Goats, Mosquitoes and Research

 By Andrea Dsouza, 2nd year MDP student

Hello, my name is Andrea Dsouza. I was born and raised in Bangalore, India. In 2020 I completed an undergraduate degree in Indigenous Studies from the University of British Columbia. I am a second-year student in the MDP Program and am doing my field placement with the Anishinaabeg Agriculture Institute (AAI).

AAI is a community organization from the White Earth reservation with extensive farming experience, and a desire to diversify farming enterprises. Together with the East African and Middle Eastern community of Minnesota, their project aims to build a collaborative agriculture enterprise based on good land stewardship and cultural survival through food and land access. The project I am working on touches the following aspects: youth training, regional economy development, land back, and cross-cultural collaboration and restoration of traditional varieties of our food. What drew me to working with AAI is the integrated and intersectional nature of their work.

My task this summer is to answer the following questions: How do the food systems of the Anishinaabe and growing migrant & refugee populations overlap in needs? How can developing an Anishinaabe food system collaborate with these communities to meet their product demands? What are the practical considerations of developing a market value chain based on goats?

Developing the market includes experimenting and developing successful raw and value-added chains for goat and goat by-products including meat processing, and milk products. We also work closely with our Amish neighbors in the North, partnering with them to access their goat herds and farm infrastructure. Much of the work I have focussed on so far is hands on development of the Farm property, and program development for the young-farmer training in goat husbandry.

So far, I have really enjoyed working in a team environment alongside other master’s students from the University of Minnesota. We all come from different backgrounds and have different sets of expertise, which makes working together challenging, exciting and fun. After a year of doing online school it is also really nice to be in person with folks and to be able to connect with the land and water on a daily basis. Below are some photos from my time.

The Winnipeg Boldness Project

 By Katherine Rempel, 1st year MDP student

Through a Mitacs fellowship and the support of Social Innovations Canada, I am completing an Accountability Framework Report during my placement at Boldness. Over the past month I have focused my time on the following activities:

1.            The Burns Leadership Institute Canada President’s Student Leadership Program (PSLP) at the
University of Manitoba selected 20 students from postgraduate study across Manitoba from 15 different disciplines to be in the 4th cohort of student leaders.  I applied through my placement to grow my leadership skills, experience learning from multiple perspectives, and applying my learning to positive change in my career.  This opportunity also provided an unique chance to learn from the Winnipeg Boldness Projects executive director Diane Roussin who was the opening presenter.

2.            Conducted an environmental scan of the governance structures of local Indigenous organizations.  The research produced an excel document for the organization of 30 local Indigenous organizations with recorded details around how the organization governance was structured, the values and missions of the organizations, and how they were funded.

3.            An environmental scan of articles focused on Indigenous governance in an organizational setting, Indigenous governance values, the historical Indigenous governance, Indigenous methods, and accountability and collaboration was completed finding 30 articles to use as references for the Accountability Framework Report.

4.            Creating and conducting a personal interview opportunity to explore the creation story and background behind the Winnipeg Boldness Projects formation with Diane Roussin.  This offered valuable insight into the generational governance and relationships of community organizations in the North End of Winnipeg.

5.            As part of the Mitacs fellowship I attended multiple Social Innovation Canada Plenary sessions to engage and interact with other fellowship recipients.  This has provided a platform for support and to share the work being conducted by the students with one another.

A Reconciliation Plan for The WestEnd Commons

 By Molly Damiani

Hello! My name is Molly and I am finishing up my first year in the MDP program. This summer I am completing my domestic field placement through the University of Winnipeg’s Inner City work-study program. This program involves 450 placement hours in addition to a 6-credit course examining Winnipeg’s inner-city challenges and community-based initiatives.

My placement organization is the WestEnd Commons. The WestEnd Commons is a project of St. Matthews Non-Profit Housing Inc. addressing the need for safe and supportive housing in the neighbourhood of West Central Winnipeg. The WestEnd Commons is located in the St. Matthew's Anglican Church which has been renovated to feature 26 units for tenants and a neighbourhood resource centre on the lower floors. 

