Contents

  1. Minister’s Advisory Council on Indigenous Women Giving Voice Year 1 Report and What Communities Want us to Know
  2. Recognition
  3. Slide Number 3
  4. Table of Contents
  6. Barb Ward-Burkitt
  7. “Giving Voice represents a “paradigm shift” in terms of community-led healing.”
  8. About the Minister’s Advisory Council on Indigenous Women
  9. MACIW is comprised of up to 10 members, including one position for an Elder and another for a youth. The Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation appoints members based on criteria of experience, diversity, and regional representation. MACIW advocates for the well-being of Indigenous women by: Providing advice and support to the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation and offering guidance and direction that is rooted in Indigenous worldviews. These are MACIW’s principles:
  10. Slide Number 10
  11. Meet the Council Members
  12. Barbara M. Ward-Burkitt, Chair
  13. Coreen Child, Vice-Chair
  14. Dr. Lorna Williams, Elder Representative
  15. Sarah Robinson
  16. Raven Lacerte, Youth Representative
  17. Patricia Barkaskas
  18. Monique Gray Smith
  19. Lauren Brown
  20. Slide Number 20
  21. Giving Voice Year 1 Projects (2019 to 2021)
  22. Overview
  23. This report provides a short summary of both the successes and the lessons learned following the Year 1 projects that supported 53 projects between 2019 and 2020. MACIW’s Giving Voice program draws inspiration from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. As shown in the diagram, Giving Voice projects touched upon five of the key articles of the UN Declaration.
  24. UNDRIP ARTICLES TOUCHED ON BY YEAR 1 PROJECTS AS DISPLAYED AS A PIE CHART
  25. The pie chart shows that 17% of the projects aligned with Article 25 – the right to relationship and use of land. 18% of the projects touched upon Article 3 – the right to self-determination. 22% of projects captured the spirit of both Article 22.2 regarding women and children and Article 11.1 regarding culture and customs and Article 21.1 – the right to good socio-economic health conditions that is only one percent lower. The following are some quick Year 1 facts: -
  26. Background
  27. Giving Voice Interactive Map
  28. Giving Voice 2019-2020 Locations and Project Names
  32. Slide Number 32
  33. Key Findings
  34. Key Findings Explained
  36. Ceremony and Healing on the Land
  38. Healing Methods
  39. Sensitive Topics
  42. Slide Number 42
  43. Indigenous Social Determinants of Health Categories
  44. Indigenous Social Determinants of Health
  45. The Giving Voice program used the strategies listed in blue, within the four categories as touch points to show which determinants the projects impacted. The diagram below depicts the four categories along with the strategies used by Giving Voice projects. The diagram shows the ISDH in four separate circles with each quadrant representing the cultural, environmental, social and economic categories. Each category’s sub-categories are in the circles and the strategies listed in blue are alongside.
  46. Reflection from Projects Recipients
  47. Environmental
  48. 1. ACCESS TO HOUSING: Indigenous Experiencing Homelessness, Victoria
  50. More than 30 participants that included women, youth, young mothers, women at risk and women living in poverty engaged in group discussions to help identify barriers and challenges to their safety, ways to improve their engagement and supports.
  54. 2) SELF-DETERMINATION: Wearing the Spirits of Our Ancestors: Capote Making as a Path Towards Holistic Healing, Campbell River
  56. The Wearing the Spirits of Our Ancestors project, consisted of providing workshops for Métis community members that centered on different aspects of capote making. The workshops covered three topics – beading, blanket stitching, and traditional Métis women’s roles. In the workshops, we regained a sense of balance through rebuilding our community ties by providing gathering circles where we shared our knowledge and traditions. We created a space to teach our community about healthy women’s roles in the past and for our future.
  57. This work counters the effects of generations of trauma and allows us to begin the process of healing from colonial oppression, of which violence towards women is a large part. This grant made it possible for us to make a space where we built positive self-esteem and our sense of belonging as resilient Métis people who are able to move forward together in a good way.
  58. 3. BELONGING TO THE LAND: Kelly Lake Cree Cultural Camp, Tomslake
  60. We are very proud of our Elders and Women Helpers, helpers at ceremonies who serve our nation for our participants’ safety and for our people. It really was a beautiful experience to bring back our experiences with our culture and our Cree ways to be able to heal through intergenerational traumas we experienced for the last 113 years with our displacement and removal from our homeland.  The cultural genocide we faced until the last family left in 1911 and through the traumas our families experienced through the residential era. Nêhiyawêwin which is what we call our Cree language was heard through storytelling, visiting and ceremony and placed a lot of importance ensuring the Giving Voice Project occurred.
