The Healing Path: Interview with Linda Manitowabi
Art Therapy Conversations is a regular column in Envisage, developed and written by Rebecca Montgomery. We thank Rebecca for her dedication and creativity in facilitating learning and expanding connections between art therapists! In this issue, we are very grateful to be connecting with Art Therapist Linda Manitowabi and learning from her stories and journey in the healing arts.
Linda Manitowabi is an Anishnaabe-kwe from Wikwemikong First Nation who combines Art Therapy with traditional teachings and ceremonies of the Ojibwe Midewiwin Society, connecting Indigenous people to their healing journey. A recently retired elementary school teacher, Linda is an instructor at the WHEAT Institute (Winnipeg Holistic Expressive Arts Therapy Institute) and a member of the Grandmother’s Advisory Council. This provides counsel on the formulation and workings of WHEAT’s Indigenized Expressive Arts / Art Therapy programs. Linda’s passion for travelling has led her all around the world, learning from many Indigenous nations.
Rebecca’s narrative in italics below.
I am very happy to connect with Linda, to hear her stories, adventures, and the thoughts behind her practice.
Hello Linda, thank you for joining me in conversation today! In a word, how are you doing right now?
Grounding.
What did you do this week that you loved?
I attended a day and a half of ceremonies in the community. It had been two years since we gathered together. It was so good to see everyone and to hear the teachings, hear the songs, hear the happiness and laughter, and just feel the love.
Where is home for you right now?
I presently live on my reserve of Wikwemikong, on the beautiful Manitoulin Island. Every time I drive back onto the Island after a trip, it just takes my breath away. It’s so beautiful.
How has being an art therapist partnered with retirement?
When I first discovered Art Therapy, it was not yet a well-known modality of therapy and people were still hesitant to try the technique for their healing. I was not sure if Art Therapy, as an income, would meet my needs and survival. I continued to be an elementary teacher and studied part-time at Western University with the goal to practice Art Therapy as a retirement endeavour. In my retirement, it keeps me occupied and given the opportunity to think about, research, study, and develop my own way of doing Art Therapy.
As an instructor of Canada’s first Indigenized Art Therapy Diploma and Expressive Arts programs, what would you say to a person who was considering taking it?
In attending Elders’ Gatherings at Trent University, I heard an Elder say ‘if we want to heal our people, we need to do it ourselves and we need to use our own medicines’. This is a program taught by qualified and experienced Indigenous Art Therapists who have the heart of the people in mind when healing needs to be done. They have the Indigenous knowledge, teachings, ceremony, and cultural understanding to help with healing. Learn the traditional teachings of the people you work with because it will show up in their art and you need to recognize that to help them on their healing path.
I know that along with instructing at WHEAT, you also host workshops at the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health. Can you tell me more about the workshops?
The workshops that I do at the Wabano Centre focus on storytelling and hands-on art making to help in the healing circles, journeys/paths, and mental health of the participants. The stories or teachings come from Anishinaabe worldview, the Medicine Wheel and the Four Directions. I use story-telling as a way of connecting to identity, cultural knowledge, ancestral knowledge and ceremony. I try to empower the participants with the ancestral teachings, build their resilience, and encourage healthy living practices. Traditional teachings connect and speak to the Spirit.
I remember you telling me about the 4 directions, or the 4 aspects of wellbeing; the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. How do these relate to your practice?
The therapy that one would receive from a non-Indigenous professional is based on mental, emotional and physical aspects. In an Indigenous perspective to therapy, the Medicine Wheel is used as a teaching tool and the aspect of the Spiritual is included. The Medicine Wheel Teachings and any traditional teachings feed the Spirit. The Spirit has also been wounded and it needs healing as well as the body, mind and emotional aspects. The Creator gave us the teachings of the Medicine Wheel to help us live a Good Life, but many have forgotten because of the effects of colonization.
How important are stories (story teachings) to your practice?
“Learn the traditional teachings of the people you work with because it will show up in their art and you need to recognize that to help them on their healing path. ”
The stories/teachings are very important because it connects to the Spirit of the participant. No matter that they have not been raised with traditional teachings and way of life, nor heard the stories or teachings or they have not participated in ceremonies, their Spirit still remembers and connects to them. The memory is in our blood, our DNA, our body remembers. Our Spirit remembers.
What inspired you towards art therapy?
I attended a workshop Cancer in the Community at the London Children’s Hospital. At the school where I was teaching, a little boy had passed from cancer just before he was to come into my class. I wanted to find ways to help my young students to grieve for their peer. The workshop was based on Art Therapy and seeing the artwork, I was immediately connecting it to my own cultural background and how this type of therapy would speak to Indigenous people in their healing paths. I saw potential in the healing arts.
Not too long ago, in July/August 2021, you travelled out west for the Saskatchewan River Water Walk, to raise awareness about our connection to the water. How did it go, and how far did you walk?
A core group of 9 Water Walkers walked the North Saskatchewan River for a total of 1,094 Km, in 36 days. We carried a pail of water from the headwaters of the River. We went just past Prince Albert to the forks of the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers. We will have to go back next year to finish the walk to Lake Winnipeg where the River flows out. The Water Walk is a way to draw awareness about the importance of water. It is a Sacred Walk and it is a Ceremony. We pray to the water that it will continue to give us Life. It is a way to help Mother Earth, Shkagamik-Kwe, for Her healing, and that we are thankful for its Life-giving flow.
Do you have any more travel plans coming up in the future?
I will be going to Johannesburg, South Africa to attend the 5th Annual International Conference on Art for Social Transformation: Artizen 2021, November 5-8. I am so honoured to have been asked by the Keynote Speaker for the Conference, Jennifer Folayan, to be one of the Turtle Island co-facilitators for her workshops. We will also be visiting some of the communities to participate in their art ventures. It’s an exciting time and I’m looking forward to creating new experiences.
I admire your adventurous nature! I would like to know, is there something in particular about travelling that you enjoy?
I love meeting different nations and talking and sharing with them about their culture. I enjoy seeing the beauty of the land and I want to walk...touch the Earth...from a different part of the Her being.
Thank you for answering my questions, Linda. It has been my pleasure to hear about you and your practice, your culture, and to understand more about what makes Indigenous Art Therapy special.
Rebecca Montgomery (BFA) currently works as a freelance artist while studying psychology and neuroscience at University of British Columbia. Talking with art therapists across the country and beyond, she is reminded more and more of why art is such a powerful modality of healing. Most likely, you will find her drinking tea and drawing blind contours, or walking along the coastline. To learn more about Rebecca’s work, or to connect for an interview, please visit www.rebeccamontgomery.com.