My work with the WestEnd Commons is centred on creating a reconciliation plan, and developing a strategy towards reconciliation in the workplace and the building as whole. This work speaks to the organization’s commitment to the cultural safety of tenants and staff. They are working towards creating an inclusive and supportive space for their tenants to build community, raise their families, and lead fulfilling lives.

This project involves research, community engagement, the development of educational materials, and the creation of a final report summarizing findings and the developed strategies. It has been interesting getting to know the WestEnd Commons and exploring reconciliation in the relation to their unique history, residents, and connections with the community. This project offers an fascinating opportunity to contribute to the future of this space, and the lives of the residents. I am excited to continue this work, and I am especially looking forward to hearing from the different groups who collectively make up the WestEnd Commons.

Connect with Community Through Food

By Jessica Boucher-Cowie 

Hello! My name is Jessica and I am a first-year MDP student! For my Canadian field placement, I am working with NorWest Co-op Community Food Centre located here in Winnipeg. At NorWest Food Centre, many programs are based on offering accessible, low-cost, healthy foods to individuals and families.

NorWest has a variety of programs that assist in mitigating the impacts of food insecurity, through culturally relevant meals, food basket deliveries, and weekly fresh produce markets. NorWest has played a significant role in supporting community health and recently launched a community farm project, which will not only provide locally grown produce but also create a safe, green space for the community to gather.

My role over the summer is primarily focused on assisting in program delivery and the beginning stages of the community farm project. The community farm will offer workshops and activities related to traditional foods, planting, and preserving practices, which I will assist in coordinating. I have gained some insight into the daily operations of NorWest, and through engaging with their staff and volunteers, it is clear how much good can be achieved when people come together to reach a shared goal.

NorWest distributes hundreds of meals to people each week and has an ‘assembly line’ of volunteers to prepare and package meals. I participated in preparing/distributing the meal for their quarterly feast, which provided meals to more than 400 community members on a ‘take-out’ basis.

Regarding the community farm, we started by removing sod and evening the soil so that vegetables can be planted. We made three plots in total, two of which will be used for vegetables requested by the community, and seeds that were donated to NorWest. The third plot is designed in the shape of a spiral and traditional crops will be planted there with the guidance of an Elder.

 We have officially begun planting and are excited for what the upcoming summer months bring us, to watch the crops grow, and further connect with the community!

 

Métis in the Federal Government

By Janelle Poiron, 2nd year MDP student

Tansi! My name is Janelle and I’m Métis from the Red River here in Winnipeg Manitoba!

I’m a second year student undergoing my last field placement before I graduate in the fall! This year I’m with Government of Canada in the Public Health Agency of Canada in Equity Analysis and Policy Research team.  

Though I’m located in Winnipeg Manitoba our headquarters are in Ottawa Ontario with colleagues all across the country! I have two main projects throughout my summer term:

1.      Looking at Métis health indicators and their inequities 

2.      Performing a literature review on Indigenous Peoples off-reserve health priorities and needs

I’m really happy to be working in health as that’s always been one of my goals. My projects this term have also coincidentally lined up with many of my interests. Being Métis myself, I’ve always been fascinated by the health inequities plaguing our communities so having an opportunity to work towards health equity is important to me. The literature review which looks at off-reserve Indigenous populations is equally important so that we can get a sense of gaps in our off-reserve relations.

So far, I’ve really enjoyed the work and my team! While it can be a struggle to connect with new colleagues virtually we recently started having a virtual social event so that we can get to know each other. I feel like this really added value to my placement as it focuses on connection and relationships.

I’m looking forward to finishing my last two months then who knows what the future holds!

Meegwetch!

Naawi-Oodena Project

 By Alex Cote, 2nd year MDP student 

Kwey! Aniin Boozhoo! Tanisi! Hello! Bonjour!

