UBC’s Division of Aboriginal Health prepared a diverse group of students that were participating in summer internships in Aboriginal Communities at UBC’s First Nations House of Learning . I was invited me to give Finding Home’s cross-cultural training . I started with the stone game, which involves choosing a stone and then telling the stones’ creation story. Once everyone has shared a story, I asked how many people heard the story from the stone and how many people made up the story? This led to a dynamic discussion about listening, worldviews and stories. If you’d like to learn more about this training, contact us. Read more…
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Recently, Finding Home facilitated a series of dialogues with Mandarin-speaking grandparents who are also caregivers during the day for their grandchildren. The dialogues were hosted by Kitsilano Neighbourhood House and funded by New Horizaons for Seniors Programs. During the dialogues the grandparents agreed that Mah-jong creates a sense of home for them. In China, they explained, everyone plays games together. If they could only have a place to play Mah-jong here in Canada, then they would finally feel at home.
The dialogue series consisted of three ...... read more
Kitsilano Neighbourhood House(KNH) contracted Finding Home to build capacity within their staff through proving our Community Engagement and Asset Mapping training with the goal to deliver seniors and elders asset mapping workshops throughout the West Side of Vancouver and produce a resource guide. By engaging over 100 seniors and elders from diverse backgrounds, including Musqueam Elders and Newcomer seniors, this project produced the West Side Seniors & Elders Resource Guide. The launch of the guide brought together seniors and elders, seniors service providers ...... read more
The ways in which we respond to personal, community and global challenges are rapidly changing. Whether it is loss of language; a lack of affordable housing; displacement through war or flood; or fundamental institutional changes, many people from across cultures and sectors are yearning for belonging, connection and safety or a sense of home.
We are certainly in a time of transition and change. Some conceptualize our current situation as being within humanity’s cyclical patterns. For example, Arnold Toynbee argued that, prior to the rise of a new era, violence increases and people tended to respond to stress, conflict, and change with less creativity and more rigidity. In addition, peo ...... read more
I was invited to give key the keynote address at Alberta’s provincial restorative justice conference “Fostering A Restorative Worldview.” As part of my preparation, I researched the origins of each “restorative” and “worldview.” I first drew from my research in Worldview Skills and started with the root of the word ‘worldview’ which comes from the German word “weltanschauung” and means “a comprehensive conception or image of the universe and humanity’s relationship to it.” This understanding of ...... read more
Today, seniors from Seniors Services Society shared stories about what creates a sense of home for them. One senior said, “home is where you live with the love of your life.” Another senior responded, “that may be so for you…I sure did not have a husband like that!” While experiences of home differed, all agreed “the smell of mom’s cooking creates a sense of home for all of us.”
Frieda Hogg explained, “the worst thing about getting older isn’t that you lose your eyesight, it is that because of this loss of sight, you can’t read mom’s recipes.” As the dialogue series progressed, these seniors identifie ...... read more
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Posted on May 29th, 2009 in Uncategorized. Tags: Cross-Cultural Training, Diversity Training, Indigenous
A new Finding Home Elders dialogue series is underway at Spirit of the Children’s Society with their Aboriginal Grandparents Raising Grandkids group. These remarkable grandmothers, ranging form about 50 to 80 years old, share stories, insights and love about raising their young grandchildren. They identified one of their priority Finding Home needs as Self-Care. Today, they shared their insights on how to care for one self in the midst of such busy and demanding lives. Topics ranged from the importance of daily exercise, eating well, traditional culture and laughter to making sure you have time for yourself. They also shared the dangers of self-neglect when things feel overwhelming. Everyone can learn from their strategies of breaking the cycle of self-neglect. They include spending time with people who care about you, having sun in the fun, re-decorating, prayer, ceremony and good music. It is such an honour to spend time with these women every week!
Last year Finding Home worked with Kitsilano Neighbourhood House and the Environmental Youth Alliance to create a youth resource guide for youth made by youth. We engaged over 70 youth and service providers from diverse backgrounds like Musqueam youth, ESL youth, LGTB youth and more… This year we are working with seniors and elders to produce a seniors and elders guide of the west side. Musqueam youth made some great contributions to the Musqueam Elders Finding Home asset mapping workshop . They drew pictures, took notes, prepared lunch and gifted the Elders with Peace Cranes that they had made themselves.
In today’s reconciliation teleconference, participants learned about how a community play transformed relationships between a rural BC town and a local First Nations community. As well as how a video production of the community play led to an invitation from the Transformative Learning Centre of the University of Toronto to members of the two communities to join a peace-building exchange with Kenya and Uganda. The initiating artist, Cathy Stubington explains the creative process which led to the community play. The media artist, Dorothy Christian discusses how that led to them being a part of a peace-building exchange with Kenya and Uganda.
To find out more, email jessie@worldviewstrategies.com
How can Canada learn from the South African struggles and challenges of transitioning from an Apartheid state? What lessons can we can apply to the Canadian context for reconciliation and justice with regards to Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations?
