Sandy-Leo Laframboise Lowitja Institute International Indigenous Health and Wellbeing Conference 2016

Sandy-Leo Laframboise

Sandra Laframboise, also known as Sandy-Leo and her traditional name in Coast Salish Territory given to her by Taha Anne Marie George and Damien George Senior is Butterfly Woman. She is an Algonquin/Cree-Métis person. Her father is Algonquin and her mother is Cree/French/Irish. Sandra is a Two Spirit Spiritual leader who has been actively practicing and promoting the sweat lodge ceremony in the Vancouver area for over 20 years. Her ceremonial rites were received from Frank Supernault, a Cree Elder from Alberta, through the Pot Latch ceremonies. Sandra has been granted land and permission to lead her ceremonies on the Traditional Territory of the Tsleil Waututh Nation in Vancouver British Colombia, Canada. Sandra's broad experiences has brought her to lead ceremonies throughout North America and Continental Europe, most recently, leading ceremonies in Plymouth England, Scotland and Ireland and lectures at Queens University of Belfast, and Health Services of Plymouth. Sandra in 2016 co-presented a paper entitled " Sharing our Wisdom the lie experienceces of Transgender People' in Durban South Africa International Aids Conference 2016. Sandra believes in the regeneration of Spirit through dance, and as such, has participated in the Sundance and also the Shoshone Naraya Dance. In her other life she is a community health peer reasearcher and has been an advocate since 1972 for the LGBTQ community. She has numerous published articles on transgendered and health issues and effecting health and human rights policies changes through many public policy committees in Canada. She has co-published an ariticle in 1997 sponsored by the BC Law Society which was the seminal work for establishing Human Right protection for Transgender People in British Colombia where an act of the Provincial Legislative assembly received assent in 2016. Sandra retired from her public service in 2002 as a Government employee and continues till this day to volunteer as an advocate and served on many community research project as an Elder and Peer Researcher.