The Struggle of Working from Home in a Pandemic

By Ali Nychuk, 1st year MDP student

Hi, it’s Ali again! First, I want to take a moment to thank my Field Placement host First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba (FNHSSM) for the lovely experience and an opportunity to continue our work on the Indigenous-Specific Anti-Racism program for Physicians and Health Care providers.   When I thought I was going to New Zealand, I specifically requested that placement was not solely a “desk job”, in reflection there is such irony not only was my placement a desk job it was in the comforts of my own home. Not to mention I was extremely grateful to even have a desk job during the pandemic.

 

Completing a Field Placement during a pandemic has required me to use my skill set in unprecedented ways. An excellent example of this was the use of my biomechanics knowledge to create my own DIY ergonomic office-space. It even called on my creativity as I had to improvise using various textbooks to create a laptop stand. 

 

I wish I had an epiphany moment that caused me to become super fit or caused me to become an excellent baker, but it didn’t. However, it caused me to reflect and be extremely grateful. I am grateful to be able to work, to have safety, to have technology to communicate with my loved ones, colleagues, and classmates. How wonderful it will be to hug all of them again! It is my hope that this appreciation continues to permeate into other seasons.

Research, COVID, and Balance

By Mackenzie Roop. 1st year MDP student

 

As my field placements came to a close, I reflected on how much I expanded my goals and career interests. Throughout this year I had the opportunity to hone my interests towards impact assessment and renewable energy, and it was amazing to be able to gain deeper insight and experience in these areas through my field placements.

Thinking critically about the jurisdictional distinctions between Canada and Australia in the context of Indigenous participation in the energy sector has been eye-opening. I learned that the Australian government has its own distinct set of circumstances despite having a similar history.

My work with the Australian National University was in response to a request to investigate the Canadian context due to the comparable opportunity for Indigenous involvement and ownership in the Canadian energy sector. What I learned was that there are many different types and levels of participation, as government incentives and programs range provincially and federally. In Canada, federal support for Indigenous participation is built largely through a mesh of policies, laws, and agreements. Each Indigenous group has a unique set of goals, capacities and relationship agreements. Thus, while examining opportunity from a jurisdictional lens was helpful to understand the context of federal law in the energy sector, growing opportunity for Indigenous participation is and should continue to be determined by Indigenous groups themselves, led by community values and aspirations. 

 

My work for the Public Interest Law Centre increased my skill set in qualitative research and deepened my understanding of First Nation participation in the federal Impact Assessment Act (IAA) 2019. I produced a report that analyzed various First Nations’ recommendations and concerns of the previous IA, and developed a framework which uncovered these recommendations’ applicability to the IAA 2019. This report hopes to serve PILC and its clients in future deliberations of First Nation rights and opportunity during the impact assessment process.

 

Researching remotely as a non-Indigenous person during COVID-19 is not a light responsibility. While my work was in response to requests, I recognize that my work reflects my own positioning, produced from a non-Indigenous lens in a largely western-academic framework. Non-Indigenous researchers in particular must be careful when engaging in Indigenous related research, especially in times of COVID-19 where circumstances for capacity and accessibility are changing. My experience working remotely was thus difficult as it lacked a necessary tenet of basic Indigenous research methodology: building relationships and accountability with Indigenous groups that the research may represent. I look forward to building my field placement experience and knowledge gained into future projects and relationships.

 

In my previous blogpost, I reflected on the difficulties of working from home amongst the pandemic. This challenge was an important part of my learning process and personal management. I learned that balance is an essential component of producing good work, and that achieving this is a long term process. As COVID continues to influence the ways of the world, the lessons I have learned throughout my placement under COVID will also grow and adapt.

The Next Step

By Racheal Kalaba, 2nd year MDP student

Having finished my placement with the Canadian Red Cross, submitted my final paper and reflection, I took the time to reflect on what is next as an MDP graduate of 2020.  Just a recap, The Canadian Red Cross Mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity in Canada and around the world. The seven principles of the Canadian Red Cross are Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary Service, Unity, and Universality.

My overall experience for the placement is mixed, initially when I wanted to do the placement, the aim was to gain more understanding of how to do development differently, coming from Zambia and always working with diverse organizations, I was eager to work in the emergency sector. I have learned and re-learned so much, I realize that many development organizations need a paradigm shift to include Indigenous ways of learning and perspectives. Indigenous and community-led research is critical in doing the ‘development’ work differently. I have also learned to position myself in situations that even if I am doing the MDP program, I cannot speak for and on behalf of Indigenous people in Canada, but instead understand how policies can be best aligned to support Indigenous people in Canada. It is important to be aware of the situations we may find ourselves as MDPers and always note that sustainable development is done with communities and not for them.

Key learnings were that we need to be more aware when we read the information on social media, academic writings, etc., always ask; from whose lens was it written? Another concept is the importance of identifying allies in workplaces and academic spaces, as this is critical for long term relationship building and support.

