The Honouring Indigenous Peoples (HIP) Rotary Program, first instituted in Eastern Canada after an idea brought forward at the Rotary International Conference held in Toronto in 2018, was adopted by the Rotary Club of Kelowna Sunrise back in January of 2019, only the second club in British Columbia to do so. The Rotary Kelowna Sunrise Club HIP partners and consults with the indigenous peoples of the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory of the Syilx/Okanagan Nation as it focuses on educating and creating awareness of their efforts and in becoming much more aware of their issues, history and culture. Furthermore, through this focus, the committee of the Rotary Club anticipates that by partnering with the local Indigenous Peoples, as a Rotary club it can develop meaningful relationships.
Nationally, HIP’s mission is to catalyze societal change by inspiring Indigenous and Non-Indigenous relationship building, strengthening community well-being and advancing the next generation of leaders. Our vision is that all Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Peoples work together, interconnected and interdependent, for the benefit of future generations.
Today HIP nationally focuses on UNDERSTANDING THE PAST, by changing the narrative and organizing transformational events that dispel myths and provides important lessons about the complex, yet critically important topic of reconciliation.