Mînowacihewin – Regional Service for Indigenous People

We are a regional Indigenous service known as Mînowacihewin (or ‘Mîno’ for short) that provides culturally relevant supports at the North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC) through a wholistic and balanced approach to health and wellness.

Mînowacihewin is a Cree word that describes the concept of healing. It can also mean taking care of someone, healing in a good way and bringing someone back to good health.

Our Program

Our program acknowledges Indigenous Peoples’ ancestry, and honours and supports their lineage of coming from a culture with a distinct world view. We work to improve access to traditional and culturally safe care by bringing Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and healing into all aspects of care for both inpatients and outpatients.

Our Team

If you identify as Indigenous and are coming to the Health Centre for care, the Mîno team is available to support you and your family.

Our team includes staff with a range of skills and experiences who work together to provide culturally safe and respectful support, advocacy, and help navigating health care services. We also work together with our community partners to improve health outcomes for Indigenous Peoples throughout northeastern Ontario.

You can ask for the Mîno team to be involved in your care at any time, whether during a hospital stay or while attending an appointment. We work alongside your health care providers to make sure you feel supported and have access to services you need.

Our Services

Our services are grounded in patient-centered traditional practices, based on the principles of the Seven Grandfather Teachings for a good life (love, respect, bravery, honesty, humility, truth and wisdom).

We take a wholistc approach to well-being that addresses mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health through the integration of both traditional practices and western medicine.

The term “wholistic” highlights the connection to the word “whole,” particularly in the context relating to Indigenous traditions, health, and wellness, where it is used to reflect the integration and balance of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of well-being. This approach emphasizes caring for the entire person rather than focusing on any single part.

 Services we provide include:

• Coordinating access to spiritual ceremonies and cultural practices (such as smudging, wellness circles, bannock socials, cedar baths, drumming and singing, and sharing circles)
• One-on-one support during hospital admission
• Help navigating health care services and connecting with community resources
• Advocacy for patients and their families
• Support with care and discharge planning
• Cree language translation, when needed
• Awareness and staff education

Self-Identification for Indigenous Patients

The North Bay Regional Health Centre is committed to providing every patient the best care possible.

To help make care more culturally safe and to improve health service planning, we are inviting patients to voluntarily and confidentially share with us if they identify as Indigenous.