More than 80 organizations sign indigenous accord

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This article was published 19/06/2017 (2501 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An indigenous accord committing local organizations to reconciliation efforts is, for some people, just a beginning.

Winnipeg mayor Brian Bowman pledged the accord last year and, during a ceremony at Oodena Celebration Circle at The Forks Tuesday, it came to fruition with more than 80 signatures.

“The thing I look at is, what’s going to happen after,” said Joe Meconse, a Dene elder and military veteran.

The accord didn’t outline specific actions signatories can take to increase reconciliation. Instead, it asks each organization to set its own goals and report back to the city every year.

“It really is up to each of the signatories to determine how far they’re going to go in their journey of reconciliation,” Bowman said following the ceremony.

For the City of Winnipeg, this means completing the reconciliation training it began earlier this year.

“It is going to take time… It’s a matter of years until everybody has transitioned to get the training,” Bowman said.

The mayor didn’t have details about other reconciliation goals the city will work toward.

“You’ll have to stay tuned for more steps we’re taking,” he said.

Michael Redhead Champagne believes the city can do “much more” than reconciliation training.

“My hope is that the City of Winnipeg would lead by example with its own list of measurable actions that it hopes to take within specific departments,” said the North End activist and founder of Aboriginal Youth Opportunities.

Champagne wants these measurables presented in everyday language and made available to the public.

He also hopes indigenous youth can play a bigger role in the accord and the actions stemming from it.

For Monika Feist, CEO of the Success Skills Centre, action means expanding her education program on indigenous history. The centre helps newcomers get the training they need to work in Canada, and a part of that training is indigenous education.

“We want them to enter the Canadian workforce being very aware of our indigenous community and their history to develop respect in the workplace and care in the community,” Feist said.

Feist brings in elder Albert McLeod to lead these sessions. McLeod was on hand Tuesday to sign the accord for Circle of Life Thunderbird House. He believes the accord will benefit the signatories because it will encourage them to share resources and develop initiatives together.

“We want to be able to guide this city to make Winnipeg a place that recognizes aboriginal culture, history, identity, and also to make it a home to indigenous people of Manitoba,” McLeod said.

The accord is a living document, which means organizations that haven’t already signed can do so.

“This is really just an important step to bring everyone together, to amplify it, and all the signatories will be judged based on their actions, including the City of Winnipeg,” said Bowman.

Bowman understands the doubt some people have about the accord’s power to effect change.

“Any cynicism is rooted in real issues in our community that we need to address,” he said.

The accord is modelled after the one the city of Thompson uses to guide operations and planning. That accord was first signed in 2009.

stefanie.lasuik@freepress.mb.ca