I would say the ubuntu concept of “I am because you are, you are because I am.” This is an African concept that talks about relationships and the community. After my course, I believe that it resonates well with the Indigenous way of being and doing. I further reflect the Ubuntu concept with the four Rs: Relationship, Reciprocity, Respect, and Reflectivity.  In reflecting on how I have applied my skills from class to placement, work, and life; I note that this has been in various ways. The key takeaways are mostly research and analytical skills, project planning and management, statistical analysis, business planning, financial projection and analysis, and Indigenous worldviews. I have used these skills in my placement with Red Cross Canada in Manitoba.  I am grateful for having learned so much from my professors, cohort, and mentors and excited for the next journey that awaits.

Indigenous Entrepreneurship and the Social Enterprise Movement

By  Alexander Keone Kapuni Oldroyd, 1st year MDP student

During my undergrad at Brigham Young University I became enamored with the social innovation movement that has found its way into business school curricula the world over. I was especially taken with social enterprise models. In my mind, this was the future, the next iteration of capitalism that was more inclusive, more sustainable, more focused on community wellbeing. Just think of the progress we could make by applying commercial strategies (and by extension private capital) to social problems, by breaking down the silos of government, the social sector, and the private sector! I left BYU feeling like this was new frontier, and I resolved to make my mark at the intersection of social innovation and Indigenous development.

Fast forward a few years to my time in the MDP program. I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to connect with many incredible Indigenous entrepreneurs and innovators here in Winnipeg and across the country. My work with Carol Anne Hilton and the Indigenomics Institute in particular has brought me into contact with the likes of Jeff Ward of Animikii Indigenous Technology, Ashoka Fellow Jeff Cyr of Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, and Jenn Harper of Cheekbone Beauty. As part of my field placement this summer, I’m in the process of connecting with another slate of incredible Indigenous entrepreneurs for the 2020 Indigenomics 10 to Watch List.

As I’ve talked with these entrepreneurs about their work, I’ve noticed certain patterns and characteristics about how they do business that is unique from traditional forms of entrepreneurship. In academic terms, I would call it a uniquely Indigenous entrepreneurial paradigm. What follows are a few of my key takeaways. In general, these Indigenous entrepreneurs:

•             Build community as the core of their business models, not just by providing employment but also meeting other community needs.

•             Use their businesses to support non-business-related community programs such as youth education.

•             Maximize every resource available, minimize waste, and behave sustainably.

•             Balance at least the bottom lines of profit, social impact, environmental impact, and community culture.

•             Overcome market failures by striving to reach all members of the community, not just the most profitable segments.

•             Incorporate values and worldview into every aspect of the business.

•             Are willing to work with other organizations and businesses to increase community impact even when it means giving up some competitive advantages.

•             Are incredibly resilient and able to overcome multiple complex challenges and barriers to success while drawing on the unique strengths of their communities.

Most of these aren’t surprising. I’ve been around Indigenous businesses long enough to know how committed Indigenous entrepreneurs are to their communities, and entrepreneurship has long been thought of as essential for community economic development. What was surprising, however, was just how much these quintessentially Indigenous ways of doing business mirror the social enterprise frameworks that are becoming increasingly mainstream (to much acclaim). And it was surprising because, for the most part, the language and frameworks of contemporary social innovation thinking are not common in many Indigenous contexts. Which is to say that the way of doing business expressed by these entrepreneurs (and Indigenous entrepreneurs across the country) doesn’t come from any new trends in business thinking or social innovation methodology, but from the worldviews of Indigenous communities that have existed on this land since time immemorial. 

Jeff Ward on Indigenous Innovation at TEDX

Jeff Ward put it best when he said that “Innovation is typically thought of as using new ideas to make things better. And while we certainly have new challenges and opportunities, we have to understand that Indigenous Peoples have been innovating on these lands for millennia... As the original inventors, innovators, and entrepreneurs on these lands, Indigenous Peoples have thrived here, sustainably, and we’ve never stopped innovating.”

What we’re seeing is the rest of the world catching up to how Indigenous peoples have been doing business for centuries. As the social innovation movement continues to popularize the next iteration of capitalism, we would all do well to learn from what Indigenous entrepreneurs have known for centuries.  

Thinking About Indigenous Food Security and Research During COVID-19

By Taylor Wilson, 2nd year MDP student

In my previous blogpost regarding my field placement, I shared that I chose to re-adjust my placement plan and do something different. Some other students did the same as I did while others chose to continue their plans while adjusting to COVID-19 rules. Like I had previously mentioned I had initially planned to work in my home community of Fisher River Cree Nation. I was going to create a food guide. This guide was to map our food system and provide information on how to eat nutritionally and traditionally in ways that are accessible, affordable, and easy. I had hoped it could be a guide to revitalizing Fisher River’s unique food culture as they are a Cree community living amongst a sea of Anishinaabe communities. Unfortunately, that did not happen.

