A new year and a new direction...

As 2025 begins to rev up, I am called to reflect on the many changes the last four years have brought about. 
The four-year Ontario Trillium Foundation grant is coming to an end and so is the Indigenous Death Doula Collective (IDDC). 

Truthfully, it has not been an easy four years. There were many obstacles and life challenges that came up throughout the process, and  learning gaps to overcome. 

The IDDC Project came about at a time when it felt like the world was on it's knees-the outset of a worldwide pandemic. This project aimed to gather resources for coping with death, dying, grief and loss.

​Slowly, we began to build a network and host regular Zoom sessions to offer a free and safe space to discuss feelings and ask questions about grief and loss. We hosted death cafes that were also grief support circles. 

We worked toward meeting our goal to train more than 200 people on our waiting list, before the project ended in March 2025. Through the creation and launch of the online training, we successfully met our goal within the first eight months. 

My role in the IDDC project has been fairly large. Counsellor, curriculum developer, content and communications, administration, team manager and training facilitator. 

I drew from my educational background as a Sociologist and Healing and Wellness Counsellor, personal and work experiences to create the Indigenous Death Doula Training Program. Throughout this time, I was able to complete several additional trainings to build upon my capacity as a Registered Social Services Worker,  for the benefit of delivering professional training and support services. 

I also drew on my grief and own understandings of loss and death. Slowly, through engaging with over 1300 people, I came to new understandings.

I received my spirit name while doing this project. I got married. I turned 40. I travelled many, many places I had never been. I took on new grief and watched my kids begin adulthood. I had to watch my daughter's heart break when we put our family dog down in old age. I had a miscarriage and my grandfather died. 

Now, I am proud to share this all with you. All the pain, all the joy and all the laughter.
I pray that this work continues. The work of awakening and training death workers. 

I originally started my business in 2014 to share my writing and storytelling, to bring untold stories forward from my memoire.  My passion for writing began as a child and as I moved through my university degree as a single parent in my 30s, returning to writing became a therapeutic practice while I managed burnout, family, multiple work and school commitments along with a new diagnosis of Complex-Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

When I realized I needed to shift my career in 2017 from author to doula entrepreneur, I continued to sort out what my care practice was really about.  This sole-proprietorship has grown and shifted in shape alongside me and I am excited for the new ways that this work has grown.

It was with urgency that I felt called to gather plant medicine teachings and lessons about living and dying.
As I've often heard, I was right where I needed to be as I learned the most from my grandfather in what would become his final years.

In 2018 I renamed my humble social enterprise Blackbird Medicines and as I conclude ten years of entrepreneurship, I am in awe of the experiences I've had and the people I have met. 

The Indigenous Death Collective (IDC) membership is a membership open to all who play a significant role in supporting families throughout the life journey.

Caregivers supporting families and individuals who are systemically marginalized are at the risk of facing burnout in the absence of a support system.

Indigenous Death Collective members are providing services to Indigenous clients and encounter  barriers in accessing care.
Members are invited to join our private social platform to foster safety and community validations for helpers and visitors to communities.

The IDC membership provides supportive space for building connections, identifying collaborative opportunities to enhance caregiving for individuals and families from socio-economic communities that experience systemic oppression and marginalization.

Opening for Membership Applications in May 2025.

The Indigenous Death Worker Collective (IDWC) membership is a membership open to Indigenous practitioners who play a significant role in supporting families throughout the life journey.

Caregivers supporting families and individuals who are systemically marginalized are at the risk of facing burnout in the absence of a support system.

Indigenous Death Worker Collective members are facing compounded barriers in providing services to Indigenous clients and encounter  barriers in accessing and providing care.

The IDWC membership provides supportive, safe spaces for building connections, identifying collaborative opportunities to enhance caregiving for individuals and families from socio-economic communities that experience systemic oppression and marginalization. 
Members have completed the IDWC training and will receive special access to training and workshops, as well as work referrals. 

Opening for Membership Applications in April 2025.

​Membership fees will help subsidize scholarships and support community needs as donations made to Birchbark Medicine Lodge Society, to help cover the costs of travel and accommodations for those trying to attend to the dying and the dead. 

Chii miigwetch/Big thanks for supporting this work. It has been an honour to have your interest and your community's trust.

In friendship, Chrystal