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Here is the latest Honoring Indigenous People Rotary News and Events, projects, blogs, photos, films, resources, and a letter from Chair, Rotarian Chris Snyder. Plus a second look at the New feature called Good News Stories: Much of what we hear and read about Indigenous Peoples fits into the bad news category. From our vantage point, there are many good things happening. If you have a good news story, please send it to us. Be sure to go to the HIP Website for the complete Newsletters. Here are some highlights for April 2018.....
Good News: During the school break week, March 10-14, some 2,500 Indigenous youth (male and female) gathered in Mississauga to play in an Indigenous hockey tournament as part of the Little Native Hockey League (NHL). This tournament, organized by the Indigenous community, has been going since 1971 and has grown from 17 teams to 217 teams. Several of us went to the opening and watched a number of games. The opening had a number of dignitaries including Chief Bellegarde, Premier Wynne and several former Indigenous NHL players including Jonathan Cheechoo from Moose Factory. John Currie, his wife Maria and daughter were in attendance at the opening and some games as were Pat and Chris Snyder. The hockey was great! We were, however, most interested in the 13-year old girls team from Fort Albany as HIP raised enough money to pay for their accommodation. John Lomax, his wife Marilyn and daughter Kimberly (whose birth mother came from Fort Albany) also came to a game. So did Susan Hicks and Gerald Lue who collected much of the equipment (some worn by some of the participants). Susan also brought helmets and gave them to the girls. For some of the girls and I am sure some from the other teams, it was the first time they had been away from their reserve. John and Chris also delivered Concussion Guides to Chief Shining Turtle from Whitefish Falls and discussed how we can do more together in the future such as providing volunteers. The tournament was organized primarily by the Indigenous Peoples and we were pleased to be a small part. The tournament, in our opinion, is a great place for non-Indigenous people to go.The tournament is held every year so mark your calendars for next March school break - usually the second week of March.
Rotary News
The Rotary Club of Barrie-Kempenfelt, through HIP and OLPC, have provided 12 laptops to a grade 6 class in Sandy Lake First Nation. According to their teacher Erica, the students were incredibly excited to receive them and to date have used them for science and social studies projects and slideshow presentations. To quote Erica "it has been a gift to see my goal of providing accessible technology for my students come to fruition".
The Rotary Club of Toronto Eglinton recently presented their 2018 Dr. Robert McClure Bursary awards. The $2,500 bursaries were created to honour the work of Dr. Robert McClure, a doctor, former Moderator of the United Church and former club member. They were given to First Nations midwifery students in Health Sciences at Ryerson. See the blog (Rotary HIP - Blog) for details. Congratulations to all the winners!
The Rotary E-Club of Canada One has been involved over the past four years with the Imagination Library program in 9 communities in the Northwest Territories, mostly in the Beaufort Sea region. The small communities had no access to preschool books and as a result, several communities have begun small libraries. Ed note - the first books given to Indigenous children in Canada by the Imagination Library was a partnership between Invest in Kids, Imagination Library, the Lt Governor of Ontario James Bartleman, the Rotary Healthy Beginnings program, the predecessor of HIP for children in Deer Lake. Soon all of the children in Ontario's fly-in communities between 0-5 will be receiving them funded by the Ontario Government.
The Rotary Convention is only 4 months away. We have been approved for one breakout session, have had our booth approved and are working on the opening ceremonies with RI. The House of Friendship will have 4-5 Indigenous entertainment acts. We will also be having two Kairos Blanket Exercises in the Friendship Centre. If you would like to volunteer at the booth scheduled to be June 23 until June 27 or with the Kairos Blanket Exercise, please advise Julie Dunaiskis (julie@eccgroup.ca) or Steve Smith (ssmith@beutelgoodman.com).
What is your club doing? Please email Julie Dunaiskis (julie@eccgroup.ca) with a brief summary so we can post on the HIP website and provide an update in upcoming newsletters. This will help other clubs and provide a sense of how we are involved.
Request a Speaker - Would your club like to have a Speaker at an upcoming meeting? If so, please check the list of available speakers on our website under Resources/Speakers List. Or contact Tom Sears (tsears@sympatico.ca) to propose a date and a subject you would like the person to speak.
Other News: A reminder, you can find our slightly revised brochure on our website under Resources (Rotary HIP - HIP Brochure). If you would like to use it, you may print and distribute to your networks. We have also improved our Facebook page and added a twitter handle. We have over 200 FB followers and 60 twitter subscribers to date. If you would like to be a friend on our Facebook page, click : https://www.facebook.com/HonouringIndigenousPeoples/ to see our new site. You can like, follow and share. We also encourage you to check our website and contents regularly. Encourage your friends too. Also, send Julie (julie@eccgroup.ca) the email address of anyone who you think would like to receive our newsletter.