Corn growing m my yard in Fisher River

There were several reasons why I chose to not do my initial plan during the pandemic. One of the larger ones was that my community chose to close its borders to nearly everyone except for on-reserve members, which I found to be a valid choice. The other major reason I chose not to do my placement there during the pandemic was because of the topic. I was looking at food sovereignty and food security and I didn’t think it was fair or right that I, even as a community member, go to Fisher River during a time of uncertainty and do research about the food system.

If there is anything that MDP has taught me over my two years in the program, it’s the importance of doing research the right way. Fisher River is fortunate enough to be a thriving Indigenous community with capable and amazing community members, but it doesn’t exempt them from the myriad of issues surrounding Indigenous communities and the struggle for food sovereignty and security. Who was I to come into the community, someone who hadn’t lived on-reserve for nearly 10 years, and begin to question the food system during a time like this? Or ask questions about how people access and afford their food during what could arguably be called an economic crisis? Where access to affordable foods might be difficult. Not only that, commercial fishing, a huge source of income and food in the community, was halted across Manitoba. As soon as I realized these things, I called it off. I spoke with Shailesh and voiced my concerns, and thankfully (as much as we both would like to do this project), he agreed that this was not the right time.

Doing research on/in/with Indigenous communities during times like these means that as a researcher, even an Indigenous one, we need to think about the consequences, impacts, and realities of what our research does. Honestly, even without the pandemic, we need to consider these things. Even with our community partners being open, willing, and excited to work on this project, we need to understand and consider the impacts any research we do. I encourage other researchers, students, organizations who want to do research with Indigenous communities to think about what this pandemic is doing to Indigenous communities, and consider “is this the right time to be doing research”?

I look forward to working on this project in the future and being back home on the land. For now, I will continue to do work and learn about what research is and needs to be.

Yours, Taylor 

My yard in Fisher River

Meaningful Public Participation in Hydroelectric Development

By Kate Robb, 2nd year MDP student

When thinking about the impacts of megadevelopments such as the Churchill River Diversion (CRD) in northern Manitoba, it is important to consider if and how those who experience the impacts on a day to day basis participated in or contributed to the development process. During my field placement with PILC, I learned about the value of meaningful public participation in the development of hydro projects, and the issues that can arise when participation is lacking.  

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAA) defines meaningful public participation as a process that ensures that the needs of those who are most impacted are prioritized, while also ensuring that all interested members of the public have the opportunity to participate. It ensures that the public has access to the information they need to take part in an informed way, and their perspectives inform and influence decisions. In the context of hydro projects in northern Manitoba, it is important to consider that the public who are most impacted consists primarily of First Nations communities. With this in mind, when assessing whether or not meaningful public participation has occurred, it is necessary not to focus solely on western-centred guidelines.

My project for PILC involved reviewing historic documents related to the CRD and associated Augmented Flow Program (AFP), and assessing whether or not the standards for meaningful public participation processes were met in each study. As the IAA guidelines are western-centred, and therefore not representative of the cultures and worldviews of the First Nations who are impacted by the CRD and AFP, I developed a framework to assess the extent of meaningful participation using guidance from Indigenous research methodologies. This was a great opportunity to put what I’ve learned so far in my MDP courses in to practice.

It was not surprising that none of the studies I reviewed met the criteria for meaningful public participation with the impacted First Nations. These communities have been expressing the severity of the impacts of the CRD and AFP on their lives for several decades, and Manitoba Hydro and the province have yet to adequately acknowledge their voices and mitigate the historic and ongoing impacts of hydroelectric development in northern Manitoba.

I am grateful that I had the opportunity to contribute to the important work that PILC is doing on issues related to the First Nations who are impacted by hydro development in northern Manitoba. Even with the challenges created by the pandemic and adapting to working remotely, it was a valuable learning experience and I am looking forward to working on similar projects in the future!

It has been 3 months already? My Canadian Field Placement

By Ada Chukwudozie, 1st year MDP student

My placement officially comes to an end soon and it has been quite the journey. While the beginning started off bumpy due to the global pandemic, things really got going once I joined the Kishaadigeh project. Over the course of three months, I have come to learn about community-driven health research, engaging in comprehensive dialogue and most especially, the importance of self-determination. While COVID prevented me from actually interacting with community members on ground or see the research being done in these communities first-hand, I had the opportunity to interview tons of researchers, both academic and community researchers, and get an idea of what self-determination really means to Indigenous people and what it is that is being fought for through the work they are doing, and the work I was fortunate enough to have contributed to during my placement. 

Finding that work-life balance is something that was key in ensuring I had a successful placement year.  I cannot stress enough how much creating personal time for yourself is important for a successful field placement.

I struggled with this in the beginning and to help me gain a sense of inner peace and mental clarity, I finally carved some personal time for me and joined an online yoga class, which helped immensely. I also went on walks and safely hung out with some of my friends to gain a sense of normalcy during this period. The routine and balance I came to achieve helped ensure that I had a successful placement and I can’t believe it’s been three months already!

