Mother Of A Survivor

Mother Of A Survivor

From The Human Challenge by Vanessa Ferlaino

November 20, 2025 · 37 min

About this episode

The episode explores the healing journey of Karen Bird and her family after her daughter disclosed sexual abuse, leading to the creation of a non-profit for survivors.

In 2012, Karen Bird’s life took a turn; her teenage daughter disclosed she had been sexually abused. "Mother Of A Survivor" shows the eleven-year healing journey of a mother and her family, leading to the creation of Nakehndan, a non-profit weaving Indigenous and modern healing modalities for sexual abuse survivors to heal as a family unit. Filmed at the beautiful Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig (SKG), an Indigenous higher learning institute in Baawaating, Vanessa sits down with Karen Bird about how it all came to be — and how landing the CEO role at Batchewana First Nations brought her back home. The Human Challenge is an award-winning podcast hosted and produced by Vanessa Ferlaino. Watch the full episode on her channel vanessaferlaino . Don't forget to subscribe! The Human Challenge was recognized by Amazon Music and ACAST as an "Indie Podcast Amplifier". Guess what? We're on Rogers TV! Check us out there! --- Learn more about Nakehndan: https://www.nakehndan.ca/ Learn more about Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig (SKG): https://shingwauku.org/ Learn more about Vanessa Ferlaino and The Human Challenge: https://vanessaferlaino.com/thehumanchallenge The Human Challenge is hosted and produced…

People in this episode

Host: Vanessa Ferlaino

Guest: Karen Bird

Topics covered

  • healing journey
  • sexual abuse
  • Indigenous healing
  • family support
  • non-profit organization

Keywords

  • sexual abuse
  • healing
  • Indigenous
  • non-profit
  • family
  • support

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Nakehndan, Batchewana First Nations, Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig

Places: Baawaating

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