Righting Relations National Newsletter October 2021

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National Newsletter October 2021

Image shows a banner, the background is paint on a canvas-like texture that moves in a gradient from purple to pink, to red, to orange, and lastly to yellow. A text box in the centre reads "Change Labs". Text above this reads "Righting Relations". The top left and bottom right corners are cropped.

Change Labs Opportunities

Righting Relations is excited to announce the launch of our national Change Labs in 2021-22! Growing out of the innovative working groups first established in the West Hub, the six new Change Labs will bring together those with lived experience to build innovative solutions and identify critical policy changes, while also building tools and education to transform the non-profit sector through the application of a feminist, anti-oppressive, and rights-based lens.

We are at the formative stage of this project, and as part of this process, we are issuing a call to all Righting Relations members and contacts to express your interest in being involved with one or more of these Change Labs. If you are interested in being involved in any of these Change Labs, please fill out the expression of interest form for each Lab that interests you by November 10th, 2021:

Eastern Hub Update

Moose Hunt, Butchering, and Canning Workshop
The moose hunt, butchering, and canning leadership workshop is back on! This event will take place in Esgenoôpetitj, NB Nov 5th to 7th. We will be creating videos to share on Righting Relations YouTube Channel. For more info email miigam.agan@gmail.com
Special thanks to the West Hub for supporting this!

Writers' Retreat
We will be hosting a writers' retreat from Nov 12th to 14th at the Tatamagouche Centre; this event is for people who have been working on writing chapters for our Wabanaki Trail Blazers book.

Wampum Belt Creation
From Nov 19th to 21st, Serena Francis will be teaching members of the East Hub how to make a wampum belt, along with sharing information about how they are used today. Each participant will create their own wampum belt and keep the looms and supplies. This event is sold out, and there is a waiting list in place.

MMIW Project
The Traditional Mi’kmaq Peaked Hats that have been created by family members of MMIW are being photographed for an exhibit and also for the creation of a colouring book. The exhibit will be available online, and we hope to have it available by early December, so watch this space!

Image is a banner that shows a painted mural on a basketball court that shows two pairs of hands forming a heart. The hands are brightly decorated with different abstract patterns on each hand, and are set against a background of a cloudy sky, transitioning from day to night, with a cliff and a waterfall on each side. On top of the image is text that reads "Righting Relations Central Hub" and, at the bottom, "Mural by Jamii and Community Artists; photo by dtstuff9. The top left and bottom right corners of the banner have been slightly cropped.

Central Hub Update

Last month we updated you about 5 projects that have received microgrants for projects in Ontario. The first event related to these grants happened on Sunday September 26. Families had an opportunity to learn from entomologist Sebastian Irazuzta as he shared child-friendly teachings on the connections between different groups of organisms/insects and the many gifts that they bring to the world.

Image shows a bright green caterpillar crawling on the green branch of a plant. The branch is held by fingertips which can be seen in the bottom left corner of the image. Curled green shoots and leaves extend off the branch; the background is deep green grass.

Children and adults were invited to search for water beetles, water scorpions, dragon fly larvae, tadpoles as well as common insects that we find on the land and in the soil. Afterwards, families were invited to explore 46 acres of organic farmland, hiking trails, meadows, wetland and a young 12,000 tree forest. The workshop was held and organized by our friends at Planting Seeds of Hope, in Caledonia, Ontario. The next workshop in this series will be an intergenerational medicinal plant walk in the spring. Stay tuned for a variety of other exciting workshops and offerings from the rest of our micrograntees rolling out this fall and winter!

For those who would like to get involved in Ontario, we intend to offer some orientation sessions which we expect to roll out in the new year. We will keep you posted!

Image is a banner that shows a painted mural with shades of yellows, blues, and greens. Three figures stand in the centre, surrounded by leaves, symbols, and text like "tell stores", "be brave", and "decolonize and rise". On top of the image is text that reads "Righting Relations Western Hub" and, at the bottom, "Mural by West Hub Community Members. The top left and bottom right corners of the banner have been slightly cropped.

Western Hub Update

Buffalo Symposium
Righting Relations Regina, as part of the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals Project (with its focus on hunger, poverty and equity), is planning a Buffalo Symposium in collaboration with the Buffalo People Arts Institute (BPAI). What started out as a request for a workshop showcasing the Buffalo as an option to support food security, sovereignty and sustainability, led to a Symposium, and now is being featured on Day 2 of the Indigenous Agricultural Summit.

