White Bear Rising

Today I had the honour of guiding the Sisters in Spirit Vigel! In honour and remembrance of the 59 missing and murdered people within the RMWB. I’m grateful for the trust and faith from the Athabasca Tribal Council. It’s a privilege to work with the MMEIP Task Force and be a part of something truly meaningful! I take this work seriously and put my heart into it! Thank you for believing in me and allowing me to be there for others ❤️

Starting on Tuesday! ❤️

Join Kimberly Cardinal of White Bear Rising for a four-week grief circle created specifically for bereaved parents.

This weekly gathering offers a supportive space to explore the many dimensions of grief through spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental experiences. Participants will have an opportunity to reflect, connect, share, and find support alongside others who are navigating the loss of a child.

📅 October 6, 13, 20 & 27
🕡 6:30–8:30 PM
📝 No registration required

You are welcome to join us for one evening or the full four weeks. Come as you are and take the time and space you need.

This program is made possible thanks to the Alberta Native Friendship Centre Association Mental Health Funding.

As the daughter of a residential school survivor, spending the day among Indigenous leaders and hearing their stories was an honour and a privilege.

Their words carried pain, strength, wisdom, and hope. Listening reminded me of what our families have endured, what our people have protected, and the work we continue to do for the generations coming after us.

For me, these conversations are deeply personal. They connect to my own family’s story and why healing, culture, and community mean so much to me.

Today, I am grateful to everyone who shared their experiences and teachings. I leave with a full heart and a deeper commitment to the work I do. There is so much strength in our people, and so much to learn when we take the time to listen. 🧡 STILL HERE 🙏

I think a lot of harm happens when people lead with ego instead of heart.

Ego wants to be right, recognized, and in control. Heart asks us to listen, be honest, and consider how our actions affect others.

We all have an ego. The work is noticing when it takes over and choosing humility instead. That’s where healing begins.

Sobriety is a powerful beginning, but healing asks us to go deeper. ❤️

It asks us to face the trauma, grief, and pain we carry. To recognize the ways we learned to survive and how those patterns may be affecting ourselves and the people we love. To take responsibility, seek support, and learn a different way of living.

Forgiveness can be part of that journey including forgiving ourselves. It doesn’t mean excusing what happened or allowing someone to hurt us again. It is deeply personal, and it happens in our own time.

We often hear, “Hurt people hurt people.” But that does not have to be where our story ends. Every day, people in recovery, frontline workers, our deeply valued Elders, and those doing helping work are helping change that narrative to “Healed people heal people.”

And we don’t have to be finished healing to contribute to that change. We can be doing our own work while offering compassion, guidance, and hope to others. Our helpers need care, rest, and support, too.

Healing is not linear. It is a lifelong process. Some days we feel strong; other days, old pain returns and needs our attention. That does not erase our growth.

Every time we choose to respond differently, ask for help, make amends, or set a healthy boundary, we help interrupt a cycle.

The work we do within ourselves can become part of the healing we bring to our families, our communities, and the generations coming after us. 🤍

✨ Small Business Saturday: White Bear Rising ✨

At White Bear Rising, I believe the best work is measured by the growth we help create in others.

Success is seeing someone gain confidence, reconnect with their culture, begin healing, strengthen their organization, or walk away with a deeper understanding of themselves and the people around them. That is what makes this work so fulfilling.

White Bear Rising provides culturally grounded workshops, training, facilitation and event support, including:

• Indigenous Cultural Awareness
• Grief, loss and trauma education
-Recovery and empowerment speaking
• Land-based and cultural programming
• Community gatherings and event support
• Customized workshops for organizations and communities

My work brings together professional education, lived experience and Indigenous knowledge through a Two-Eyed Seeing approach. Every workshop is created with care, authenticity and a commitment to helping people and communities grow.

If your organization, workplace or community is looking for meaningful, culturally grounded programming, I would love to connect.

Supporting a small business means supporting a dream but it also helps that business continue making a difference in the lives of others. 🤍

I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I do show up with my whole heart.

I can speak about abuse, grief and loss, domestic violence, addiction, su***de prevention, lateral violence, poverty, and life on reserve not only because I have studied these issues, but because I have lived them.

But my story is not only about pain.

I can also speak about healing, recovery, empowerment, faith, reconnecting with our culture, and learning to love yourself again.

I know what it feels like to lose yourself and I know what it takes to begin finding your way back.

I don’t stand before people as someone who has everything figured out. I stand beside them as someone who understands, someone who continues to learn, and someone who believes that healing is possible.

I may not have all the answers, but I will always show up with honesty, compassion, lived experience, and my whole heart.