Welcome To
STRONG EARTH ASSOCIATES
INDIGENOUS WELLNESS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
About Strong Earth Associates
Our Programs
Our Programs
Our Programs
We apply traditional Indigenous cultural and spiritual practices, holistic health, trauma management, and traditional teachings, including end of life care and grief support. We design and deliver tailored Indigenous Cultural Safety and Awareness Training for organizations - both Indigenous and non-Indigenous.
Our Vision
Our Programs
Our Programs
Strong Earth will improve the quality of life for, and return sacred knowledge and teachings to our people, to assist and heal our world.
We develop Indigenous approaches, to meet the critical needs of our people, through our programs and services.
Our Team
Our Programs
Our Team
Strong Earth’s strength comes from the dedication, compassion, and professionalism of our people.
We are a growing team of Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and healthcare & wellness professionals, walking the Red Road (Miiyuu Pimaatswiin) with a shared vision.
Featured Program
Registration open for 2027 Program! Indigenous End of Life and Grief Care Certificate Training for Indigenous Peoples
Strong Earth has partnered with the Institute of Traditional Medicine to develop an Indigenous End of Life & Grief Care Program. We are providing cultural training and awareness to serve communities and the dying, based on sacred teachings.
Program Overview
The Indigenous End of Life & Grief Care Program supports Indigenous families and communities in contemplating, preparing for, and managing the passing of loved ones to the spirit world. These teachings and rites involve communing with our ancestors to assist both the departing soul, and the living, in sacred transition. The program is offered
online with virtual classes.
Curriculum
The program will address the Indigenous cultural, spiritual and community aspects of end life care and grief support. In addition students will have access to ITM's full Contemplative End of Life Care curriculum.
Featured Opportunity
Indigenous Youth - Logo Competition for Mii Yoi Moon Program
Are you a First Nations, Inuit, or Métis youth ages 16–24 with a passion for art and design?
We invite you to help create the official logo for Mii Yoi Moon.
Mii Yoi Moon, a James Bay (Eeyou Cree) phrase meaning “finding peace within and throughout,” was gifted by Elder Harry Snowboy (Eeyou Cree) as the name of the Elders in Residence Program at Covenant House Toronto.
A partnership between Strong Earth Associates Inc. and Covenant House Toronto, the program supports Indigenous youth in strengthening connections to culture, identity, Elders, healing, wellness, and community.
We are looking for an original logo that reflects the spirit of Mii Yoi Moon and will become the program’s official visual identity.
$650 Artist Commission
Who Can Apply?
• First Nations, Inuit, and Métis youth • Ages 16–24 • Residents of Canada
What to Submit
• Up to three (3) original logo concepts
• Colour and black-and-white versions
• A short artist statement (50–150 words) about your design
• Your name, Indigenous Nation and/or community, and contact information
Design Inspiration
• Indigenous identity and culture
• Traditional knowledge • Healing and wellness
• Elders and Knowledge Keepers
• Community and belonging
• Youth leadership
• Connection to the land
• Hope for future generations
Submissions will be considered based on
• Originality
• Cultural relevance
• Creativity
• Versatility for print and digital use
Artwork must be original. AI-generated artwork will not be accepted.
The selected logo will become the official visual identity of the Mii Yoi Moon Elders in Residence Program and may be used in print and digital materials, including websites, social media, reports, presentations, signage, apparel, merchandise, educational resources, and promotional materials. Minor professional adjustments may be made to typography, colour, layout, spacing, or formatting for different uses while respecting the integrity of the original design.
The selected artist grants Strong Earth Associates Inc. and Covenant House Toronto a perpetual, royalty-free licence to use, reproduce, adapt, publish, and display the logo for Mii Yoi Moon program purposes.
The artist will continue to be acknowledged as the creator of the original design and may include the work in their portfolio, website, exhibitions, social media, and promotional materials. The organizing partners reserve the right not to select a submission if none meet the needs of the program.
