{"id":267,"date":"2026-04-24T11:38:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T16:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/143.198.38.8\/?page_id=267"},"modified":"2026-04-24T11:47:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T16:47:01","slug":"our-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/gizhac.mcmahonwebdesign.com\/index.php\/about-us\/our-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Our History"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Our History<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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25 years of community, care, and healing.<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Gizhewaadiziwin was built on partnership, on ceremony, and on a belief that Indigenous people deserve healthcare that honours who they are.<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Gizhewaadiziwin Health Access Centre has been serving the Indigenous peoples of the Rainy River District for over 25 years. What began as one of ten original Aboriginal Health Access Centres established in Ontario in 1998 has grown into a cornerstone of community health in Southern Treaty #3 territory \u2014 a place where western medicine and traditional Anishinaabe healing practices come together in service of the whole person.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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How It All Began<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Gizhewaadiziwin was founded through a unique and meaningful partnership between area First Nations, the United Native Friendship Centre, and Sunset Country Metis. This collaboration reflected a shared recognition that Indigenous people in the Rainy River District needed access to primary healthcare that was safe, culturally grounded, and community-controlled.<\/p>

In 1998, alongside nine other Aboriginal Health Access Centres across Ontario, Gizhewaadiziwin opened its doors \u2014 the result of years of advocacy, community organizing, and a belief that healthcare for Indigenous people should be led by Indigenous people.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The Gift of Our Name<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Our name is not just a label \u2014 it is a gift, given to us in ceremony.<\/p>

Gizhewaadiziwin was named by Leona McGinnis in a traditional naming ceremony, after Alfred Henderson of Mitaanjigamiing First Nation offered her tobacco and asked her to give the organization its name. In Anishinaabemowin, Gizhewaadiziwin means the Ojibwe way of living with kindness, respect, and unconditional love. It describes a quality carried by healers \u2014 a wholeness, a calmness, a patience \u2014 and it has guided everything we do ever since.<\/p>

The name reminds us every day of who we are here to be.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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A Logo Born From a Dream<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Like our name, our logo was not designed \u2014 it was gifted. It came through a dream and was given to Gizhewaadiziwin in ceremony, a reflection of the spiritual foundation on which this organization was built.<\/p>

At the centre of our logo is Inaabandamokwe, the Blue Lady. It is believed that she protects communities, children, families, and the workers of this building. She is a watchful, nurturing presence \u2014 much like the care we strive to provide every day.<\/p>

Alongside her is a male figure, representing balance. Together, they remind us that wholeness requires both \u2014 that healing comes from harmony.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Where We Are Today<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Today, Gizhewaadiziwin is home to a wide range of clinical, cultural, and community programs serving Indigenous people across the Rainy River District. We have grown from a founding vision into a living, breathing organization \u2014 one that continues to be shaped by the communities, Elders, and staff who walk through our doors every day.<\/p>

We are proud of how far we have come. And we remain as committed as ever to the work ahead.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMeet Our Team<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our History 25 years of community, care, and healing. Gizhewaadiziwin was built on partnership, on ceremony, and on a belief that Indigenous people deserve healthcare that honours who they are. Gizhewaadiziwin Health Access Centre has been serving the Indigenous peoples of the Rainy River District for over 25 years. What began as one of ten […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":173,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-267","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gizhac.mcmahonwebdesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gizhac.mcmahonwebdesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gizhac.mcmahonwebdesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gizhac.mcmahonwebdesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gizhac.mcmahonwebdesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/gizhac.mcmahonwebdesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":274,"href":"https:\/\/gizhac.mcmahonwebdesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/267\/revisions\/274"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gizhac.mcmahonwebdesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gizhac.mcmahonwebdesign.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}