Appreciating community collaboration

By Kiera Kowalski 1st year MDP student & Courtney Bear

As our field placement comes to a close we want to thank all who supported our experience. Thank you to the community members of Peguis First Nation who shared their knowledge and agricultural expertise during the focus group, as well as Elder Carl McCorister for providing guidance. Thank you to Agriculture Manitoba as well for hosting us, providing mentorship and support. We have learned so much in such a short period of time and appreciate everyone who shared their knowledge along the way.

To recap from our previous blog post, we worked with Agriculture Manitoba to hold a focus group session in Peguis First Nation to better understand Indigenous youth perceptions of the agriculture industry in Manitoba. The participants were all on-reserve youth from Peguis between the ages of 18 to 35. During the focus group we adhered to Indigenous research protocols. We believe this was very important to conducting a successful, community collaborative project. In addition to conducting the focus group we also analyzed the findings and produced a final report, which is what we’ve been working on throughout the month of July.

It was such a great feeling to complete our final report and represent the views of Peguis youth. In the report we summarized the participants vision for agriculture in their community based on the main themes that emerged during the focus group. The participants determined that all agricultural projects should be driven by cultural knowledge and revitalization, support food security and food sovereignty efforts and foster a holistic connection to land. The expressed interest in a greenhouse initiative so that they can grow produce year round, and a summer agriculture institute to engage and teach youth about sustainable community gardening practices.

Again, we acknowledge and greatly respect our participants for sharing their knowledge on this topic. Without our participants’ patience and willingness to help, especially while navigating COVID, we would not have been able to complete this project.

At Kiera's cottage on Lee River after finishing writing our final report. Courtney (R) gave birth to a baby boy exactly 2 weeks later!

It is a Wrap!

By Gloria Makafui Dovoh, 2nd year MDP student

It is a wrap and I can safely say I have completed a big chunk of my principal deliverables for my field placement and it feels so exciting to see the light at the end of the tunnel- firstly, for my placement and secondly for the entire Masters in Development Practice program. I have looked for funding opportunities for the Ethnocultural Council of Manitoba-Stronger Together Incorporated (ECCM-ST Inc.) and written at least four grant applications.

Anti-racism campaign poster

I have also assisted with the planning of event(s), participated in several virtual meetings with different partner organizations including Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, Immigration Partnership Winnipeg (IPW), ECCM-ST Inc, Manitoba Association of Rights and Liberties, Elmwood Community Resource Centre and various anti-racism sector tables made up of representatives from not-for-profit organizations, government and academic institutions. I have also participated in other duties including; developing a debunking racist COVID-19 myths & misconceptions sheet and promoting and attending IPW’s anti-racism summer lunch and learn held at various locations.

Through my placement with IPW and ECCM-ST Inc., I have built relationships and networks that I believe will assist me on my career path. It has also provided me with exposure to know and deeply understand issues of integration and social inclusion. I can confidently say that even under this global health crisis, my placement has been excellent and the opportunities I have been privileged to receive have been tremendous. Concerning best practices and lessons learnt, I will continue to be grateful for the process and opportunities I have and look forward with a positive mind-set both professionally and personally.

Participants at a Summer Lunch & Learn event

Great Experience at End Homelessness Winnipeg Despite COVID-19 Pandemic

By Babatunde Alabi, 1st year MDP student

Finally, my 3-month domestic field placement with End Homelessness Winnipeg came to successful completion. During this placement, I worked on the 2018 Winnipeg Street Health Survey project, where I acquired new technical skills, improved on my research skills, and became more informed and better grounded in the subject of homelessness in Canada, particularly in Winnipeg. I also used both my previously and newly acquired skills and knowledge to contribute my little quota to the understanding of the various pathways to homelessness for people marginalized along multiple social identities and how these identities interact to form complex experiences for them.

My work involved supporting the analysis of the Indigenous and gender-based quantitative data, which I used in developing a draft in-depth report of the research. Other activities that I engaged in included searching and creating a database for funding opportunities for the proposed follow up qualitative study aimed at determining housing needs and preferences of Indigenous people experiencing homelessness. Also, I took minutes of meeting at research team meetings, as well as project advisory committee meetings.

My time with End Homelessness Winnipeg, working on the 2018 Winnipeg Street Health Survey, was indeed an exciting and rewarding one. I am particularly glad because I would be listed as a co-author in the final report, a recognition and gesture of reciprocity from my host organization, which I do not take for granted. I hope that this report would help to enrich the understanding of relevant organizations, community groups, and government, and inform policy and program development capable of addressing systemic issues facilitating homelessness in Winnipeg in a sustainable manner.

