"Because an urban lifestyle is also an aboriginal reality"

VOLUME 11

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NUMBER 3

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february 2011

BECAUSE AN URBAN LIFESTYLE IS ALSO AN ABORIGINAL REALITY

Développement social

An urban Aboriginal view with Édith Cloutier and Carole Lévesque Aboriginal women in an urban setting, according to Émilie Grenier 10 cities and as many ways to express Aboriginal identity!

Summary Main Feature:

Aboriginals and the City Issues and Challenges 02 An urban Aboriginal view

towards the future By Édith Cloutier and Carole Lévesque

06 Vox pop par Angèle-Anne Brouillette 07 Aboriginal women in an urban

setting – A mobile reality By Émilie Grenier

09 The merging of scientific

and Aboriginal Knowledges

By Angèle-Anne Brouillette

12 Public policy and the health

of Aboriginals living in urban areas

presented at the last Présence autochtone festival. Photo : Maude Chauvin

By Éric Diotte and Thibault Martin

15 Homeless Aboriginals: A few considerations

By Carole Lévesque et al.

17 Taking action in communities

to improve the economic

integration of urban Aboriginals

By Odile Joannette

In the field 20 Greater recognition for our Seniors

By Mélanie Napartuk

21 Aboriginal economic innovation: Towards the development

of solidarity initiatives

By Danielle Larose

23 Sense of community belonging

among Aboriginals living

in Montreal

By Ramélia Chamichian

25 Departures, disruptions

and homelessness

By Maud Emmanuelle Labesse

26 Successful joint efforts

in Saguenay By Yanik Tourigny

COVER PAGE: Maliseet visual artist Raymond Dupuis explains the project (part of which can be seen here) that he

and Michèle Martin

28 See and hear First Nations Présence autochtone festival

in Montreal By Angèle-Anne Brouillette

31 Together with our differences

By Josée Leblanc and Karina Castonguay 32 The challenge and success

of Cree integration into urban environments

By Dominique Simard

and Jo-Ann Toulouse

33 A cultural starting and finishing

point for Montreal’s homeless people By Maud Emmanuelle Labesse 35 32 years of coming together

for the peoples of Senneterre

By Annette Mathias 36 Abinodjic-Miguam Early Childhood

Centre: The face of change!

By France-Claude Goyette 38 Aboriginal Montreal A guided tour by l’Autre Montréal

By Angèle-Anne Brouillette 39 La Légende d’Aigle-Doré

By Carole Flamand 40 The work behind an improved

reciprocal integration

By Maud Emmanuelle Labesse 42 Vision of the eagle,

wisdom of the turtle

By Gustavo Zamora Jiménez

Columns 01 A word from

the Editorial Committee

By Mélanie Chabot 44

COMMUNITY LIFE

Healthy lifestyle habits for

children and youth in Aboriginal communities

By Caroline Beaulieu 45

SOCIAL INNOVATION

New Technical College Transfert

Center By Caroline Mongrain 46

JUST RELEASED

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BRIEFING NOTES

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HERE AND ABROAD

Concrete action for the future

of urban Aboriginal youth

By Jorge Herrera

A word from the EDITORIAL COMMITTEE

Because an urban lifestyle is also an Aboriginal reality

photo: fany ducharme

By Mélanie Chabot, on behalf of the Editorial Committee There is no better way to illustrate this edition than to feature contemporary artist Raymond Dupuis and his work. Métis of Maliseet origin, he’s currently working on a project exploring urban areas. This original work is comprised of fragments of past works – structures, paintings, and sculptures – and reveals areas he has lived in through collages of photos with insertions of a few road maps. To some extent, the project is his personal diary and aims to “capture his urban lifestyle and his willingness to record, in time and in the space of urban areas, his history and that of the Maliseet nation.” [translation]

for the younger generation to demand recognition and assert their identity.” [translation] Émilie Grenier continues by demonstrating how the city is becoming an opportunity that more and more Aboriginal women are learning to seize.

