We are proud to announce our opening speaker for the 2025 National Tribal TANF Institute!
Opening Address: Grant Bruno
Braiding Care: Family Centered and Ceremony Informed Support for Indigenous Communities
Indigenous families often navigate both Western service systems and their own cultural traditions, yet mainstream approaches often fail to recognize Indigenous ways of knowing and being. This keynote presentation will explore the vital role of kinship, storytelling, ceremony and language in creating supportive, culturally grounded environments for Indigenous children and youth.
Attendees will gain insight into how service providers, educators and families can collaborate to integrate Indigenous and Western approaches, fostering holistic, healing-centered care. We will also address the lasting impacts of colonialism on access to care, systemic barriers in health and education, and the critical need for culturally safe, community-driven solutions that honor Indigenous knowledge and strengthen families.
Grant Bruno, Ph.D., is nêhiyaw (Plains Cree), a registered member of Samson Cree Nation and an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta. With a background rooted in nêhiyaw understandings of health, Bruno’s work focuses on creating culturally responsive healthcare models that support Indigenous children and youth, particularly in the areas of neurodiversity and child and youth health. As a proud First Nations scholar, his research weaves nêhiyaw knowledge systems and Western frameworks to create inclusive, decolonized approaches to healthcare. He is currently the academic lead of Indigenous Child Health for the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI) and is the founder of the Ispimihk Awâsisak (Sky Children Program) and the Indigenous Caregiving Collective.
Additional speakers to be announced soon!