Important Dates
Submission Deadline: September 15, 2026
Successful Artist Notified: September 25, 2026
Submit Your Artwork info@strongearth.ca
Partner Organizations
Strong Earth Associates Inc. and Covenant House Toronto, in collaboration with the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto (NCCT) Youth Program.
Virtual Seminar on Indigenous Traditional Healing (Indigenous and Non-Indigenous)
On Tuesday December 2nd, 2025 from 12-5pm, join Elder and Traditional Healer Harry Snowboy (born in the Cree Nation of Eeyou Istchee) for a one-day virtual seminar exploring the meaning, history, and continued relevance of Indigenous Traditional Healing. Raised by his grandparents to ensure the transference of knowledge, culture, and ways of life, Harry carries forward teachings deeply rooted in ceremony, language, land and community. He has spent most of his adult life traveling across Turtle Island as a Healer, supporting communities through traditional teachings, healing practices, and cultural restoration. Through storytelling, teachings, and lived experience, he will guide participants in understanding the spiritual and cultural dimensions of traditional healing — and its vital role in cultural and identity revitalization, community wellness, and nation healing.
Special Guest: Elder and Traditional Healer Bryan Akwirente Deer (Kanien'kéha / Mohawk), who was raised in Mohawk traditions and remains deeply connected to his culture and community, will share insights from his healing practice and experience, offering perspectives on spirituality, resilience, and cultural continuity.
Together, they will explore the importance of traditional knowledge and Indigenous healing pathways that work alongside Western healing modalities and ways of seeing and being, grounded in Indigenous worldviews of coexistence and mutual respect. It is a time to elevate and bring a deeper understanding to what Traditional Healing truly is by honouring its wisdom, resilience, and continued relevance in shaping more holistic approaches to wellness and community care.
Live Online Seminar – Tuesday, December 2, 2025
12:00 PM – 5:00 PM EST
Register now: eventbrite.ca/e/1790363087189
Coming in 2027 - Indigenous End of Life Workshop for Non-Indigenous Peoples
Workshops offering a unique opportunity for non-Indigenous community members to learn about Indigenous spiritual traditions and beliefs, in a respectful way.
The purpose of this program is to foster greater compassion and broaden the diversity of their service to Indigenous communities and organizations in end of life and grief care, which is trauma-informed.
This training is specifically for non-Indigenous community members and focuses on developing inter-cultural sensitivity, awareness, and understanding. Those supporting the dying and grieving and/or allies seeking appropriate Indigenous wisdom teachings are welcome to participate.
Who Should Join
Hospice Staff
Longterm Care Workers
PSWs
Medical Professionals
Integrative Health Professionals
Health Policy Makers
Community Organizations
EOL Volunteers
Family & Friends
Curriculum
Diversity within Indigenous End of Life Care
Ceremonial Rites of Passage
Indigenous Cultural Safety & Humility
Indigenous Trauma Informed Care & Creating Safe Spaces
Culture as Medicine/Indigenous Healing Practices at End of Life (EOL)
Best practices for Grief Support
The role of Family, Elders, Community at EOL
Indigenous Spiritual beliefs
Relationship, Allyship & Justice Approaches
STRONG EARTH ASSOCIATES
HARRY SNOWBOY
Harry is an Elder and Ceremonial Traditional Knowledge Keeper in all Rites of Passage, the Life Cycle of Cree ceremonies. His sacred teachings begin with “Birth” and progress through to, and include, "End of Life", "Burial", and spiritual transition ceremonies to support both the grieving and the "Journey of the Soul".
Harry has extensive experience in crisis and trauma management and incorporates holistic problem-solving approaches to critical issues facing Indigenous communities. Such work and breadth of experience “bridge the gap” between sacred, Traditional, and non-Indigenous lived experiences with deep understanding, compassion, and professionalism.
Harry is the Sundance Chief of the annual "Rattlechild Sundance Ceremony", which he leads with his wife, Juliana Matoush-Snowboy, in Henvey Inlet First Nation, Ontario. Harry lives in Northern Quebec and travels extensively to work with Indigenous communities. Harry is the CEO and a Founder of Strong Earth.