Thibaut Martin and Éric Diotte, for their part, explain why it’s important to enable Aboriginals living in urban settings to manage and define services, especially those in health care. Later, Angèle-Anne Brouillette looks at the challenges resulting from the intersection of scientific and Aboriginal knowledges, while Odile Joannette explores issues associated with the socioeconomic integration of First Peoples.

For this visual artist, who has lived in various cities in Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, and the U.S., the city is not only a place for co-habitation. It’s also a place where borders explode, where cultures meet, redefine themselves, and nourish each other. In this way, Aboriginals contribute to the social, cultural and economic development of our urban areas. And this is precisely what Développement social wishes to highlight in this issue.

Next, we invite you to discover innovative projects that seek to improve the quality of life of Aboriginals living in urban settings, to promote their empowerment, and above all, to not only bring together Aboriginals with non-Aboriginals, but also to bring Aboriginals together because there is not one urban reality for Aboriginals, contrary to the reality experienced in communities. This intercultural bridgebuilding is taking place through a variety of projects related to early childhood, educational success, socio-professional integration, economic innovation, consultations, history and traditions, as well as art and cultural events.

Aboriginals have always been part of the urban landscape and their presence has continued to increase over the past decades. This reality is often forgotten, and the participation of Aboriginals in the social transformation of our urban regions has been completely ignored. This edition aims to shed some light on this type of citizenship among First Peoples, one driven by the city. As Édith Cloutier and Carole Lévesque explain, we are witnessing the emergence of a new Aboriginal culture with the city becoming a “new space

DÉVELOPPEMENT SOCIAL VOL.11 – No 3 – february 2011

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Main Feature: Aboriginals and the city

An urban Aboriginal view towards the future

The presence of Aboriginals1 in Quebec cities has created new realities in recent years and roads that were until then unexplored have been taken.

Today, more than 50 Quebec cities have relatively significant Aboriginal populations, among which are major urban centers and regional capitals such as Montreal, Quebec, Trois-

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Rivières, Gatineau, Baie-Comeau, Val‑d’Or, and Saguenay.

This population, 16 times greater in 2008 than in 1980, grew on average by 70 % between 2001 and 2006. Today, it represents over 60 % of Quebec’s total Aboriginal population.

In a city like Val‑d’Or, the Aboriginal population increased by 270 % between 2001 and 2006 (Statistics Canada, 2008).

illustration : atelier nac

By Édith Cloutier, Centre d’amitié autochtone de Val-d’Or (Native friendship center), Regroupement des Centres d’amitié autochtones du Québec (association of native friendship centers), Alliance de recherche ODENA (research alliance) and Carole Lévesque, INRS – Urbanisation, culture et société, DIALOG – Réseau de recherche et de connaissances relatives aux peuples autochtones (Research and Knowledge Network on Aboriginal Peoples), Alliance de recherche ODENA

This is also a diversified population, made up of people from the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. It is estimated that in 2010, all together at least 80 000 Aboriginal people were living in Quebec cities and villages, either on a temporary or permanent basis, with about 30 % in the cities of Montreal and Quebec, and the other 70 % in the regions2.

Community to city transition shock For some members of the First Peoples, the city is a choice, while for others it is an obligation. Due to the conditions in which they find themselves, these urban Aboriginals today experience such a precarious situation that they are forced to ask themselves fundamental questions not only about DÉVELOPPEMENT SOCIAL VOL.11 – No 3 – february 2011

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Issues and Challenges

their own lot in life, but also about the future of their brothers and sisters back in the community. By leaving their communities to live in cities, urban Aboriginals not only lose the natural protection provided by their original communities, but also must directly confront a non-Aboriginal environment that, while not necessarily being hostile, nevertheless defends customs and values that are far removed from those that define First Peoples.

“It is estimated that in 2010, all together at least 80 000 Aboriginal people were living in Quebec cities and villages, either on a temporary or permanent basis.’’

