The challenge came to put part of the university's ninth annual literary festival, Weaving Words Celebration, into a health care environment.
Answering the challenge is the Health Arts Research Centre (HARC) at the University of Northern B.C.
"At the heart of what the Health Arts Research Centre argues is that the humanities and the arts, including story telling, are really healing processes," Sarah de Leeuw, research director at the Health Arts Research Centre. "They are also great ways to transmit knowledge. There's often a bit of a divide between the way Indigenous people understand health and well being and the way medical practitioners can conceptualize health."
On Thursday from noon to 1:30 p.m. HARC presents a literary lunch at the Spiritual Sanctuary at the University Hospital of Northern B.C., located to the left of the main lobby entrance.
"We have Marie Clements, who is a world-renown Indigenous filmmaker, and Janet Rogers, a phenomenal poet and we're also really lucky to have Louise Framst, who is a First Nations woman of the north and Lauren Aldred who is the leader of the Spiritual Sanctuary and a Metis poet, so it's like a cornucopia of fabulous Indigenous writers who will be reading."
Positivity is the focus of the literary lunch, said de Leeuw.
"We're hoping this is an hour and a half of really fun and uplifting story telling opportunities that celebrate Indigenous health, Indigenous presence in the hospital and the cancer agency and the really amazing Indigenous-focused health clinics like the Central Interior Native Health because there's a lot of strength in Indigenous communities. What we really need is something healing, and therapeutic about the resilience of Indigenous people and the Health Arts Research Centre was thrilled to be able to support that."
The Native Friendship Centre's Smokehouse will be catering the event and lunch includes salmon and bannock.
The literary lunch is a free event and everyone is welcome to attend.