Business planning amidst a global pandemic

By Henok Alemneh, 2nd year MDP student

One of my major tasks during my field placement with the Pimachiowin Aki Corporation was writing a business plan for an Indigenous owned and controlled tourism facility and experience in the Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage Site (PA). The time we are in is probably not the best time to start a tourism business. It is rather a time when many of those who are already in it are being severely impacted by the COVID-19 induced health and economic crisis. Some funding organizations have also shifted their focus towards recovery and stimulus grant funding for existing businesses affected by the crisis. However, I found it to be a good time to plan for a potential establishment of a business that could possibly be in a better position to cope in case of a future crisis like the one we are in. Planning amidst this pandemic allowed me to practically see some of the business risks that come with it. There is a lot that a potential business can learn from the way those who are already being impacted are dealing with the crisis. Communities such as the Pimachiowin Aki First Nations, who are home to a World Heritage Site with immense cultural and natural tourism potentials, can think of various innovative and strategic ways to minimize impacts due to similar potential challenges in the future.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indigenous tourism sector in Canada was showing enhanced growth and the sector also had a significant economic footprint in Manitoba. The trend showed a promising future then, but nowadays the industry is pretty much at a standstill. Tourism by its nature is largely dependent on travel from one place to another and on the people-to-people and people-to-environment interactions involved with it. Such characteristic of the industry has placed it among the most impacted by COVID-19. International and local travel have largely been restricted for months and people have been asked and, in some cases, required to stay away from each other. Although some places are relaxing restrictions recently, we are also seeing some places rolling back restrictions due to the recent spike in infections. Generally, it is not clearly known when things could fully go back to normal as that may depend on the availability of vaccine and or therapeutics.

Regardless of uncertainties looming over its future, many of us, based on tourism’s history of bouncing back after crisis, hope that it will eventually recover. But we don’t know when that will happen. The various ways governments, associations and others are trying to support and speed up the recovery also give some hope in addition to the hope for availability of a vaccine. In the business planning project, we anticipated that people would most likely prefer to travel within their region, especially in the early stages of tourism’s recovery and that appears to be the case with places such as Pinawa recently experiencing an influx of Manitoba visitors. Government agencies such as Destination Canada are also encouraging interprovincial domestic travel.

Drive-in tourists would be targeted due to the anticipation that many people may replace their international travel plans with road trips within Canada. It is also expected that going forward many visitors will be more cautious about hygiene and social distancing. Therefore, the proposed business has been planned to operate in accordance with up-to-date public health guidelines. The economic challenges may also make visitors more price sensitive for some time. As many students are not having the opportunity to travel during their school holidays, we may also see a growth in domestic friends and family travelers. The business planning activity has been undertaken with these and related expectations in mind. The bottom line is that the COVID crisis would bring changes in the market. The business planning project thus required planning and preparing to navigate the new changes in the market environment. In order to minimize potential damages from such crisis in the future, the proposed business would put in place crisis planning and management strategies. Product diversification and creative marketing would be some of the focus areas both in the short-term and long-term. Because dependency on tourism may result in a significant impact during a crisis like COVID, it would also be crucial for communities such as PA First Nations to diversify their economies. The proposed business could be launched after COVID-19 is fully subdued, but the lessons obtained during the planning stage should be carried along as another crisis may happen at any time.

 

Breaking the vicious cycle of homelessness

By Nontokozo Ndlovu, 2nd year MDP student

Homelessness cannot be entirely blamed on the loss of housing or expensive housing only, it involves a lot of systemic challenges. Homelessness however becomes more visible than other systemic challenges encountered by people. Indigenous people have been overly represented in the numbers of people experiencing homelessness. This is because of colonial and neo-colonial oppression and exclusion. Below is a vicious cycle of homelessness identifying the causes of homelessness beyond just inability to secure housing. This cycle was created by Schmidt, Hrenchuk, Bopp, and Poole (2015) on their study on trajectories of Indigenous women’s homelessness in British Columbia. While it addresses them as causes of homelessness, this is also the cycle to be used to amend the gaps that cause or put Indigenous women at risk of being homeless. It identifies: 

•             Poverty and social exclusion- Indigenous people were moved to peripheral areas, further from their sources of food, spiritual connection and their land was taken away. The Metis were left to fend for themselves, surviving through road allowance and doing cheap labour.

•             Inability to find and maintain housing- Indigenous people were moved to reserves where infrastructure and housing were not maintained well and receiving less funding. Migration to the city brought more challenges ranging from racism to expensive housing.

•             Ineffective services- Services offered to Indigenous people are not trauma informed and services are not culture and language informed perpetuating racism in institutions meant to help them.

•             Unresolved trauma- Indigenous people have faced trauma from residential schools, oppressive policies and colonialism. Metis people are often excluded from residential schools, but Metis people were admitted in residential schools despite less records showing it.

The report on Advancing coordination of Winnipeg homelessness sector of 2017 says, “Approaching homelessness is described as a fusion policy issue because there is no one department, agency, or body that is solely responsible for addressing it.” During my practicum, I did a scan of organizations in Winnipeg that are actively involved in homelessness. These organizations included shelters, health facilities, community and resource centers and emergency facilities. The aim was to understand the services they provided and how best they deal with the issues raised in the vicious cycle.

