Done and Dusted!!! My Field Placement with Tataskweyak Cree Nation

By Babatunde Alabi, 2nd year MDP student

Finally, my 3-month field placement with Tataskweyak Cree Nation (TCN) came to successful completion. During this placement, I attended a Comprehensive Community Planning (CCP) workshop, reviewed community planning documents, analyzed data, and researched youth development and funding resources available for Indigenous youth-led programming. Additionally, I developed a training manual for youth development capacity workshops, reviewed a needs assessment report, and developed literature and presentation on the benefits of community development corporations. I also participated in planning and organizing community engagements by conducting background research and developing presentations on the subjects of such engagements, including streamlined planning, conflict resolution, and risk management. All these tasks culminated in the writing of a CCP draft for TCN.

This placement has helped me to acquire new technical and interpersonal skills and become more informed and better grounded in the principles and practice of community development planning. I also used both my previously and newly acquired skills and knowledge to contribute my little quota to the understanding of various development issues facing TCN and developing a CCP to address these issues. My time with TCN, working to develop a draft CCP for the community, was indeed an exciting and rewarding one. I am particularly glad because I will be awarded a certificate by the community upon completion, which I believe will help to improve my resume and position me to work with Indigenous communities in my career as a development practitioner.