News & Events: 26 pallets of food and supplies arrived mid-March in Pikangikum First Nation. Thanks go to HIP's circle of allies for making this happen - Relay for Hunger, True North Aid, Trucks for Change Gardwine, John Deveries Log Homes, Gleaners, Aiken Storage and Landstar Transportation and our individual, corporate and club donors who continue to support our transportation mission of getting goods shipped by land and air to the northern communities. Thank you!
Computers Refurbishment - June 1st and June 2nd: Corporations for Community Connections (CFCC) and HIP are planning workshops to refurbish approximately 300 Dell laptops at Siemens Canada in Oakville. We will require volunteers to help prepare these laptops. No special technological knowledge is required. Registration will begin about two months in advance and online. It is our hope to have both Indigenous and non-Indigenous participation. We'll let you know when registration is open. Once laptops are ready, HIP will be co-ordinating the distribution to Indigenous schools in need of technology. Please advise John Currie (john.wayne.currie@outlook.com) if you can help out. Watch for further details!
Downie Wenjack Fund Benefit Concert - May 11th @ Market Hall, Peterborough: The Kawartha Truth and Reconciliation Support Group are hosting a concert at Market Hall in Peterborough to raise money for the Gord Downie-Chanie Wenjack Fund. The organizers are looking for approximately $5,000 of sponsorships to defray the cost of the venue and acts. If you can assist, please contact John Andras at (jandras@mackieresearch.com). Details can be found on our blog (Rotary HIP - Blog). Click on link for tickets https://tickets.markethall.org/ordertickets.
"Reconciliation on Bay Street" Film Premier Event - June 1st - Toronto: Andree Cazabon, producer of the world renowned film "Third World Canada" will be premiering her new film, the first film on economic reconciliation on June 1st. It will be a night of dialogue with Indigenous and Canadian business leaders to help engage Canadians in discussions of reconciliation that will benefit all of Canada. We hope you can join. To purchase tickets ($100), please see link (Reconciliation on Bay St. Film Premiere Tickets, Fri, 1 Jun 2018 at 6:00 PM | Eventbrite).
On April 17th, the Winnipeg HIP Committee, the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, Indigenous peoples and the Winnipeg business community will be joining Circles of Reconciliation for a one-day event for Winnipeg business and Indigenous Peoples to discuss ways they can work together. The keynote speaker is Charlie Coffey, retired VP of Corporate Affairs for the Royal Bank who played a major role supporting Indigenous Peoples when he ran the Royal Bank western operation. Lisa Farano and Chris Snyder will be in attendance as will Diane Redsky and David Newman who is playing a key role. A full report will be made in the next issue.
On March 26th, Indigenous leaders in Winnipeg welcomed a group of Maori from New Zealand into their traditional territory in honour of their program that reduces children in the child welfare system. HIP Board members Diane Redsky and David Newman will be playing a major role. Be sure to go to the HIP website for the details of their visit.
The front cover and major article of the most recent VIC Report (the Victoria College (U of T) alumni publication) featured HIP director, Kahontakwas Diane Longboat. The article was about the great work Diane is doing at CAMH in Indigenous mental health. Check our blog to read the entire article.
April - August 2018 - National Walk for Youth Mental Health: In Canada, we have a youth mental health crisis in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. In the Indigenous communities, in particular, there are high rates of suicide and many mental health issues. A cross- Canada walk will begin on April 1st in Newfoundland followed by a west coast walk beginning in BC on June 1st. To raise awareness and action, both walks will end in Winnipeg. It is hoped police officers and police services across the country will join and listen to what youth have to share. Details of the walk and sponsorship opportunities can be found on our blog (Rotary HIP - Blog). Check regularly on the website to see if your community will be joining in the walk (Hope in the Darkness – National Walk for Youth Mental Health).
Ideally, we would like every club to be connected with an Indigenous community. We will also be adding directors on the east and west coasts both Rotarian and Indigenous. Click the link to read (Rotary HIP - Powerpoint Presentations). A separate action plan has also been developed.
Moving Forward Together: We have had several articles before about acknowledging Traditional Lands of Indigenous Peoples. In fact, you may have recently attended an event or meeting and heard an opening statement acknowledging Traditional Lands. This tradition shows a willingness to listen and learn as an equal partner. Ideally, acknowledgements should not be developed in a silo. The process should include establishing healthy and reciprocal relations by reaching out and consulting with local Indigenous communities to discuss the wording to ensure it is both respectful and representative. It is best to ask them how they want to be acknowledged in their homelands. By doing so, it will provide an opportunity to establish a relationship with them. This may be difficult to do, however, in its absence, if you were to say something like "we would like to acknowledge we are on the Traditional Lands of _____________ " and then whatever First Nation territory you are on would be a start. You could refine it by seeking specific wording from the local First Nations community. Many school boards are doing this. We hope every Rotary club in Canada will soon. Can you try to do it at your next meeting? If you would like further guidance, please contact HIP Executive Director, John Currie at john.wayne.currie@outlook.com.