Breaking the vicious cycle will take more than just organizational intervention as it will require policy change. A lot of housing initiatives have also been reactionary and thus there is need for pro-active strategy. Reaching Home program brings about self-determination of Indigenous people on housing. It is also a pro-active strategy that allows communities to address issues that will reduce the risk of losing housing. It is my hope that the implementation of Reaching Home program brings about change and opens doors to permanent housing and addressing systemic gaps.

Working on Anti-Racism Training during a Pandemic

By Ali Nychuk, 1st year MDP student

Hi I’m Ali. I am a currently finishing my first-year as a student in the MDP program, my field placement is with the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba (FNHSSM). Prior to COVID-19 I was planning to fulfill my field placement in New Zealand, however, due to the novel virus I continued my work with FNHSSM. My position with the organization is as a research Assistant on a Canadian Institute of Health Research funded project in collaboration with the University of Manitoba and University of Toronto working on an Indigenous-Specific Anti-Racism program for Physicians and Health Care providers. The training is an eight-week course with a 16-hour time commitment.  The distinctiveness of this training comes from its embodied two eyed seeing approach that uses the biomedical model of learning of “see one, do one, teach one” and self-reflexivity.

I personally find this work as heart-work as a white in passing Indigenous person I feel like it is my personal responsibility to aid in combating racism in healthcare. I also feel like my work on this project pays homage to so many of my family members, friends, and relatives that have experienced racism when trying to access healthcare. I have been interested in this work ever since attending a lecture put on by the Brian Sinclair Working Group. Strangely now one of the speakers is my boss, it’s really a full circle moment.

 

TTYL,

Ali

 

Working Collaboratively at a Physical Distance

By Ashley Saulog, 2nd year MDP student

As many of us MDP have said, my field placement plans this summer have changed. For me, mine adjusted from being 2,036 km away in Prince George, British Columbia to staying a safe two meters away from one another at the grocery store in Winnipeg or the twenty steps to my desk and computer.

Since September 2019, I’ve been planning and anticipating jet setting alone to BC to join the National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health (NCCIH) for the summer. When the news of the closures and lockdown happened, the MDP program and NCCIH were extremely quick to move the placement to a remote format.

The NCCIH is a national Indigenous organization hosted by the University of Northern British Columbia. The NCCIH's mandate is to support a holistic and inclusive public health system, and to foster a strengths-based approach to achieving optimal health and well-being of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. NCCIH achieves this by utilizing reliable evidence that makes a meaningful impact on First Nation, Inuit, and Métis health, creating more collaborative opportunities for Indigenous communities in public health initiatives; and creating culturally relevant materials.

My co-worker Shiro

My placement topic is to explore knowledge gaps and needs about the health and well-being of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples in the justice system. During this project, I reviewed article upon article exploring what current health and social programs are available for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis women in correctional institutions.

When doing the literature review, my challenge was getting into a new routine for working at home. Working from home is a new concept for me. At first, I would wake up and not know what to do, almost like I forgot how my “normal” workday went. I very soon realized that I was struggling with being at home and doing remote learning. I started to resent the fact I wasn’t working at optimal productivity as I did pre-lockdown. I’m sure this feeling of disappointment and pressuring oneself to be productive at home is very familiar to people adapting to remote or at-home work.  I saw a post that said we are working from home, but that doesn’t mean business as usual.

As James Clear suggests in his book Atomic Habits, we need to make small 1% small improvements or atomic habits that compound into substantial changes. I took James Clear’s advice and applied it to my work-from-home schedule. I started with re-arranging my workspace. Space is hard to come by in my household. Especially now that I need to get accustomed to workmates being all my family members who I usually only see on the weekends. We decided to create a work space that was functional for three university students, a hair student, and a German Shepard. Once the new “office” was structured, it felt natural to design work hours and do my literature search.

Our office/salon

The truth is that I’m still working on getting used to all the changes. The unpredictable nature of this pandemic has seen significant impacts on people’s mental health. This is an aspect of the pandemic that shouldn’t be overlooked. I wish for everyone to be patient with themselves and others while adapting to this new normal. I much appreciate the team at NCCIH for their patience and support for me during this summer.

Take care and stay safe.

Translating Classroom Learning into Field Experience in the Era of COVID 19 Pandemic

By Babatunde Alabi, 1st year MDP student

My ongoing domestic field placement with End Homelessness Winnipeg (EHW) has so far been an exciting learning experience. It serves as an avenue to put into practice some of what I had learned in the classroom, as well as the opportunity to acquire a deeper understanding of one of Canada's most recognizable development challenges; the scourge of homelessness.

EHW is an organization that aims to create lasting solutions that prevent and end homelessness. The four pillars upon which EHW rests include prevention, person-centered supports, housing supply, and measurement. It is no longer news that Indigenous people are over represented in the population experiencing homelessness in Canada. The organization's approach to putting an end to homelessness therefore stems from its core values guided by the fact that housing is not just a human right that must be respected but that must also be protected within the ambits of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP), as well as Canada's Truth and Reconciliation effort which the organization considers as an important path to ending homelessness.