Nindizhinikaaz Alex, ningigoo ojibwemong zoongigondaagan. Gaawiin ningikenimaasii nindoodem. Nindoonjibaa dimiitigweyaa. Nindaa Gaa-okosing. 

Hello, my name is Alex. I was given the name Strong Voice, I am originally from Deep River, Ontario, but I am currently a visitor to Treaty 1 in Winnipeg. I have been given the privilege to introduce my current placement opportunity to you all! So without further ado, I have been working on the Naawi-Oodena Language initiative alongside two other research assistants and supervisor: Dr. Lorena Fontaine and Dr. Hugh Grant. 

The project explores the potential for the University of Winnipeg to develop a working relationship with Treaty One Development Corporation through the delivery of credit and non-credit Indigenous language courses on-site at Naawi-Oodena. Revitalizing Indigenous languages is a crucial driver towards reconciliation with the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people. Unfortunately, in Canada, Indigenous languages face extinction while facing a crisis shortage of Indigenous language teachers. This proposal seeks to answer this crisis while paying close attention to the TRC’s Call to Action, language speakers, and community members.

Walking in my Gradfather's Footsteps

By Alex Keone Kapuni Oldroyd, 2nd year MDP student

There’s an oft-told story in my family history about how one day my grandfather was convinced by a friend to take the entrance exam to Kamehameha Schools, whose main campus was on a neighboring island. I imagine that like most young boys, the idea of spending free time taking a test was not attractive, except this test came with free lunch. For a boy who often went hungry, a full belly was worth the trouble. To my grandfather’s surprise, he passed the exam. I imagine it was a difficult decision for him to leave home and enroll at the faraway school, but decades later we’re still talking about the impact of this small moment on his life and ours.

When I consider my grandfather’s life and legacy, I’m often struck by all the interesting twists and turns. Today he’s buried in a tiny Mormon town in the middle of the Kaibab Paiute Reservation in Northern Arizona of all places. When he left for school as a boy, could he have imagined all the places he’d see and people he’d meet?  Could he have imagined that one day he would become a principal for that school? Was he always confident that the decisions he made would lead to good things, or like the rest of us did he struggle with fear of the unknown?

A little over two years ago my wife and I struggled with our own decision to attend a school far from home. We had to decide between UCLA, where I could study with one of the top Indigenous economists in the world and my wife could fulfill her dream of working in the animation industry in California, and the University of Winnipeg where I could learn directly from Indigenous elders and community organizers and where the education was much more grassroots. We chose Canada. I have no regrets about that decision, but especially during this pandemic we’ve wondered if we should have made the what some would consider the “safer” choice.

I’m not sure if there will be any moments from my life that my descendants point to and say, “that’s when things really changed for us.” But there are certainly moments where I feel like I’ve been guided by my Creator and my ancestors. My field placement this summer with Kamehameha Schools has been one of those moments. When I started in the MDP program, I hadn’t intended to follow so closely in my grandfather’s footsteps, but here I am.

This summer I’ve researched the state of the COVID-19 vaccination effort in the US and statewide and how it should inform KS policy, economic measures of wellbeing, and best practices in early childhood education funding. I’ve conducted and published online environmental scans in the areas of education, health, economics, and community and politics. I’ve been an integral part of the planning team that will help transition KS’s Strategy and Transformation Department into a permanent hybrid work arrangement post-pandemic. This is just some of the work I’m fortunate to accomplished during my time at KS, which will have both immediate and long-term impact.

This work hasn’t always been easy. With the pandemic, school obligations, family obligations, and the uncertainty that comes at the end of grad school, there have been many times I’ve felt discouraged. In those moments, I’ve tried to remember that the path I walk today is the path my grandfather walked and our ancestors before him. Hearkening to the past in that way has given me courage to face the future, and the optimism to know that as I prepare to graduate there are many more paths my ancestors, my relations, my Creator, and my grandfather have prepared for me.