Growing and Learning… Just like a Plant

By Andrea Dsouza, 1st year MDP student

Hello everyone, this is my second update for my placement with CFTC this summer!

 

My work really took a deep dive as I learnt about the different elements included in a cost-benefit analysis and about indoor growing units. I considered myself to be a highly relational person. I enjoyed my placement this summer because it allowed me to connect with those engaged in the indoor growing community. I had many exciting conversations about hydroponics and the strengths and weaknesses of different options currently available on the market.

When it came to putting the information together, I was given the freedom to do so in a way that made sense to me. This was incredibly empowering, if not a little nerve-racking, at the start!  When I finally presented my deliverables to my supervisors, I was glad that my work also made sense to them! What a relief!

Over the past year in the MDP program, we learnt the importance of providing an intersectional analysis in our work. This aligns with CFTC's values. My final deliverable contains information about the strengths and weaknesses of different options available on the market. Additionally, it includes details like the companies engagement (or lack of engagement) with Indigenous communities and some of the known challenges of particular interventions. Together these elements help build an integrated analysis that can serve as an essential resource for communities investing in technological solutions.

I wonder if, without the covid-19 pandemic, I might have had the opportunity to connect more closely with Indigenous community members and understand more of their needs and vision for the future. However, I know that my supervisors were in close contact with their community partners, which gave me a sense of confidence that my work was on the right track. I also look forward to presenting my work to other members of CFTC and to Indigenous community partners during September!

This project has given me a sense of confidence in myself and my work as a development practitioner! I am grateful to the MDP program for helping me secure this placement and the staff at CFTC for their support and guidance throughout the summer!

The Land Gives You What You Need

By Sarah DeLaronde, 1st year MDP student

I think the most beautiful part of the pandemic was learning to pivot. For my virtual practicum, I had the amazing opportunity to work with the Indigenous Knowledge and Wisdom Centre (IKWC) in Edmonton, Alberta. I  was able to create content for social media, review and edit treaty kit documents and do a literature review that focused on land based education. It was interesting though, as my workspace changed to suit the needs of my children,

I found myself going back to the land. I was able to do research, write, respond to email in my various home territories. It was essential to balance my life and sacrifice some things in order to accomplish everything I needed to. Going back to the land gave me the teachings I needed to hear to do my research in a good way. I sat and listened to the Sundance Chief at the Turtle Lodge and the importance of being connected to the land to be whole. I recognized how my spirit was revived every time my feet touched the soil and the beautiful clear waters. I saw the joy of my children as they were reintroduced to their homelands. 

The lessons I learnt included lessons I wasn’t looking for but that I needed to hear. Being able to pivot and change my workspace. Learning to be more flexible with my time and learn to adjust to get the work done. The importance of showing up and listening (even if it means virtually). I would’ve liked to experience the lands of Treaties 6, 7 and 8 that IKWC works with however I do appreciate being able to complete my practicum and be reintroduced to my home territories. The land gave me what I needed for my research, she takes care of me.

What I learned working with The Butterfly Program at Kanikanichihk…

By Alex Cote-O’Brien (They/Them), 1st year MDP student

Working with a program that helps support the younger Indigenous generations was an enlightening experience. The program focuses on developing skills within the age group of 9 to 13-year-old Indigenous children through activities. Working with this group helped me become a better ally to the Indigenous community of all ages. Ally-ship means helping provide opportunities and a voice to those who need it, using my privilege where it counts. In this case, I used my time to work with an amazing program to help support the children, the future of our planet. Giving children opportunities to grow and develop in a safe and fun space will help create independence and confidence that will help them in the future. Strong, educated, well-rounded children will only benefit our society.

Indigenous youth statistically have fewer opportunities than children of other backgrounds in Canada. The support provided for children in this program will help give them the confidence they need to follow their own paths, and hopefully, provide the tools to thrive. Supporting a community should start at supporting the youth. Without them, there would be no future. Kanikanichihk also provides traditional teachings, such as the Strawberry teachings provided to the Butterfly Program. Traditional Indigenous knowledge is important to pass on as these teachings are very beneficial to the environment and are vital to keeping the culture alive. I am very proud to have bore witness to these teachings.

Children deserve all the support that we can provide, and that is what this program aims to do. The Butterfly Program has given me a new outlook on how important all forms of education are, both formal (in school) and experience or cultural-based. It has enforced how being an ally is more than providing support for adults in the forms of protests, education of the oppressors’ community, or providing resources for the adults within the community needing support. It is important to tailor the support for different groups within the community in need.

Policy and Progress

 By Mackenzie Roop, 2nd year MDP student

Time goes so slowly during the summer, and yet in a blink of an eye it’s gone. I’ve learned so much in this office over the last three months. Working in the Government of Manitoba in the Agriculture and Resource Development (ARD) policy branch has been an especially eye opening in these times of managing responses to extreme weather events and changes in climate, as we have seen with unprecedented forest fires and drought. It’s been incredible to see the efforts behind developing policy and subsequent program funding.

My projects have mostly revolved around preparing policy option papers to inform ARD’s Next Policy Framework. The papers I have helped prepare surround topics such as Diversity and Inclusion, Producer Mental Health, and Reviewing the Application Process for Indigenous Groups accessing program funding for agricultural and food projects. I learned to be adaptive and adjust the paper’s language and expectations. Throughout this placement, I have built skills in interviewing, qualitative analysis, research, and technical writing. It has been a huge learning curve in terms of adjusting my writing style, learning acronyms, and understanding contextual goals and perspectives. Despite many being online, there is a human element to working in an office. I am grateful to the many conversations, walks, and coffees that I have shared with my colleagues. This experience has given me an in depth understanding of government and political processes, and increased my general knowledge of resource related projects in Manitoba. Working in government and especially policy is a unique position to affect change. I am excited that my research will help inform policy recommendations.

