The Awo Taan Healing Lodge Society (formerly Awo Taan Native Women's Shelter Society) is
a 27-bed, full service emergency shelter that provides
services to women and children from all cultures who have
suffered from family violence and all forms of
abuse. The shelter operates 24 hours a day, 7 days
per week, and is run by a dedicated staff of 33.
There is a minimum of two on-site counselors at the
shelter 24 hours a day, and there are emergency counselors
on-call 24 hours a day. Women and children can stay
at the shelter for a period of up to three weeks. If
shelter is required beyond the three week period, clients
may arrange for an extended stay or are referred to other
agencies. Clients are always presented with other
options so they are not left with the only option of
returning to the violent or abusive environment from which
they left.
Appropriately named “Awo Taan”, which means
“shield” in the Blackfoot language, the
shelter is blanketed in a unique atmosphere where the
traditional wholistic and spiritual teachings of the
Aboriginal people’s Medicine Wheel are
practiced. This approach benefits Aboriginal women
and their children in helping them through the healing
process within the comfort of their
community.
The Awo Taan
Healing Lodge Society is dedicated to supporting the
emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual healing and
well-being of women during their time of crisis and
beyond. The shelter offers a full range of in-house
crisis and outreach crisis, healing, and prevention
programs. There is also a children’s program
to ensure each child’s emotional, mental, physical,
and spiritual healing and well-being are supported as
well.
The history of
the Awo Taan Healing Lodge Society began with a
vision. In 1986, Ruth Scalp Lock and a group of
concerned individuals wanted to create a shelter where
Aboriginal women and children could seek refuge from
family violence and all forms of abuse in a uniquely
Aboriginal atmosphere. The shelter’s mission
would be to provide a traditional wholistic and spiritual
approach to help Aboriginal women and their children
through the healing process with the support of their
community. This approach would include practicing
the teachings of the Aboriginal Medicine Wheel,
participating in ceremonies such as smudging and healing
circles, and receiving Elder counseling and support.
The shelter would also be a place where Aboriginal women
could reconnect with their Aboriginal culture and continue
their healing journey after they leave the
shelter.
The name
“Awo Taan” was given to Ruth Scalp Lock by her
late grandmother, Margaret Bad Boy of the Siksika
Nation. In a blanket ceremony, Ruth Scalp Lock gave
the name “Awo Taan” to the Calgary Native
Women’s Shelter, renaming it the Awo Taan Native
Women’s Shelter Society. In
2007 it was renamed to Awo Taan Healing Lodge Society to
better reflect the purpose of this organization as
being more than a women's shelter, but as a place that
is commited to making a safe and healthy community.
Ruth organized a
dedicated committee made up of members from the Aboriginal
community, representatives of the Alberta government, the
educational system, police services, and the private
sector. Gerri Many Fingers was instrumental in
leading the committee in finding a suitable location for
the shelter and for raising the capital needed to build
the shelter. Operating costs were covered by the
government and through funds raised from a home
lottery. Nelson Gutnick was a special advisor to the
committee, providing mentorship to the committee and
assisting in the shelter’s development. Other
members of the committee included:
Marlyne Fraser King
Denis Whitford
Bob Coultier
Joanne Crook
Rachael Hoof Sr.
Rachael Hoof Jr.
Pat Whitney
Elder Annie Bare Shin Bone
During 1993 and 1994, the founders, board of directors, staff and many
volunteers from the shelter created a crisis counseling
training program that contained a significant amount of
Aboriginal content. This program was designed to
train shelter staff and to train Calgary agency staff and
the public. During this time, they also launched the
Calgary Head Start program, which was sponsored by Health
and Welfare Canada.
On March 10, 1993, an interim shelter was opened in an old apartment
building donated by the City of Calgary. Core
operational funding was provided by the Alberta government
while capital costs were raised by the Home Lottery.
Two short years later, the Awo Taan Native Women’s
Shelter Society moved to its current location in
1995.
In its first decade of operations, the shelter went through many
changes, including a name change, evolving visions and
missions, and the evolution and expansion of many
programs. All of these changes have been positive
and progressive in that they have enabled the shelter to
provide more comprehensive services and programs to
Aboriginal women and children, and to women and children
from other cultures, who suffer from family violence and
abuse, and to help them through the healing process with
the support of their community.