Approved Projects (Rotary HIP - Approved projects): Check the HIP website to see full project descriptions and updates.
We are also working on a possible global grant focussing on Indigenous cultural education. If you have a project you would like others to join you in, please contact us. Application forms are on our website under Contacts if you have a project you wish us to consider or approve. Please note, while much of our work is in Ontario, we are a national organization aiming at communities across the country. If you have a project in your area you would like us to know about or assistance with, please let us know. It is our plan to have directors, Rotary and Indigenous from coast to coast within a few months.
Blog (Rotary HIP - Blog) : As always, there have been many news items recently that have been added to our blog. Keep checking back for regular updates.
Resources - Films & Documentaries (Rotary HIP - Films & Documentaries): If you have recently viewed a good film or documentary or read a book not on our list with an indigenous theme or message, please email Julie Dunaiskis (julie@eccgroup.ca) and Janet McLeod (jmm@nexicom.net) to add to our list.
HIP Membership & Donations: We would like you, your club and friends to become members. You do not need to be a Rotarian to join. You can join today by selecting (Rotary HIP - Become a Member) on the HIP website. Complete the online form and send us a cheque for $100 made payable to HIP. Please send a cheque c/o 100 Simcoe St., Suite 110, Toronto M5H 3G2 and reference the online form or send a note with your name, address, email and club(if applicable) to the above address.
Charitable donations are accepted online through our website (Rotary HIP - Make a Donation) and the donor will receive a tax receipt immediately. You may designate funds to a specific project or to general projects focusing on education. Thank you for your continued support of our projects, in particular, we have had a terrific response to our ask for support for the transportation costs for shipments to the fly-in communities. You can also send in a cheque made payable to HIP and send to c/o ECC Group, 100 Simcoe St., Suite 110, Toronto, ON M5H 3G2.
Message from HIP Chair, Chris Snyder
Keeping Focused: One of my ongoing challenges is keeping our efforts focused on our goals of education and awareness. Every day I have people suggesting we support a health or water initiative or program against violence to women or some other cause. When HIP first started, while First Nations peoples had many needs, we were advised by our First Nations advisors the most important areas to focus on is education and creating awareness. This made sense to us and since inception, we have pursued these goals. People also often say can't we get one thing we can focus on and get our teeth into? The reality is there are approximately 660 Indigenous communities in Canada and depending on who you talk to about 62 Nations. Each has their own need and not every Indigenous community agrees with each other.We have also concluded education is not just schools, books and teachers - it is much more. It is also everything that goes to support education in all its forms. It is proper nutrition, sports activities, having the right equipment including books and computers, exposure to Indigenous culture, reading and transition programs, keeping warm in the winter and having activities in the summer. Government provides some of this but Rotary is perfectly positioned to take specific action on small programs as required by an Indigenous community. Rotary is also perfectly positioned to create awareness through our meetings and connecting with individual communities. Connecting one on one is a perfect way to become aware by building personal and community relationships. Clubs can, of course, do whatever they want but by having us all focused on education and awareness, the impact can be enormous. We can also be great connectors and even if we do not get involved in a project, we can put people and groups together. Education is a long-term fix and many of us may never see the results. But we do know, over the long term, it can provide people with great opportunities - something many Indigenous Peoples have never had. Since inception, HIP has worked hard at developing relationships with other groups and people but we need to expand our reach. We have recently appointed three board members to focus on expanding our Rotary involvement - David Newman, District 5550 and west and Lisa Farano and Fred Lawlor everything east of there. We want every district to have a district chair, have a good working relationship with every district governor and every club to form a committee and become involved. Furthermore, we would like every Rotarian to receive our newsletter either through the district newsletter or directly from us. HIP will provide support services to the clubs. As for the First Nations, we have connected with many communities, many through our gifts-in-kind program and we also have a HIP director in charge of Indigenous relations, namely Karihwakeron Tim Thompson who will help expand our Indigenous connections. We are so fortunate to have Tim on our board. He is a former director of education for the AFN. Many consider him to be one of the most knowledgeable persons in Canada on the subject of Indigenous education. We have a long way to go but we do have endless opportunities to work together. Next month, we will expand on our plans for the convention. Until then,
Sincerely, Chris Snyder Chair, HIP snyder@eccgroup.ca 416-364-0181 Ext. 2501 905-990-1735