Joining EHW at a time when the organization is analyzing the 2018 Street Health Survey (SHS) has allowed me to translate my classroom knowledge of research methodologies and statistics into actual practice. My roles and responsibilities during this placement include supporting Indigenous and gender-specific data analysis and writing of final research reports.

One of the most exciting aspects of my placement, occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, is working remotely from the comfort of my home to deliver on tasks and maintaining seamless virtual connections with teammates through video conferencing platforms. I have particularly enjoyed the remote working experience as it has increased my self-confidence and my ability to work independently while at the same time delivering on tasks without compromising on quality.

Adjusting to Grad School During a Global Pandemic – Planning, Working, and Self-Care

By Taylor Wilson, 2nd year MDP student

Like you may have read from my colleagues, COVID-19 has had an incredible impact on our lives. Not only have we had to change the way we live such as physical distancing and wearing masks when we are out to protect ourselves and others, but it has also had an impact on our education. We are fortunate enough to be in a program that has so far been incredibly flexible during this pandemic but also made sure that we are doing okay. Being a student during these kinds of times is difficult for many reasons. Some learn by doing and being at a desk can prove a challenge. Others have families or people they take care of and balancing school, work, and home, while caring for others can be hard. Some of us have family or friends who essential workers or health complications that put them at risk and so we worry which makes it hard to focus on school. With everything shut down, some even have had no source of income that can be stressful on top of the stress of school. I’m sure many people that aren’t students understand these struggles as well.

Zoom meeting with Lisa Young, Taylor, Dr. Shailesh Shukla and Kirsten Witwicki

For my placement I had initially planned to work with Dr. Shailesh Shukla in my home community, Fisher River Cree Nation. He has had a longstanding relationship with many people from the community and recently released a cookbook with them. I was to spend my summer back in my home territory, learn more about my traditional food system, and work with youth to develop a food guide, or something similar. I’ll detail a little more about why I chose not to continue this research in a later blog, for now I will talk about how I adjusted. I had planned to do field research and so Shailesh and I brainstormed on what I wanted to get out of my placement. I really want to continue working in academia and potentially teach. So, we shifted so I can build skills in those areas. I was fortunate enough that a Masters in Indigenous Governance student, Lisa Young, needed some help with her thesis and I love doing analysis. I’m thankful for her kindness and letting me work with her on it. It provided me with the insight of what it is like writing a thesis as MDP doesn’t do theses. I did analysis for her using NVIVO (a qualitative data program), helped her settle on themes and subthemes, choose quotes, and find sources that supported her work. I also took a class with Shailesh in the Winter term and he wanted to revise the syllabus, so I took up that challenge as well. I updated the course description and objectives, the reading list and schedule, and the assignments. I really enjoyed this project as I found a new appreciation for the intensive work it takes to design a course that will allow for students to learn in an innovative and engaging way.

While it seems like my placement went smoothly, by saying it did I would be lying. It was a challenge. I had to re-adjust to learning and working in an environment that I normally relax in. It definitely took some re-training of habits. Putting myself on a schedule and trying not to get distracted was something of a challenge. I thank a method I learned from a colleague, Ashley Saulog, called the Pomodoro Method. Where you work for 25 minutes, break for 5 minutes, and repeat until a task is done, then you break from 30 minutes. It really helped me stay focused on major tasks. I am also one of the many people who struggled with their mental health during this time, so learning how to ask for help and take breaks was hard for me, as an independent person. I realized during this time, that taking care of myself is more important to me and to others. I am thankful for Shailesh and MDP for being understanding and patient during my mental health journey as some don’t have luxury of this kind of support. I now know moving forward the importance of self-care, time management, and working for quality, not quantity.

Talk soon, Taylor.

My work space

Going Global During the Pandemic

By Alexander Keone Kapuni Oldroyd, 1st year MDP student

We all have stories of how the COVID-19 pandemic turned our lives upside down, stories of lost jobs, lost travel opportunities, cancelled graduations, postponed weddings, ruined vacations, of quarantine restlessness and isolation. Many of us may yet hope to avoid catching the virus, but none of us is untouched.

In times like these I try to remember the first law of thermodynamics—energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed from one state to another. When things break bad, I’m often tempted to dwell on the things I’ve lost, the things that have been “destroyed.” My field placement in Colombia? Gone. My sister’s wedding? Ruined. My conference presentation? Cancelled. But the truth is, all of these opportunities and plans haven’t really been destroyed, just transformed. In their place are new opportunities, new plans to be made, different experiences to have. In the grand scheme of things, I like to believe that there is no loss, only opportunities for change.