  62. All of our elders and some of the staff are fluent in Cree. We were unique in that you heard a lot of Cree in our Camp! It was a great way to learn the language, in our homeland at Jasper! Our ancestors were present in spirit listening to us during the sweat lodge ceremony and we knew they were happy! We are a family and the visitors that arrived at the camp become our family members. This is Wahkohtowin, our kinship is important to us. Nehiyaw perspectives were explained and shared throughout the camp to all who attended.  
  64. Slide Number 64
  65. Cultural
  66. 1) CONNECTION TO COMMUNITY: Prevention Awareness and Empowerment, Mission
  68. Additionally, the youth were always engaged and excited to attend the program, waiting at the door early and eagerly for the program to start. Having a space of their own created a mini community and the youth were able to build lasting relationships. In the end, the program was successful as the youth had the continued desire to keep connected and have a safe place to learn and have discussions. MQHS’s hopes to continue to help our youth in the ways this Giving Voice grant enabled us to do in the areas of prevention, awareness and empowerment.
  69. 2) REVITILIZATION OF LANGUAGES AND LAWS: Heiltsuk Haida Women’s Gathering, Bella Bella
  74. Slide Number 74
  75. Social
  76. 1) LATERAL TOLERANCE: Grandmothers Change Agents – Addressing Colonization and Lateral Violence, Lax kw’alaam
  77. To learn about colonization and its impact - for example, lateral violence - we used the cedar tree that we used for building our long houses, mats, dug out canoes, totem poles, masks, boxes, and many other items. Its seed, the Acorn, represents our connection to the land and our ancestors. We held on to our knowledge and our traditions, which colonization had displaced, but we can re-learn our ways again. This time, incorporating our learning into mainstream society, our way. We also had a skit that helped us give voice to some behaviours that were never part of our traditional ways of being but as a result of colonization such as Indian Residential School, we learned be afraid, how to hate, to be angry, to hurt and some learned to hurt others and hurt themselves. As a result of all the trauma, heartache, brokenness, grief, addictions, and abuse, lateral violence and conflict became a part of normal life.
  78. The heart of the tree is called the “Heart Wood” and represents the Child and Family, surrounded by the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, extended family, clan, crest and tribe. It represents love and belonging. Our Giving Voice projects showed us we are not staying stuck in how the past has hurt us so we can focus on our children’s children and be there to teach the knowledge and values of our traditional ways and keep it going.
  80. 2) SELF ESTEEM: Beauty Within – Women’s Wellness, Fort Nelson
  81. The crafting was complimented with conversation and activities geared towards sharing, growing and healing that reinforced the role of women in our community. After completing the Women’s Wellness Weekend, all the ladies who participated received a mini photo shoot with a photographer including professional hair and makeup. For many of the women this was their first time accessing professional beauty and photography services that boosted and strengthened their self-esteem.
  82. Slide Number 82
  83. Economic
  84. 1) PRIORITIZING NEEDS: Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls: Ne Tseke Ustani ~ The Women Who Have Died, Prince George
  85. We hosted the project in partnership with the BC Government’s Victim Services and Crime Prevention, the BC Family Information Liaison Unit along others community members. The Seven Sacred Laws of Respect, Courage, Humility, Honesty, Love, Wisdom, and Truth are guiding principles that create a balance not only on the land but also within ourselves, guiding our interactions with the spirits around us. According to our lived experiences, the shared experiences of the impact of colonial violence began with the disrespect and violation of the Seven Sacred Laws.
  88. Our healing will transcend the imbalances and trauma held in our minds when we can journey our imbalanced thinking the short distance from our minds to our heart. Our project gently brought this knowledge back to the people by gathering to feast and grieve for the women we have lost in the rumbles of colonial violence. This awareness inspires the Dakelh peoples to get out on the land and experience the healing power of our cultural beliefs. Only in this way can we begin walking that 17-inch journey from our head to the heart which is known as the Sacred Pathway.
  89. 2) INCREASED DECISION MAKING: Tiniglsla – Rising from the Ground in the Early Sunshine, Bella Bella
  91. It is amazing to witness the strength and the power that paddling in the canoe and singing traditional songs bring to a person and it is very powerful when you witness how culture changes or empowers a group of people and the strength of identity and the pride that it instills, restoring belonging and access to the land.   This opportunity has made a positive difference in our community where we were able to begin the foundations for creating a safety plan that builds our capacity to make decisions. We have a population of approximately 1500 and are an isolated fly in community. We have worked in collaboration and brought a voice and a strength to those who were in need. We were courageous and it has been beneficial.
  92. Slide Number 92
  93. Healing
  94. Healing Forward
  99. PROJECT STAGES OF CHANGE
  100. Slide Number 100
  101. WHAT COMMUNITIES ARE TELLING US…
  102. These words where shared when asked what success looks like and have a deep meaning to the Indigenous Community.
  104. “Our project was the beginning of something great for the community and a wonderful start to end violence and build spirits.”
 
00