This event has been integrated into the Indigenous Agriculture Summit of the Western Canadian Agribition and will be held on Day 2, Wednesday November 24. It is an in-person event.

The agenda for the day will include a pipe ceremony with the Buffalo song and a presentation by Dr. Leroy Little Bear of the Buffalo Treaty which will include the cultural significance of Buffalo. A panel discussion will also be held on the importance of land and soil for food security and sustainability as well as raising healthy, 'traditional' Buffalo.

The second panel discussion focuses on best practices and the sharing of experiences, practices and challenges of three First Nations that have raised Buffalo: Peepeekisis, Zagime Anishinabek and Muscowpetung as well as the University of Saskatchewan Livestock Foraging Centre of Excellence.

Non Profit Organizations Working Group
Mark your calendars for November 19 and 26, 2021 from 1 to 2pm CST, when the Not-for-Profit team will be sharing what we heard from you last year about your experiences and hopes to integrate anti-colonial values, principles and structures in this sector. Based on your sharing, we want to continue exploring how to challenge and build better organizations for all of us.

Confronting Ableism
The Righting Relations West Hub Ableism team is beginning their journey of challenging the membership of Righting Relations in understanding the experiences of people living with disabilities and how we as adult educators need to shift our minds in order to be inclusive. Starting with this first workshop by Roxanne Ulanicki and Michelle Bissell from the Edmonton circle, we invite Righting Relations members to join in and start the conversation. The inclusion of people living with disabilities results in ripples to better inclusion for all. Join us November 3rd from 12-2pm Edmonton Time (MST)

Image is a banner with text reading "Reflecting: The first five years of Righting Relations"; the background of the banner is marbled shades of grey, with pencil-drawings of strawberry plants to the sides on the right and left of the banner.

Righting Relations Evaluation Reflection: Part 4

This month we are sharing what we’ve learned about Righting Relations’ Circles of Practice. What approaches and practices have been working well? What has collaboration looked like? How have our connections supported our work? Find out below!

As always, feel free to connect with sara@sarahsiao.ca to learn more about RR evaluation, or share your reflections.

Image shows an infographic using an orange, green, black, and cream colour palette. Text reads: Righting Relations Circles of Practice over our first five years. The focus on common struggles and resilience has broken down isolation and transformed how participants use or organize their power to make change. A community of support is working to build allyship between cultures, genders, abilities, generations, and life experiences. "What sticks out is that I always believe that groups could work like this, I had tastes of it, but this is such a diverse group, and seeing the dynamics and seeing it work is exciting." Powerful actions by members: a traditional wi'kuom (wigwam) was build at Mt St Vincent University; Buffalo Meadows and Buffalo Avenue have replaced colonial place names; Radical Inclusion was established, a disability-led working group; various supports for families of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women to heal. Effective decolonizing approaches: circle processes; multi-layered collaboration; non-hierarchical leadership; peer-to-peer learning; holding space for ceremony; listening and open dialogue; learning to carry our sacred bundles; working through conflict; respecting autonomy. "We have been able to collaborate and learn from each other as a group.... we've focused on living our values as a group, focusing on building deep relationships and friendships, and sharing leadership." - Laura Severinac, Central Hub Coordinator.

Resource Alerts

Food Sovereignty from Buffalo to Bannock

Righting our Relations with Food is a monthly podcast series where our host, Miriam Sainnawap (Winnipeg), meets with guests from across the country to talk about food sovereignty, food security and how we can make changes to our food systems with a focus on Canada. Part of a larger project on food sovereignty and the sustainable development goals, the episodes will cover everything from food systems to history to practical tips.

In the second episode of Righting Our Relations with Food, we welcomed artist and buffalo champion Joely BigEagle Kequahtooway to talk about Indigenous food sovereignty from buffalo to bannock.

Joely is an interdisciplinary Nakota/Cree/Saulteaux artist who comes from a long line of Buffalo hunters - she is a fashion and textile designer, visual artist, beader, storyteller and co-founder of the Buffalo People Arts Institute. Listen now!

Beyond the Toolkit

Last week was International Facilitators’ Week, and with that in mind we wanted to share a brilliant, peer-developed resource to support community-engaged adult educators and practitioners in responding to the unique challenges of facilitating online. Beyond the Toolkit is specifically geared towards facilitation as grounded in a social justice framework, and initiating conversations around maintaining ethical values like accessibility, transparency, and accountability when facilitating in virtual spaces. Check it out now!

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