Prince George, B.C. - Through the Indigenous Research Ambassador program, Patrick Stubbington Teed Louie George was able to take lessons he learned through healing from a traumatic childhood and share the value of addressing mental health challenges with the larger UNBC community.

Patrick’s own journey navigating mental health and wellness dates to his childhood. A member of the Saik’uz First Nation, he was taken away from his family as a newborn as part of the Sixties Scoop and moved across the country to live with adoptive parents.

It wasn’t until he was a young adult that he made his way back to northern B.C. His reunion with his mother, sister and other family members was documented at the time in the Prince George Citizen. That reunion, and his subsequent decision to return to northern B.C. were major steps in understanding his identity.

“It was quite the emotional homecoming experience after being taken away at birth as a child by the Canadian government. It happened to many, many children throughout Canada,” he says. “Then to be able to come back and to feel that piece that was missing within myself. I'm still working on putting all those pieces back together.”

Part of that process was taking his birth families’ names as his own: Teed is Patrick’s biological father’s surname, Louie is from both his grandmothers and George is his birth mom’s last name. 

Other pieces included returning to school where Patrick is a student in UNBC’s School of Planning and Sustainability and seeking support from the staff at UNBC’s Counselling Services. Patrick says realizing the benefits of that support prompted him to organize panel discussions to raise awareness about the availability of mental health services and reduce the stigma around accessing them.

“I think it's so important for all students, staff and faculty to address their mental health challenges when they arise,” he says. “That's what led me to the putting on the discussions as an Indigenous Research Ambassador. I thought it was such a very important topic.”

When the Indigenous Research Ambassador program was launched in 2022, Patrick applied and learned he would be able to use the program to help share his message about the importance of mental health and wellness. 

The program, funded by Mitacs, was created to engage students in research and experiential learning opportunities, connect them with researchers and communities, facilitate leadership and mentorship opportunities and celebrate and promote research and cultural connection to the natural world. 

Patrick decided the best way he could provide education, leadership and mentorship was by leading mental health awareness discussions on campus. The first panel, organized in 2023, attracted dozens of UNBC community members to learn about and share mental health resources. 

"It was about how to get support, look for support and ask for help," he says, noting the significance of destigmatizing mental health issues.

The second panel, part of the annual Beyond the Blues initiative organized by UNBC’s Health and Wellness Team in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association, included a video of physician and mental health advocate Dr. Gabor Maté. 

Patrick is grateful the Indigenous Research Ambassadors program gave him the platform to share the mental health resources available on campus and in the community, and he hopes others will be inspired to seek support when they need it. 

“I’m very humbly gracious that I made my way back home,” Patrick says. “Now I can bring awareness that no matter how hard things are and can be, you can still work out of it and look for help and not be scared to ask for it. For a brighter future strength and honour. Mussi.”