Prakash Diar grew up in South Africa during the Apartheid era. As an Indo-South African and civil rights lawyer he was deeply involved in South Africa’s liberation struggle and transition from an Apartheid to democracy. He was arrested, without charge and kept in solitary confinement for a month by the apartheid regime. When his life was threatened, Canadians helped him and his family come to Canada. He is currently the special advisor at the Indian Residential School Resolutions Canada.
During this teleconference participants shared their insights and learned more about Prakash Diar’s unique insights from the South African experience and how these hard won lessons have been critical in his work around residential school reconciliation in Canada.
To learn more, email jessie@worldviewstrategies.com
Three years ago, the media focussed on First Nations leader, David Ahenakew’s anti-semetic remarks; however, there is another story of collaboration and connection between First Nations and Jewish communities. Special Guests Mark Weintraub from the Canadian Jewish Congress and Chief Robert Joseph from the Indian Residential School Survivors Society of BC share stories about Jewish – First Nations dialogues about and collaboration.
To listen to this teleconference, listen to this audio file and CLICK HERE.
Chinese-Canadians and First Nations have an almost forgotten history of collaboration and inter-marriage. For example, do you know that First Nations helped Chinese men survive the harsh discrimination and assaults while working in the mines? Bill Chu, founder of Canadians for Reconciliation and Rosalin Sam, from the Lil’watool First Nations, share insights about Chinese – First Nations collaboration.
To learn more about this teleconference, email jessie@worldviewstrategies.com
Like many First Nations, Doukhobours also had their children forced into schools. Their common experience around issues such as education and loss of land spurred many Doukhobours to think about their own relationship with local First Nations. J.J Verigen, Executive Director of the Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ and Marilyn James, Sinixt First Nations spokesperson, shared thoughts about the First Nations-Doukhobour collaboration for peace, social justice and reconciliation in today’s teleconference.
To learn more about this teleconference, email jessie@worldviewstrategies.com
There has been a long history of resistance and alliance between people of African decent and Native people on Turtle Island / Canada. There has also been some strained relationships where racist stereotyping in both communities have prevented better collaboration and solidarity. Our special guest Janisse Browning joined us for a lively discussion about her experiences and thoughts on Black Canadian – First Nations relations.
Read Janisse’s poem here.
Land for Salt
In memory of Burnie Hurst
look:
on the outskirts of Windsor
across the table at a diner
near the bridge to Detroit
Grandpa tells how we lost our land
salt
he wants salt
points a thick, dark finger
at the glass shaker
cupped in my small, dark hand
listen:
the story is told
in deep, urgent whispers
before strokes and dementia
ransack Grandpas tired body
pepper
he gives me pepper,
slides a glass shaker
towards me without words
watch:
we trade
salt for pepper
like his Grandpa traded furs
for flour and sugar
coffee
a waitress smiles
refills our cups
leaves us two
conspiratorially
whispering, listening, trading
hear:
Grandpa says his peoples hunting grounds
were grabbed
were granted
to white men
as private property
flour
then had to be bought
sugar
then had to be bought
money
then had to be got
see:
we still survive
(Note: this poem was first published in the “Gulf Islands Gazette”, 2000)
2. intertribal
by Janisse Browning
at the first powwow in my hometown
that chance would have me go to
I see a young Black man
join his friends in the intertribal dance
in the large circle
his long dreadlocks fly
untamed like snakes set free,
bobbing through a hologram of heat-soaked dust
we are two
of a handful
of Black people on the powwow grounds
I think of joining the circle, too,
knowing my Indian ancestors
might have done the same
my feet begin to move
grass flattens softly
beneath the weight of my rubber-soled sneakers
but suddenly Im stopped
as the m.c. slips in a remark
about my dread-crowned friend:
come on out, folks
even Whoopi here is whoopin it up
my mind heaves through a wave
of childhood memories
when older folks warned us:
quit makin such a racket
yall sound like a bunch of wild Indians
my friend at the powwow
doesnt hear the m.c.s whimsical joke
or refuses to take it on
like I might,
but keeps moving through clouds of dust
making circles in the crabgrass,
his heart pounding in time
with the old drums
(Note: this poem was first published in “absinthe” magazine, 1997)
Suggested Links
http://web.mit.edu/wjohnson/www/kiaanafh/NCAI_pdf_Transcript.pdf
www.african-nativeamerican.com
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/noflash/mediaDisplay.php?id=91
www.africanamericans.com/BlackIndians.htm
www.rosecity.net/cherokee/blackindians.html
www.african-nativeamerican.com/
blackhistorypages.com/Black_Indians/
When people talk about reconciliation between First Nations and Canada, they are often referring to the first Protestant and Catholic European Canadian settlers and Indigenous Peoples of North America. However, there have been several waves of immigration to Canada and each group has developed their unique relationship with First Nations. In 2005 to 2006, we put on a series of teleconferences in order to learn more about Indigenous – Newcomer relations in Canada.
