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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. Although there is no formal update for August 2018, here are the major initiatives and resources available to you and your Rotary club. 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 August 2018.....
Be sure to read the new HIP Circle for June 2018. Here is the link.
Some Rotary Happenings
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. We do not know the precise number of clubs across Canada who are involved in educational and awareness activities, however, our guess is we are close to 150 and growing. Some clubs were involved well before HIP, many on their own and some because of our encouragement and leadership.
Other Happenings
THE HIP CIRCLE - please note, we will be publishing a special convention issue, however, there will be no July issue. Here is the link.
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 Julie Dunaiskis (julie@eccgroup.ca) who will pass along to Ingrid Sproxton, our new speakers' co-ordinator to propose a date and a subject you would like the person to speak about i.e. a) about HIP, b) a project, or c) awareness of the issues. Ideally, these talks will inform members and guests and hopefully engage members in becoming involved in an Indigenous program, donating money and developing a relationship with the local Indigenous community. We are happy to help you connect with the community close to you.
Other
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. If you need more, contact us and we can send. 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
Classroom Technology: HIP believes every student in Canada should have access to digital learning and that availability to current technology in Indigenous schools is an equity issue. Recognizing the sizeable need, HIP partners with organizations to provide Indigenous classrooms with technology learning experiences. Siemens Canada, Corporations for Community Connections and RC of Scarborough Bluffs, have acquired 250 laptops that will be distributed to Indigenous communities across Canada. Additionally, HIP has partnered with Donner Canada Foundation, First Nation Technical Institute and Elephant Thoughts, to add Indigenous enriched education content and deliver these devices accompanied by topline coding and robotics education to students in schools receiving these devices.
BUILDING BRIGHTER FUTURES BURSARIES: Indspire has invited HIP to participate in their bursary program. Inspire is an Indigenous-led registered charity that invests in the education of Indigenous people for the long term benefit of these individuals, their families, communities, and Canada. Indspire disburses financial awards, delivers programs, and shares resources with the goal of closing the gap in Indigenous education. Combined with a Government match of up to $250,000 per year over the next four years, Rotarians & partners have the potential to raise up to $2 Million dollars to invest in the future of Indigenous youth. For more information, please contact HIP Executive Director, John Currie at john.currie@pickeringrotary.ca. “96% of the students Indspire supports graduate.”
Approved Projects (Rotary HIP - Approved projects)
Check the HIP website to see full project descriptions and updates. We hope you or your club can support any of the projects mentioned as follows. We need much more financial support. Please join in. Not only will you help the project become reality and assist with the educational needs but you will learn a lot as well. We are also reviewing several new initiatives. When approved, we will be providing a brief outline with a link to the project. All of the projects below have been approved by our project committee and have the full support of the Indigenous community.
Blog (Rotary HIP - Blog) - As always, there have been many news and events recently that have been added to our blog.
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 Chair, Chris Snyder, has released a new book called Creating Opportunities. It is about his volunteering over 70 years, much of it to do with Rotary. There is a separate chapter on Canada's First Peoples. Wilf Wilkinson and Jeff Dobson, the incoming president of the Rotary Club of Toronto have provided testimonials. The foreword is by former Governor General David Johnston. For more information, go to https://hilborn-civilsectorpress.com/products/creating-opportunities-a-volunteers-memoir.
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. By becoming a member, you are saying we like and support what HIP is doing. Here is $100 to help move the cause of education and awareness forward. Please note, HIP membership payment cannot be done online as it is not tax-receiptable. 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. We will send you an acknowledgement and ensure you will receive our monthly newsletter. We have had a number of new members in the last few months. This is great... keep them coming. We are through reviewing our membership structure. This was set up originally to encourage people to join. We have reached a stage of growth where we need to ensure we have ongoing core funding and having paid members is one option. Growth is a challenge but our success is good news.
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. If you are able to help with this or other initiatives, a tax receipt will be issued. You can also send in a cheque payable to HIP and post-marked to c/o ECC Group, 100 Simcoe St., Suite 110, Toronto, ON M5H 3G2.
Message from HIP Chair, Chris Snyder
Chris will be back with a letter to Rotarians in the September issue of the District 7070 Newsletter
Founded in 2014, HIP was initiated by Rotary Clubs in southern Ontario and is a Canada wide partnership between Indigenous Peoples and Rotarians. HIP’s focus, which came about after in-depth discussions with Indigenous leaders, is to support indigenous education initiatives and raise public awareness of the history, culture and challenges of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.
HIP’s board is 50% Indigenous and 50% Rotarian. Our vision is to get every Rotary Club in Canada to work, as equal partners, with Indigenous Peoples, towards these goals and to build relationships with Indigenous Peoples that are respectful of differences. To date, an estimated 150 of the 750 clubs are involved.
The mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples resulting in such things as residential schools, underfunding of education, racism, assimilation, many forms of injustice and poverty, are not confined to Canada. In fact, this is common in every country in the world that has come under the influence of colonialism. In our view, and as outlined in Canada’s Truth & Reconciliation commission report, and the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, it is now time to correct this sad part of history in all affected countries. It is everyone’s role and responsibility to participate in this reconciliation.
Who better than Rotary to take action? HIP’s board, and others, have been working very hard to include Indigenous ways, entertainment and protocol into the convention. A list of these activities is listed separately.
We hope that the Rotary Internation Convention has motivated youand your Rotary Club to get involved in the larger movement.
Our motto is “Understanding the Past, Moving Forward Together” as envisioned by both the early settlers and Indigenous Peoples and formalized by Wampum belts.
On behalf of HIP, I would like to challenge all Rotarians to get involved to make this motto a reality everywhere around the world.
Migwetch (Thank You),
Sincerely,
Chris Snyder
Chair, HIP
snyder@eccgroup.ca 416-364-0181 Ext. 2501 905-990-1735
Rotary Club of Toronto