When all my plans for the summer fell through, it was difficult at first to see how this crucial time in a grad student’s life between their first and second year could be salvaged for me. Gradually though, new perspectives and prospects to fill my time replaced the old ones. I realized this was the perfect chance for my wife and I to drive down to Texas to quarantine with my family, who we weren’t expecting to see much this year. Classes were moved online and jobs that we couldn’t have accessed before due to geography were suddenly available remotely. My sister found a way to hold an intimate and beautiful wedding ceremony that we will never forget. Best of all, I was able to find an excellent new field placement with Carol Anne Hilton and the Indigenomics Institute.

The Indigenomics Institute works with Indigenous nations and organizations, governments, and private industry to strengthen Indigenous economic capacity and achieve Indigenous economic and community objectives. My role has been to help lay the conceptual groundwork for an upcoming Global Indigenomics Initiative, which will bring together Indigenous peoples from all over the world to promote global Indigenous economic resurgence.

I’m also preparing the Institute’s 2020 10-to-Watch List, a series of articles highlighting 10 remarkable Indigenous and Indigenous-focused organizations and innovators working to build the Indigenous economy in Canada (I also helped create the inaugural 2019 10-to-Watch-List). My work has brought me into contact with some amazing changemakers and taught me much about the state of affairs for Indigenous peoples all over the world. In a time where I’m stuck in one place, it’s poetic to take such a global perspective.

Remote work has its difficulties. There’s no replacing the camaraderie and direct mentorship of working on-site, but I have been able to develop greater independence and self-reliance, and my work-life balance has never felt better. In the beginning, I often had a hard time focusing and staying accountable, but I’ve found that diligently scheduling my day, keeping track of my hours and activities, and setting goals for myself helps me stay productive. Working through this pandemic has helped me develop new competencies that I might not have otherwise.

I’m grateful to Carol Anne Hilton and the Indigenomics Institute for helping make my summer feel like a success, and I’m glad for the chance to practice resilience and adaptability. Here’s to many more messy and transformative seasons to come. 

My workspace over the summer, along with my co-worker Appa (right). We work well together.

Adaption and Resilience: Field Placement in Lockdown

By Ada Chukwudozie, 1st year MDP student

Although my field placement has not gone smoothly, or has been anything like I expected it to be, it has turned out to be a wild ride of positive surprises and endless possibilities. In my journey so far, I picked up a wealth of exciting and transferrable skills, as well as important life lessons on resilience and adaptability. 

Going into the practical aspect of the MDP, I was initially poised to start off with an international placement in Dominica, with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Plans however changed when the global pandemic hit. The pandemic forced a nationwide lockdown which meant I had to take a domestic virtual field placement. I was first placed with a not-for-profit organization but unfortunately, things did not work out and I was re-placed to assist on a project called Kishaadigeh.

Kishaadigeh is a research project funded by the Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research (NEIHR) and predominantly led by female Indigenous scholars. Its mandate is to develop a pathway for existing and upcoming Indigenous scholars to work alongside and within Indigenous organisations and communities to lay a foundation for self-determination in research. The current primary focus of the project is the development of research lodges at the community level and to this end, it has partnered up with four Indigenous organisations. 

I was assigned a role that has constantly expanded and evolved far beyond what I had imagined. My initial part in the project was to draft seed grant application forms for potential Indigenous health researchers. This responsibility evolved to a position as the project’s social media coordinator, in which I was tasked to create a social media presence for the project. My involvement with Kishaadigeh has seen me coordinate with its Indigenous research partners, conduct interviews, and develop valuable networks. Moving forward, plans have been made for me to attend board meetings and sit with the adjudications committee in August, indicating exciting new prospects to come. While I was very apprehensive of this third placement initially, these new-found skills and relationship building are things that cannot be quantified and things I will not trade for anything now.

What worked:  Because of an imposed new normal brought about by the pandemic, the mode of my field placement has not been a business-as-usual style but rather, a learn as you go approach. This came with obvious challenges which I discuss below but there are things that worked well too. One of the reasons my initial local placement did not work out was because of the structured, inflexible work-plan laid out for me prior to the organisation’s realisations of the dire impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Indigenous communities it worked with. Restructuring and trying to fit me in proved challenging for the organisation. However, with Kishaadigeh, restructuring did not prove problematic. As new needs came up, I was kept in the loop and there were check-in sessions held to monitor and evaluate my progress.   This structure fostered flexibility and made it easier for me to adapt to a new normal.

What did not work: The lack of a concrete structure was what was most challenging for me. In the past, I thrived working with set deadlines and well-defined tasks. With this placement, I had to set deadlines for my task and work with a broad mandate. This is something that turned out to be a valuable learning experience and  made me learn to be a more independent worker capable of working under minimal supervision.

COVID- 19: The COVID-19 pandemic in many ways has been both a challenge and a blessing. The mandatory lockdown has been mentally challenging and I have tried to curb the effects of anxiety and feelings of isolation with yoga and online gaming. This allowed me to fill in the social void caused by the lockdown while still keeping fit. The challenge that the pandemic also caused with my field placement in general taught me resilience and as I move into the last half of this year’s placement, I move with a more positive mindset.