“You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know who you are.”

In this episode of Rekindling the Fire, host Rachel Robinson sits down with Jay Shawana — an Anishinaabe social worker from Wikwemikong First Nation, former competitive hockey player, and founder of Four Hills Athlete Development — to explore the importance of boundaries, identity, and balance in Indigenous wellness work.

Drawing on his experiences in sport, youth development, leadership, and community-based services, Jay reflects on the challenges of supporting others while maintaining personal wellbeing. From navigating dual roles as both helper and community member to recognizing the early signs of burnout, he shares practical insights on how healthy boundaries allow us to show up authentically and sustainably for those we serve.

Together, Rachel and Jay discuss the importance of knowing your values, protecting your energy, and creating workplace cultures that prioritize connection, trust, and wellness. At the heart of the conversation is a simple but powerful idea: understanding who you are is the foundation for understanding where you're going.

Jay Shawana is Anishinaabe from Wikwemikong First Nation and serves as Executive Director of NPAAMB Indigenous Youth Employment and Training. He is also the founder of Four Hills Athlete Development, a Brantford-based practice that supports athletes, families, and organizations through culturally grounded approaches to leadership, wellness, and personal development.

Fast Four Reflections

Hope: The resilience of Indigenous youth

Home: Stepping onto the ice with skates and a hockey stick

Meaning: The prospect of potential

Gift: Showing that things don't have to be done the way they've always been done

Credits

Rekindling the Fire is produced for the First Peoples Wellness Circle by David McGuffin and Graham McGuffin. Music by Nagamo Publishing. For more on the work of the First Peoples Wellness Circle, please visit FPWC.ca.

Listener Care Notice

This episode discusses burnout, workplace stress, intergenerational impacts of colonial systems, and challenges faced by those working in helping professions. Please take care while listening and access support if needed.

Support Resources

National Indian Residential School Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419

Hope for Wellness Helpline: 1-855-242-3310

Talk Suicide Canada: 1-833-456-4566

9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988

“It’s not about feeding the addiction. It’s about helping people get connected to life.”

In this episode of Rekindling the Fire, host Rachel Robinson sits down with Carol Hopkins — a member of the Lenape Nation at Moraviantown and CEO of the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation — to explore harm reduction through an Indigenous lens grounded in relationship, compassion, and connection.

Drawing on decades of work in First Nations mental wellness, addictions treatment, and community healing, Carol reflects on how culture-based care, family involvement, and spirit-centered approaches can transform the way communities respond to substance use and the toxic drug crisis. From sacred fires and ceremony to practical community action, this conversation challenges stigma and reframes harm reduction as an act of care, dignity, and collective responsibility.

Together, Rachel and Carol unpack the impacts of colonization, the importance of belonging and identity, and why healing begins not with shame, but with connection.

In this Episode:

• Reframing harm reduction through Indigenous values and worldview
• Why connection and relationships are central to healing
• The role of family, ceremony, and community in wellness
• How colonization disrupted identity, belonging, and care systems
• Practical examples of community-led harm reduction initiatives
• Understanding addiction through compassion rather than shame
• The importance of culture, spirit, and identity in recovery
• Why communities need local, culturally grounded supports and services

Dr. Carol Hopkins is the CEO of the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation and a member of the Lenape Nation at Moraviantown, Ontario. She has dedicated more than 20 years to the field of First Nations addictions and mental health and is internationally recognized for her leadership in Indigenous mental wellness, harm reduction, and culture-based healing approaches. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2018.

Fast Four Reflections

Hope: Identity that can never be taken away

Home: Community and the land

Meaning: Language, culture, and identity

Gift: Sharing knowledge to inspire healing and change

Credits

Rekindling the Fire is produced for the First Peoples Wellness Circle

by David McGuffin and Graham McGuffin (ExploreProductions.ca)

Music by Nagamo Publishing.

For more on the work of the First Peoples Wellness Circle please visit fpwc.ca

Listener Care Notice

This episode discusses substance use, colonial impacts, intergenerational trauma, and the toxic drug crisis. Please take care while listening and access support if needed.

Support Resources

National Indian Residential School Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419

Hope for Wellness Helpline: 1-855-242-3310

Talk Suicide Canada: 1-833-456-4566

9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988

“Don’t ever feel that this is insurmountable—it isn’t. Let’s play the long game, because our ancestors played the long game.”

— Barb Martin

In this episode of Rekindling the Fire, host Rachel Robinson sits down with Barb Martin—a Mi’kmaq leader and lifelong advocate—to explore healing, leadership, and what it means to carry the work forward across generations. Drawing on more than 40 years of experience, Barb shares how Indigenous approaches to wellness—grounded in culture, land, language, and relationships—can reshape both community care and broader systems. Together, they unpack cultural safety, Two-Eyed Seeing, and the importance of strength-based, community-led approaches. This conversation invites listeners to reflect on connection, courage, and our shared responsibility to support future generations.

In this Episode:

• “Playing the long game” in wellness and systems change
• The role of Elders and intergenerational knowledge
• Two-Eyed Seeing: balancing Indigenous and Western approaches
• Why cultural safety is defined by those receiving care
• The importance of land, language, and community connection
• Strength-based approaches to healing and resilience

Barb Martin is a Mi’kmaq leader from Eskasoni First Nation with over four decades of experience in Indigenous wellness, advocacy, and systems change. Her work bridges Indigenous knowledge and Western practices, grounded in relationships, respect, and community care.

Fast Four Reflections

Hope: Youth

Home: On the land, in ceremony

Meaning: Her work and spirituality

Gift: Grounded strength

Rekindling the Fire is produced for the First Peoples Wellness Circle

by David McGuffin and Graham McGuffin (ExploreProductions.ca)

Music by Nagamo Publishing.

For more on the work of the First Peoples Wellness Circle please visit www.fpwc.ca

Listener Care Notice

This episode discusses colonial impacts and intergenerational trauma. Please take care while listening and access support if needed.

Support Resources

• National Indian Residential School Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419
• Hope for Wellness Helpline: 1-855-242-3310
• Talk Suicide Canada: 1-833-456-4566
• 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988