Last Week Thoughts

By Janelle Poiron, 1st year MDP student

Tansi. It’s Janelle again! I’m currently doing my placement with the Evaluation Directorate within Indigenous Services Canada. I primarily work on a literature review regarding networks!

What I’ve really appreciated this summer was a great work and life balance. I found myself in this environment that really supports self-care and everyone taking the time off they need to be their best. Coming from an intense Masters program it is always a stark difference. During the school year when I’m attending classes, there really is no stop button. When you’re not doing schoolwork you’re worrying about schoolwork and it’s something I personally struggle to turn off. However, I found myself very supported in working hard during work hours then signing off at the end of the day. Luckily for me, there are no literature review emergencies!

I think a lesson I learned this summer was to use my voice. Some of the best advice I’ve gotten is that you are your best advocate. It can feel tough to speak up, especially virtually; I find I can struggle with imposter syndrome when surrounded by so many knowledgeable and experienced people. However, this summer really showed me that people want to hear what you have to say. Speaking up can bring new opportunities, some great mentorship or even just further advance your current project!

I really enjoyed my summer and I’m happy to say my contract has been extended into the fall! I look forward to applying all the skills I’ll learn during the upcoming school year.

Meegwetch for reading!

Shifts and Changes

By Sarah DeLaronde, 1st year MDP student

My practicum with the Indigenous Knowledge and Wisdom Centre (IKWC) was so inspiring. Being able to create social media content really shifted the way I think about social media. Social media can be used to catapult Indigenous businesses, organizations into the spotlight. Creating content for social media can be complicated; you have to choose what would be most appealing, simple and easy to read. Academic language shouldn’t be used as it would make the content inaccessible for people outside of academia and wouldn’t translate well into a social media post. Taking time everyday to focus on posts and thinking about what would be most aesthetically pleasing really worked well for me. I utilized my experience as a traditional maker to choose the right colours. 

Lastly, I also did some research on content creation to create the most effective posts. Social media can be utilized to get information out quicker and to a larger audience. By bringing attention to IKWC as a whole, more people would be able to get involved with the organization and they could, in turn, take on more work and improve their communities in this way. IKWC’s goal is to preserve knowledge so it can be carried forward to the next generations. Social media can reach the right age groups where youth start to self determine and become interested in who they are. Social media is truly innovative tool that I hope to improve on as I move forward through MDP. I would like to eventually do more social media content creation as a means to teach youth about their cultures.  

 

An international placement during a global pandemic: lessons learned

By Kate Robb, 2nd year MDP student

 

One of the requirements to graduate from the MDP program is an international field placement. In March 2020, when we began to experience the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had no idea just how much my studies would be impacted. Fast forward to this year, it began to seem more and more unlikely that my colleagues and I would get to undertake our field placements in person, let alone internationally. While it was obviously a disappointment, I know it was the right decision to stick to remote/local placements this year. Especially as I wasn’t eligible for my first vaccine until a few weeks after my placement started, it would have been irresponsible to travel for something that could be completed from the safety of my own home. Luckily, thanks to the internet, I was still able to connect and work with an organization outside of Canada and fulfill the international placement requirement.

 

Now that I have finished my placement, I can reflect on the experience of working for an organization located over 4,000km away from me. Overall, the experience was more successful that I could have expected, and I learned some skills that I wouldn’t have had I done the placement in person.

 

My top three lessons learned from an international placement from home are:

 

1)      Time Management: I’ve always had pretty good time management skills, but working from home requires a whole new level of it. It’s so easy to lose track of time and get distracted by household tasks or other non-work-related things when you aren’t in a dedicated workspace. A year of zoom university definitely helped prepare me, but shifting to working a full-time job from home was an adjustment. I got used to it and figured out what works best for me, and now I can confidently say that I can work well and productively from pretty much anywhere.

 

2)      The Power of the Internet: Although we had a pretty good understanding of how useful the internet is before the pandemic, I don’t think we had any idea just how easy it is to work remotely before we had no choice but to do so. I didn’t really know what to expect when I signed up to work with people who are in Alaska while I am in Winnipeg, but thanks to the internet, I now truly believe I could work with people located anywhere in the world with little difficulty. The team I was working with made really effective use of online tools like Google Calendar to make sure everyone was on the same page and could work collaboratively despite the distance. This experience has shown me just how much of an inequity it is that so many people living in rural and remote areas don’t have access to reliable and high-speed internet.

 

3)      Communication is Key: Despite having access to the internet and all of its tools, strong communication skills are still required to be successful in working remotely. My team had multiple zoom meetings a week which helped us all to stay on track, help each other out, and build relationships despite being in different places. It is easy just to rely on email for everything, but often it can be easier and faster to solve a problem when communicating face-to-face. Not only that, but regular meetings can help make people feel like part of a team and reduce the isolation effects of working from home.

 

All in all, while I wish I could have travelled to Alaska this summer to work in person, I am grateful that my virtual placement was such a success. As we are likely to continue with some variation of work-from-home into the future, I will take the best practices I’ve learned this summer forward to any virtual workplaces I find myself in going forward.