Wîwîp'son: The Healing Swing

Credits

Producers:
Aretha Greatrix
Lese Skidmore

Cora-Lee (Mentee)

Director:
Aretha Greatrix

Logline: Wîwîp’son, The Healing Swing, is a short documentary on the study of Indigenous Swing Therapy and how the ceremonial practices can be used to treat trauma. The practice was inspired by a vision Dr. Darlene had during ceremony, when the grandmothers told her that the people need to be swung again.

An examination of the convergence of Indigenous ceremonial practice and empirical science, this documentary investigates Wîwîp'son—a traditional healing ceremony involving rhythmic swinging—and its documented effects on trauma recovery, emotional regulation, and neurological functioning.

In 2021, Dr. Darlene Auger and Dr. Kelvin Jones conducted a study to analyze the effects of Dr. Darlene Auger's swing therapy sessions on improving health through culturally informed trauma recovery—an alternative approach to treating neurological disorders and the effectiveness of the treatment. Wîwîp’son, the healing swing, is a treatment held by Indigenous practitioner Dr. Darlene Auger. That brings people back to the tradition of being swung in a swing as a baby and the traditional knowledge of its impacts on the mind and body. The Wîwîp’son Ceremony helps support emotional regulation in processing trauma. This study combines traditional knowledge and a Western scientific approach. This study used wearable biometric sensors to examine the effects of the swing motion and Indigenous healing practice on a person’s heart rate, breathing and brain wave patterns.

This documentary looks at the outcomes of the study and interviews participants of the Wîwîp’son: the healing swing therapy to share the impacts of this alternative therapy has had on their lives. We also hear from Dr. Darlene Auger, who holds this therapeutic ceremony, and her inspiration to share this knowledge with people to help them heal from trauma.