Our meeting was held at the Family Centre at Family and Children’s Services. Karen Spencer introduced our speakers, Dave Skene and Chef Sydney Keedwell.  David is the Executive Director of White Owl Native Ancestry and he spoke to our group about the land based focus of White Owl’s Wellness and Education initiatives. Chef Sydney Keedwell prepared a delicious lunch for our group. The lunch began with a Three Sisters Soup, which is made from white corn, squash and beans, followed by an amazing salad and Sydney’s special Bannock, which is made with traditional ingredients, with the addition of maple syrup. Every ingredient had a local connection.

White Owl Native Ancestry has been in existence since 1975 – and an on-site Family Centre Partner since 2017. White Owl’s work is focused on enhancing the lives of Indigenous People in Wellington, Dufferin and Waterloo regions.They provide Indigenous Wholistic practice  -- centred on ensuring Indigenous children and youth experience belonging through Indigenous values – which include acceptance, self expression, understanding and a sense of place and belonging.

White Owl is a valued partner of Family and Children’s Services.  They have been a teacher and guide in helping to improve service delivery to children and families  -- this is not an easy role for an Indigenous serving agency because of the harmful practices of child welfare – we have a long way to go in changing the system and the system is not easily changed – we are extremely grateful for their support.

Another collaboration, new to the agency is the Aaadanjige Cafe, led by Chef Sydney Keedwell. In her role, Sydney shares her passion for community, food insecurity, and what we can do to grow food and feed our community

Dave shared his family history as a Metis and member  of the Metis Nation of Ontario. Dave is a Founding member of Wisahkotewinowak and Urban Indigenous Garden collective. Dave has worked as a grass-roots educational innovator for over 30 years and he has led numerous teams of Canadian youth on international education projects focused on justice and community development from an Indigenous perspective. Dave’s current focus is around issues of Urban Indigenous and land sovereignty, Indigenous agricultural practices, and land-based wellness.

Dave spoke to the group about the important relationship between Indigenous People and the land. It is a core part of Indigenous identity and White Owl uses a land based focus to promote wellness and to teach us how to live. This focus has helped many Indigenous youth who have been disconnected from their culture. White Owl take the youth onto the land to help them heal and to teach them how to grow vegetables, make maple syrup, and build a relationship with the land. There is a powerful spiritual and emotional connection through this experience. The programs at White Owl reconnect Indigenous people to the land and help them heal. Dave shared several examples of how their programs have helped reconnect youth to their culture, particularly youth who have been raised in an urban setting and who may have been removed from their original communities and family.

White Owl has been gifted protected land and currently operate a sugar bush, as well as growing gardens for their food share program. Sydney’s focus of food security and cooking completes the circle. Food is sacred, and a key focus of their work is now on creating a food share program and teaching others to cook food. By growing, harvesting and cooking the food, the circle becomes complete.

White Owl works with various partners, including the University of Waterloo and the City of Kitchener, and is currently involved in  a land restoration project along the river by the Pioneer Tower. Those in attendance really appreciated the conversation and in learning more about the Indigenous people’s relationship to the land and the important work of White Owl Native Ancestry. 

Everton thanked our guests and Karen for hosting.