A local charity that offers services for people living with addiction is recognizing an Indigenous knowledge keeper for her contributions to the community.
St. Raphael Wellness Centre will present Charlotte Nolin with its community champion award at a gala event on Wednesday.
The award honours resilient, compassionate, determined individuals who have conquered addiction, fostered positive change in their lives and support others in recovery.
JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Charlotte Nolin, an Oji-Cree, Metis two-spirited knowledge keeper, is photographed in her home in Winnipeg Sunday, May 29, 2022. Nolin has shared her story of growing up two-spirited in Manitoba. Re: Cook
“It was unexpected,” Nolin says of the recognition. “I count it as a blessing from the community.”
A two-spirit Métis, the 73-year-old walks with first-hand knowledge of the trauma that Indigenous peoples must overcome today.
At six months old, she was taken from her mother and placed in a series of foster homes in francophone communities.
She attended day school, where the nuns and priests made sure she knew she was different.
The abuse Nolin faced at home and at school led to a young adulthood marked by addiction and living on the streets.
In 1974, she got sober, found work in construction and started a family. In 1990, she left construction behind and pursued social work.
She relapsed for a year and a half about a decade ago. Once she got clean, her relapse and subsequent recovery only strengthened her resolve to help others.
Nolin has volunteered on a number of boards, including St. Raphael Wellness Centre, Métis Child and Family Services Authority and 2Spirit Manitoba.
While she has struggled in the past with being two-spirit, today she fully embraces it.
“As a two-spirit person, I walk in between the two worlds — the male and female aspects of creation,” Nolin says. “I also walk between this physical world that we all know and see, and the spiritual world from where we come from and where we will return.”
Nolin’s contributions to the community as an Indigenous elder include leading sweat lodge, pipe and sun dance ceremonies.
Last August, on a 10-acre piece of land near Portage la Prairie that 2Spirit Manitoba owns, she helped lead a sun dance for two-spirit people.
The four-day healing ceremony drew around 400 people for dancing, fasting and sweats.
According to Nolin, it was the first sun dance in North America specifically for two-spirit people.
“(Two-spirit people) weren’t welcomed at other sun dances and we knew we had to have our own sun dance,” she says, adding that she is planning another two-spirit sun dance later this summer.
“We certainly made an impact and from what I’ve gathered, we’re expecting more people this year.”
St. Raphael Wellness Centre is pleased to honour Nolin, says Colleen Allan, executive director.
“Her passion and compassion for the LGBTQ youth is her goal and her work and her life,” says Allan, adding Nolin has an ability to inspire hope, courage and community. “Charlotte just embodies all these qualities and more.”
The gala takes place in the Norwood Hotel Ballroom at 112 Marion St. and starts at 6 p.m.
Community organizer Michael Redhead Champagne will host the event, and Red River Métis singer-songwriter Brandi Vezina will perform.
For details, or to make a donation to support St. Raphael’s recovery programs, visit srwc-mb.ca.
If you know a special volunteer, please contact aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca.
Aaron Epp
Reporter
Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. He was previously the associate editor at Canadian Mennonite. Read more about Aaron.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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