Submitted by Jacky Durrie
Here is more news from CHF Canada. This is a quarterly newsletter specifically targeted about and for people living in co-ops that have indigenous ancestry.
Introducing New Aboriginal Director, Tina Stevens
CHF Canada and CHF Canada’s Indigenous members welcome Tina Stevens as their new Director Representing Aboriginal Communities.
This is Tina’s second time on the board. In 1996, she was the first Aboriginal Community director for CHF Canada.
Tina has dedicated her life to Indigenous leadership, both in and out of the co-op housing context. Her contribution has included advocacy for the Aboriginal Community director seat on the CHF Canada board while living at Native Inter-Tribal Housing Co-operative, and work as the second director appointed to the Ontario Council.
Throughout her roles, Tina has maintained a belief that housing co-ops provide a safe family environment for members to connect with their culture and community, maintain self-respect and respect for Mother Earth, find employment, access higher education and nurture the seeds for future generations.
Tina is an Algonquin-Ojibwe woman from Kitigan Zibi, Kettle and Stoney Point, who has lived in London, Ontario her whole life. She has three strong sons and attributes her energy to having been raised by a strong mother-- a great elder in her own community.
Tina was instrumental in creating alliances that continue today between the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA) and Indigenous communities.
As a CHF Canada Director, “my priority is to be able to continue the education that (outgoing Aboriginal Director) Linda Campbell started and keep acknowledging our Seven Grandfather Teachings and how CHF Canada can incorporate the connection between these teachings and the Seven Co-op Principles.” Tina says she will also continue Linda’s work in educating the community about true Indigenous history.
“I will keep walking in Linda Campbell’s footsteps and continuing the journey that she started. I’m quite the humble person, being re-elected. I come with a lot of humility, working with vulnerable people and placing the importance on their survival.”
Discussions about of Truth and Reconciliation at CHF Canada’s Annual Meeting
At CHF Canada’s Annual Meeting last spring, Truth and Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, and the role CHF Canada should play in this process, was front and centre on the agenda.
Included in the program were two workshops focused on Indigenous issues, an official welcome and greeting by local First Nations, and Resolution 3: Housing co-ops and Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.
The two workshops were Building Relationships with Indigenous Communities and the KAIROS Blanket Exercise. The building relationships workshop gave members the opportunity to discuss issues facing Indigenous communities and how to develop meaningful partnerships. The KAIROS Blanket Exercise gave participants the opportunity to experience the effects of colonization in Canada and witness the strength and resiliency of Indigenous Peoples.
At the National Business Meeting, members were welcomed by Chief Edward Thomas of the Esquimalt First Nation. Chief Thomas (pictured, center, with Tina Stevens and Linda Campbell) discussed CHF Canada’s reconciliation efforts and highlighted that “the only way we can move forward is by building relationships.”
The welcome and greetings ended with then President Nicole Waldron presenting Chief Thomas with a blanket, which is a traditional offering for the Esquimalt. Nicole stated, “this was such a pivotal moment as I listened to Chief Edward Thomas speak about relationship building as a path towards reconciliation. I am happy to see the steps that CHF Canada has taken and continues to take, and I hope that co-ops across Canada will join us on the path towards reconciliation.”
Later on during the National Business Meeting, members enthusiastically supported Resolution 3 calling on CHF Canada to undertake, with appropriate Indigenous guidance and advice, a plan for reconciliation that will guide the organization’s future actions and encourage member housing co-ops to reflect on ways that their co-op community can take action.
Exiting Aboriginal Director, Linda Campbell said she feels the resolution is “a step in the right direction and an open invitation to our people” and added that she is “happy with the progress CHF Canada has made over the past couple of years towards learning, reflection, and change.”
For more information about CHF Canada’s reconciliation initiatives, contact Emily Doyle at edoyle@chfcanada.coop.
Member profile: Roanna Hall’s path to leadership in her co-op
When Roanna Hall moved into Payuk Inter-Tribal Housing Co-op in Winnipeg on a cold February day in 2006, she didn’t even know she was moving into a co-op.
“I thought it was just like any other apartment,” she laughed. Within a few months, Hall was sitting on the board of her co-op. She has recently finished her fourth term as president!
Payuk’s mission is "to provide a safe, Co-operative living environment for Aboriginal families. Payuk is for Aboriginal families who wish to live in a drug, alcohol and violence free environment."
“I read the handbook, and my neighbour had a friend who explained to me what it was all about,” said Hall. When asked what drew her to seek a position on the Board, she said it was having a say in how the co-op was governed. “We have more of a say in how our building is run. We’re more independent, more stable. We’re there for each other.”
Hall spent her first two terms as a board member observing and listening. A woman who worked for the property management company at the time invited Hall to workshops and training opportunities offered by Manitoba Housing. This support encouraged her eventually to seek to become president.
She has also had the opportunity to attend CHF Canada education events. “They were good, very informative,” she said. Last June, the co-op sent two board members to Victoria for the Annual Meeting, where Hall ran for the position of Aboriginal Director.
Hall is pleased with the co-op’s achievements. Payuk recently received $2.175 million through the National Housing Strategy. “We pushed hard for those funds,” she said.
The story behind Orange Shirt Day
CHF Canada staff wearing orange for Orange Shirt Day
Southwest of London, ON stands a stone monument with the known names of children who attended the Mount Elgin Industrial School, a residential school for First Nations children that operated from 1851 to 1946.
“It’s sometimes difficult to swallow,” said Tina Stevens, Aboriginal Director for CHF Canada. “At least ten of those names are people from my own family.”
While the current government ponders a proposed statutory holiday to recognize both the struggles and the successes of Indigenous people in this country, the story of Phyllis Jack has inspired a special day in the calendar already.
Phyllis Jack was six years old when she was sent to residential school. She was excited to go to school, and asked for a shiny, orange shirt she saw in a store to wear on her first day. When she arrived at the school, staff took all her clothes, including the orange shirt. She never saw it again. She was lonely, and the discipline was harsh. Today, she speaks publicly about her residential school experience.
September 30 has been declared Orange Shirt Day to help us all to remember the impact of the residential school system on so many families. Stevens believes housing co-op members should wear orange shirts to honour the reconciliation process. “This should not be ignored by Canadians,” she said. “So many people were impacted by the taking of children away from their families.”
If your co-op recognized Orange Shirt Day, please let us know by contacting Emily Doyle at edoyle@chfcanada.coop.