Loumitea, Louise Gauthier

Loumitea was introduced to the Native spirituality and traditions as a child by a friend of the family who had been adopted by the Mohawks from the Kanesatake reservation. More recently, in the 1990's, she followed the teachings of Grandfather William Commanda from Maniwaki, the spiritual leader of all North American Natives and also teachings from pipe carriers and grandmothers from the Algonquin, Atikamek and Mi’kmaq traditions. In 2008, she discovered that she could call herself Algonquin metis, having an Algonquin Weskarini ancestor on her mother's side and a Wendat ancestor on her father's side.

In 1992, she was introduced to core shamanism by teachers from the Foundation for Shamanic Studies (FSS) in Montreal. "Core shamanism led me to a path that has brought much change, joy, awareness and growth in my life." She studied with many teachers from the FSS, among them: Michael Harner, Sandra Harner, Sandra Ingerman, David Corbin and Nan Moss, and Tom Cowan.

Fluent in French (her mother language), she worked as a translator for most of the workshops given by the FSS in Montreal from 1999 to 2010. She has taken part in shamanic healing circles in Montreal for more than 15 years and now holds three shamanic circles in the province of Quebec.

Loumitea lives in the mountains of the Laurentian area in Quebec, Canada and teaches FSS weekend workshops in the province of Quebec (Montreal, Quebec city, Bas Saint-Laurent and Gatineau areas) and also in Moncton, New Brunswick. She teaches primarily in French and is fluent in English.

Loumitea's students say:

Louise is crystal clear when she speaks — good pace, relaxed, but keeps it moving. Everything is well balanced. She is very empowering, very low-key herself.

She's a good keeper of a sacred and safe space.

I found the presentation very well organized and the tempo was perfect. I thought Louise conveyed a great deal of knowledge without being pedantic. Her style was warm and receptive. She explained the concepts well, really balanced the theoretical with the practical. She facilitated participation very nicely and created a climate of security to allow that to happen.

Outside of her teaching work, people come to her for mostly for spiritual healing. In addition to a few workshops of her own, she does traditional ceremonies such as sweat lodges (Algonquin tradition), marriages, naming ceremonies for a newborn, first step, grandmother hood rite of passage, and other ceremonies celebrating the passages of life.

As nature therapist and certified hypnotherapist, Loumitea works with Biologie totale, reiki, reflexology, mindfulness and other methods the spirits have put on her path.

Loumitea is a journalist/writer and, after hundreds of articles on spirituality, global health, the environment and four books on health subjects, she is now turning to more personal writing. She is concerned about personal health as well as the planet's health, her heart being tied to Mother Earth's.