Cultural Wellness

Wendy Johnson

About Me

I am a wife, mother, grandmother, sister, sister-in-law, auntie, and friend. I use she/her pronouns. I am of Indigenous and Mexican ancestry and from the traditional territory of S’olh (So-off) Temexw (Tey mook). I am able- bodied and semi-retired. I live a comfortable life with a middle-class socioeconomic status. I am educated and a professional and work in the mental health and wellness field.

I actively work at recognizing the privileges I have and try to practice cultural awareness, cultural competency, and cultural humility in both my personal and professional life. I am committed to promoting Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity (EDI) and culturally safe services.

Mission Statement

As an Indigenous woman raised away from my community and culture and primarily with westernized Eurocentric values, I have experienced both acceptance and bias from people who know me and don’t know me. I have experienced both privilege and discrimination based upon the description I outlined about myself above. I have come to understand and practice the concept of 2-eyed seeing by Albert Marshall. My story has led to my practicing cultural humility unintentionally and with unawareness to understand and accept myself. Now that I understand this concept and see how it has been valuable in navigating my life and owning my identify as an Indigenous woman; I want others to understand the importance of Cultural Humility. For 20 years as a Mental Health professional, I have strived to offer diversity, intercultural, anti-oppressive, anti-racist, intergenerational trauma awareness & responsiveness in my work to provide culturally safe services. Offering Cultural Wellness Workshops is an extension of my work to promote culturally safe services in community and the workplace. For more information related to training and my experience towards cultural awareness, cultural competence, cultural humility, and cultural safety please see below.

Training and Seminars Attended and Recommended.

  • San’yas Anti-Racism Indigenous Cultural Safety Training Program

    This training is a requirement by the First Nations Health Authority in British Columbia for all their employees. This policy is an active attempt to provide culturally safe services for Indigenous people from healthcare professionals. This training provides an opportunity to build cultural awareness, cultural competency and cultural humility through psychoeducation and dialogue.

  • Foundations of Intercultural Development

    Endorsed by the Canadian Bureau for International Education, this organization provides an online course to “connect you with a community of learning focused on building intercultural engagement skills, developing cultural awareness, and empowering participants in equitable and inclusive practices.” This course I took to support my work at St. Thomas University. The course is provided by Simon Fraser University.

  • Cultural Humility: Training of Trainers by Indigenous Vision

    This is a 10-hour train-the-trainer virtual series on the concepts, principles, and practices of Cultural Humility in the workplace based upon principles developed by Dr. Melanie Tervalon and Dr. Jann Murray-Garcia. This training places an emphasis upon the importance of dialogue, bias, and ongoing self-reflection. It identifies that cultural awareness and cultural competency are not enough to provide cultural safety. Cultural humility is an essential piece to providing culturally safe services.