Indigenous Allyship

On June 24th, Divest Waterloo and Parkminster United Church partnered on Water and Spirit: Allyship in Action — a lunch and Indigenous Allyship gathering designed for people who are wondering about how to go beyond land acknowledgements, curious about terms, or wanting to discover positive best practices for working with Indigenous peoples. Melissa Ireland (pictured on the right above, bio below), Manager of Indigenous Student Services at Laurier University, facilitated this participatory gathering employing a circle approach to help participants self-discover where they sit in their Indigenous Allyship journey.

Following this, Mary Anne Caibaiosai (pictured on the left above, bio below) shared her stories and prayers for the water and plans for the All Nations Grand River Water Walk that will be held from September 15th through the 29th. The workshop and lunch were free, with donations to support the Water Walk gratefully accepted.

Mark your calendars to join us on March 7th, 2018 for The Chemical Valley Project, an innovative documentary-theatre performance telling story of a small Indigenous community smothered by Canada’s petrochemical industry in our own backyard.  It will spark conversations on Canadian environmental policy, treaty rights and Indigenous relations, as well as the current nature of Canadian identity and values.

Where: The Registry Theatre, 122 Frederick St, Kitchener
When: Wednesday, March 7, 2018 at 7:30pm

Join Youth for Water and Green Communities Canada for a four-part webinar series! Learn how to strengthen collaborative initiatives and build positive alliances with Indigenous communities.

Dates: February 7, 2018 - March 21, 2018

Click the link for more information and to register: www.eventbrite.ca/webinar-series-trying-to-get-it-right-tickets-42245268736

“Salmon” by Don Skillen, Métis Artist 4. Change.

“Mitakuye Oyasin. All my relations.” Lakota Nation.

We need to return to the original relationships. That’s the repeated message heard at a recent Waterloo forum hosted by Faith & the Common Good, Divest Waterloo, the Green Awakening Network and a number of other groups concerning climate justice and what Indigenous allyship would mean.