“I lost everything. The sky was getting meaner and meaner. The sun was no longer shining.”    

Everyone carries their own battles, and you don’t realize how heavy they are until someone tells you. That is the hard reality of living. For many, it becomes a matter of survival. The will to want to live freely.

“I cried out asking how to do this, and I was shown… I had what I needed,” says Rosemarie Courtoreille, creator of Standing in Unity.

Rosemarie Courtoreille is a First Nations Cree woman and the creator of Standing in Unity, a mental health program grounded in the Seven Sacred Teachings. She is a public speaker who addresses abuse within systems and works closely with her First Nations community, supporting individuals as they navigate trauma, court systems, and personal crises. Her work is guided by lived experience and the values she embodies: Love, Respect, Courage, Humility, Truth, Honesty, and Wisdom.

“What I do comes from my life journey; choosing not to remain traumatized or stuck in a victim mindset,” Rosemarie explains. “I chose to believe in the Creator, to remain willing, and to keep an open heart in finding a higher power.”

Strength Through Struggle

Rosemarie’s early life was loving and stable. Rosemarie’s early life was grounded in love and stability. Her parents were caring and supportive, and her father worked hard to provide for the family through his fishing business. But even within that foundation, she felt the call to understand life beyond home. At 18, she left to find her own path, soon becoming a young mother, learning early lessons about resilience and responsibility:

“My parents were raised as, ‘you make your bed, you sleep in it, you lay in it, you fix it.’”

Adulthood brought profound challenges. She survived multiple forms of abuse, sexual, emotional, psychological, financial, and spiritual. Yet Rosemarie emphasizes that her fight was never with the Creator, but with finding clarity about herself and her purpose:

“As a First Nations person, we are well known to be believers in our visions and in our dreams.”

And then came one of the hardest battles of her life.

During a time when she was attending school for social work, studying, completing practicums, and trying to build a future, not only was she surviving trauma, she was also severely ill. Her body became so weak that some days she couldn’t walk, couldn’t move, and could barely hold herself upright. She describes that time as feeling like she was “dying faster and slower than she ever imagined.”

Yet she refused to surrender. She persevered through pain that few understood, praying, crying, and calling out to the Creator for strength, guidance, and another chance at life. Her survival was not accidental, it was an act of faith, endurance, and unbreakable spirit.

This chapter of her life became one of her greatest teachings: that even when the body is failing, the spirit can rise. Visions and dreams guided her. They helped her create a foundation for her teachings, showing her the path forward when life felt unbearable. Her pain became knowledge; her struggle became instruction; her healing became a message for others.

“I’m healed from things the world has no cure for.”

Survivor, Advocate, and Educator

Rosemarie’s ability to connect with others comes directly from what she has survived.

“When I say everything, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, emotional abuse, financial abuse… spiritual abuse, systematic abuse. And after that turnaround, I overcame them all.”

Because she has stood in those shadows, people trust her. They feel seen. They feel understood.

“I know how to help and talk to people because I’ve been on that other side… they know that they can trust me. And I can be trusted.”

But Rosemarie is clear about one thing: her work is rooted in healing, not harm.

“I’m not a child beater. I’m not a husband beater. I’m not a beater of anything at all. I am actually the complete opposite.”

She does not share her story to criticize or expose others, nor to vandalize anyone’s name or identity. Instead, she shares her truth to educate, hoping that her journey can give others strength, self-awareness, and a path forward. She wants to be a partaker in the shift of change, creating space for healing and understanding.

Spiritual Lessons and the Creator

Faith, prayer, and self-love are central to Rosemarie’s life.

“I took that to the Creator… He said, if you can’t 100% love yourself, and wow, that just blew me away.”

That moment reshaped her. Self-love became not a concept, but a responsibility. She learned how to see people, not for their labels or circumstances, but for the true person they truly are.

“We don’t see color. We don’t see race. We don’t see belief. We see the people. We see their hearts.”

Her teachings are both spiritual and practical, bringing together emotional healing, mental health awareness, and cultural respect.

Teachings and Lessons: Authenticity, Purpose, and Youth Guidance

Rosemarie teaches authenticity, a connection with the Creator that is deeply personal:

“Be authentic. Find your purpose. Know who you are. It’s a one-on-one relationship. You can’t get it from no pastor. You can’t get it from no rabbi… The Creator can, like he does with me.”

She is currently writing several books, including Be Authentic, Self Sacred Teachings, and Family Sacred Teachings. These resources will help youth, adults, and families understand boundaries, embrace self-love, and discover purpose.

Her work also honors history, especially the legacy of residential schools and the effects of colonization:

“I give the history of the knowledge, generally speaking, of the residential school and before colonization and after colonization… but it’s also to honor my identity of who I am.”

Rosemarie clarifies that her teachings are meant for everyone, not to replace cultural ceremonies or land-based teachings, but to provide a mental health framework rooted in lived experience:

“This isn’t just First Nations peoples. I honor culture, I respect ceremonial teachings and land-based teachings. I’m not teaching those things. This is just the purity of mental health.”

Books, Resources, and the Future

Rosemarie is working with a North American Publisher on her upcoming books, which will be accessible through a Google Store once released. She is also building a website to share her teachings, stories, and programs more widely.

Her goal is simple but powerful: to assist.

To offer tools, guidance, and education for people across Canada, especially those navigating trauma, identity, mental health challenges, and questions of purpose.

For Canadians seeking help today:

A Life of Lessons, Hope, and Change

Talking with Rosemarie reveals why her work matters. Her life demonstrates the true  power of faith, self-love, and unwavering resilience. She transforms her own trauma into a path forward for others, showing that healing is real, vision is powerful, and purpose can rise from the darkest places.

She wants to share her journey not to harm anyone, but to assist people, to educate, to uplift, and to be part of a movement toward awareness, unity, and compassion.

Her teachings are a roadmap for anyone seeking clarity, healing, or purpose:

“If you have enough faith and belief in the Creator, nothing, absolutely nothing is impossible.”

And one message remains at the heart of everything she does:

You never truly know someone’s journey until you listen.

Through listening, we learn.
Through learning, we heal.
Through healing, we change.
Through change, we conquer.