As It Happens6:01Nurse performs Halifax hospital’s 1st smudging ceremony — for her sister’s baby
Nurse Courtney Pennell gets goosebumps whenever she thinks about performing her hospital’s first-ever smudging ceremony on her twin sister and newborn nephew.
Pennell is the Indigenous health consultant at IWK Health Centre in Halifax. For years, she has been advocating for the hospital to allow smudging for Indigenous mothers and their babies.
That policy finally came into effect last month — just in time for the arrival of Beau Joseph Bear Pennell.
“It’s hard to choke back the tears,” Pennell told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.
WATCH | Halifax hospital’s 1st Mi’kmaw smudging
