Urban Aboriginal Diversity: Supporting Communities

Day / Time Monday, June 19th / 14:00 - 16:00

Event Description

The session will open with a traditional welcome from local First Nations to honour the land on which the World Urban Forum is being hosted. Lou Demerais, GVUAS and Peter Dinsdale, NAFC will co-chair the session providing an overview and introductions. The co-chairs will lead a facilitated dialogue session with government partners and Aboriginal people looking at new approaches to working in partnership with urban Aboriginal people. This discussion will focus on the methods to include urban Aboriginal people in policy and decision making processes and will use the Canadian government's Urban Aboriginal Strategy as a concrete example for discussion. The discussion will highlight promising practices on human capital and women's development with Sylvia Maracle (Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres) and Kama Steliga (Lillooet Friendship Centre) providing informative dialogue on best practices;The facilitated dialogue session will enable participants to look at challenges and opportunities and to learn from other countries and jurisdictions about the approaches they are taking in this area. International participation will be announced at a later date.

Session Language

English

French

Speakers

Sylvia Maracle, Ontario Federation of Friendship Centres

Kama Steliga, Executive Director of the Lillooet Friendship Centres

GVUAS and International participants to be announced

Host Organization

Greater Vancouver Urban Aboriginal Strategy Steering Committee (GVUAS SC) / The National Association of Friendship Centres

Host Organization Description

The GVUAS SC is made up of 16 members representing three levels of government and the Greater Vancouver urban Aboriginal community. Members include youth and Elders, Aboriginal organizations, representatives from the federal and provincial governments, the City of Vancouver and the City of Surrey . The NAFC acts as a central unifying body for the Friendship Centre movement by promoting and advocating the concerns of Aboriginal Peoples and represents the needs of local Friendship Centres across the country to the federal government and to the public in general. More than 750,000 Indigenous peoples access the services and supports designed with culturally-based principles in areas of; literacy, racism, AIDS, employment equity, economic development and justice to name a few. The GVUAS and the NAFC are supported by the Canadian government as part of a national strategy aimed at improving the quality of life of urban Aboriginal people. The federal Office of the Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians(OFI)in the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada is a full partner in this session.

Website

Urban Aboriginal Diversity: Supporting Communities

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