have suffered trauma can heal by connecting with their culture and the land through a combination of traditional and western healing methods,” he said.

The new lodge will include an energy efficient and eco-sensitive design.

 “The Lodge is designed to integrate into the natural contours of the land, incorporating energy efficiency technology proven effective and sustainable in the northern environment,” said MP McLeod.

On March 26, the Endacho Healing Society announced more details about the Healing Lodge. 

The Endacho Healing Society is a not-for-profit group dedicated to the mental health and wellness of Indigenous northerners.  

“Our vision is a future where Indigenous northerners have good health and wellbeing and have a strong cultural identity. We want them to live in resilient, supportive and healthy communities,” said society Vice Chair Jean Erasmus in the announcement. 

“We know that in order to get there, we need a trauma healing lodge that is rooted in Indigenous culture and uses both Indigenous and western approaches to healing,” added Erasmus. 

Erasmus and her husband Roy both have worked in the community as mental health counsellors. Their vision of a healing lodge by and for Indigenous people in the NWT was the reason they established the society. 

“Jean and Roy have been working since 2023 to establish a trauma healing lodge in the NWT in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call to action # 21,” said the Endacho Healing Society in the announcement. 

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #21 calls on the federal government to provide “sustainable funding” for First Nation, Inuit and Metis healing centres to address the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual harms caused by residential schools. The call to action names healing centres in Nunavut and N.W.T. as a priority. 

In the announcement, society Chairman Roy Erasmus explained that a healing program is being created with the help and advice of Indigenous Elders.  

The healing program will begin with a series of pilot projects this summer to test out the program. 

When the Healing Lodge opens its doors, it will be able to house up to 24 people at a time in 6-8 week programs.  

“Throughout our work to make the healing lodge a reality, we have taken guidance from Indigenous Elders. We have consulted with Indigenous people and governments, and we have received support from territorial and federal governments. We know that we will only succeed when we work in partnership with those who share our vision,” said Roy Erasmus.