Juliana Snowboy
Juliana Matoush-Snowboy (James Bay Cree) is the Director of Professional Services and Quality Assurance with the Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay (CBHSJB). In this role, she co-develops and co-designs cultural safety and awareness training to strengthen organizational service delivery and brings valuable knowledge and approaches that help employees build the skills to work more respectfully and effectively with Indigenous peoples and communities.
Juliana has also worked with Health Canada in Eeyou Istchee and previously served nearly a decade as the Social and Health Planning and Programming Officer for CBHSJB in Chisasibi. She is trained in suicide intervention (ASSIST, 2002), and has experience in community health, cultural support, and organizational development, initiatives that promote wellness, prevention, and cultural resilience.
In collaboration with her husband, Elder Harry Snowboy, Juliana also leads traditional and healing gatherings in Indigenous and urban communities.
Erika Annie Iserhoff
Erika Annie Iserhoff (Mushkego/Eeyou) is a member of Constance Lake First Nation, with family ties to Fort George, Quebec. She is a Cultural Care Practitioner, Traditional Healer, and community leader whose work bridges Indigenous knowledge systems and contemporary health and social services.
For over two decades, Erika has worked within Indigenous arts, cultural revitalization, and community-based movements, and for more than twelve years has provided traditional, culturally grounded emotional and spiritual support to Indigenous individuals, families, and communities across Ontario and Quebec. Her practice is rooted in relational accountability, ceremony, and the revitalization of traditional teachings as pathways to healing and wellness.
Erika supports communities navigating grief, trauma, violence, systemic inequities, and transitions across the life cycle. She works collaboratively with Elders, health centres, and community organizations to strengthen culturally responsive models of care.
She is an active member of the RattleChild Sundance and is Co-Founder, President, and Managing Director of Strong Earth Associates.
Bryan Akwirente Deer
Bryan Akwirente (A tree that provides shelter) Deer is of the Rotiskaréwa:ke (Bear Clan) of the Mohawk Nation of Kahnawake, part of the Iroquois Confederacy. Throughout his life, Bryan has been on the path of learning about being a Kanien'kéha man and understanding the roles and responsibilities these duties entail. As Bryan walked his journey, there came a time when his focus shifted, and his calling to carry and learn about the Medicines and grow his gifts to help the people became more prominent in his life.
Today, Bryan carries many healing gifts guided by Spirit; these include doctoring people with injuries and helping their physical bodies heal, aligning and balancing energies, and healing trauma. He can conduct sweat lodge ceremonies, call a person's Spirit back, provide traditional counselling and readings, and works with traditional plant medicines. Bryan regularly travels to many Indigenous communities across Turtle Island; this includes working with incarcerated individuals, where he shares his gifts with those who have embarked on the healing path. Bryan is an associate to Strong Earth.
Laini Lascelles
Laini Lascelles is a grandmother of Lenape, Anishnawbe, and Mohawk ancestry. She is a healer, social worker, and teacher who has been working with Indigenous communities for over 25 years. Her focus has been on addressing addiction and mental health issues resulting from colonization. She attributes her received traditional knowledge to her teachers, Harry and Juliana Snowboy, and from her lived experience as an Indigenous woman. Laini’s work has included youth treatment and family wellbeing services, and working with the incarcerated within the penal system, by providing ceremony, rites of passage, and individual healing. Laini teaches and applies Indigenous social work best practices, and is a mentor to helpers and dancers in the Sundance ceremonial way of life. Her beliefs are based on wisdom and ceremony received from qualified medicine people, with values rooted in kindness, respect, humility, and truth. Laini is an associate to Strong Earth.
Strong Earth
Fosters a structured, nurturing, and supportive environment that is trauma-informed to promote Indigenous healing and well-being. Strong Earth celebrates diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles, including welcoming two spirit, and all spiritual traditions and cultural beliefs.