Life in the city contrasts with that in the community on several levels: the anonymity provided by the city compared to the overcrowding in the community; the way public institutions operate compared to those managed by band councils; the significant differences between the “code of conduct” in communities and that of the mainstream majority in cities; the socio-economic gaps that accentuate poverty and social exclusion among First Peoples. All of these differences can explain, in part, the difficulties encountered by Aboriginals when they arrive in urban centers, and the city transition shock they experience Leaving one’s community means more than just moving elsewhere: it’s often an act of surrender and exile. Upon leaving their original communities, urban Aboriginals suffer a kind of alienation linked to the reserve system. Given that funding from the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs (INAC) only applies to communities, band councils are forced to limit the extent of their services to within the borders of the reserve. The Indian Act’s legal framework gives chiefs powers and an authority that also has limits.

With very little change in the last 130 years, the Indian Act ignores the urban reality of today’s Aboriginal peoples and contributes to accentuating the poverty and marginalization of Aboriginals living in cities.

In the city, but marginalized According to the UNICEF report Canadian Supplement to The State of the World’s Children 2009, poverty is widespread in urban Aboriginal families. Yet, in the 2007-2008 World Report on Human Development, Canada ranked 4th (out of

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177 countries) on the UN’s human development index (HDI) list. However, when Canada’s First Nations communities are ranked according to this index, they plummet to 68th place in the world.

Disturbing inequalities continue to exist between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals in Canada. The key findings of the 1996 Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples claimed that: “Aboriginal peoples are at the bottom of almost every available index of socio-economic well-being, whether they are measuring education levels, employment opportunities, housing conditions, per capita incomes or any of the other conditions that give nonAboriginal Canadians one of the highest standards of living in the world.”

Despite the progress achieved since the Royal Commission tabled its recommendations, UNICEF notes that disturbing inequalities persist between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children living in urban environments, as well as among their respective families.

An Aboriginal identity driven by the city However, it is becoming increasingly evident that the city is becoming a place conducive to the expression of a new form of citizenship among First Peoples. The city is becoming a new space for a young urban Aboriginal generation to demand recognition and assert their identity, especially for those who have never experienced living in a native community. Confronted with their own identity by both nonAboriginals and native communities, this generation has had to invent spaces that allow them to define their place and their future as Anishinabe, Eeyou, Attikamekw, Innu, or others within these societies.

Calvin Helin, a writer from the Tsimshian First Nation in British Columbia, has defined this emerging Aboriginal civil society in this way: “Urban Aboriginal populations are far from homogenous. They are neither completely ghettoized, nor equally disadvantaged. Many have attended university and we can see the emergence of a growing middle class....

Despite the precarious situation of the urban Aboriginal population, in the long term they probably hold the key to success for the economic integration of Aboriginals from native communities into the dominant society3.”

As a result of the Aboriginal Policy Research Conference held in November 2002, a document on the theme of urban Aboriginals was produced. Therein it is written: “...the concept of assimilation is no longer appropriate in discussing the ways in which the dominant culture and Aboriginal cultures are meeting in cities. In this meeting of cultures, we are seeing new modes of expression that are more closely associated with a strengthening of Aboriginal cultural identity than with its fragmentation and disintegration4.”

Issues and Challenges

It is no surprise, then, that researchers studying the issues faced by Aboriginals experiencing urban realities in Canada must reconsider the framework of the studies and fundamental concepts on which they are basing their comments and analyses.

In this regard, Quebec’s research community has shed light on the Native Friendship Centers movement and their citizen actions. “In Quebec, Native Friendship Centres are clearly putting forward a social and identity transformation project, a real social project. By promoting cross-sectoral relationships between the State and the citizen rather than direct confrontation, the urban Aboriginal experience – the collective experience – is conveying a concept that is less antagonistic and less polarized than a political approach5.”

Through their actions and their double mission of promoting social democracy and empowering individuals and communities, we are witnessing a strategic movement of Aboriginal issues within the public realm. A “new urban Aboriginal culture” is emerging in Quebec “reflecting this new Aboriginal modernity at work throughout Canada6...”

Native Friendship Centres have become the ideal place for mediation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal worlds.

The Centres’ efforts seek to battle poverty and social exclusion on a daily basis while implementing proactive strategies to counter racism and discrimination.

An urban Aboriginal view towards the future...

Leaders in cities neighboring First Nations communities are faced with an exceptional challenge: making their city welcoming, accessible, and open to everyone. Aboriginals, who are residents of these same cities as well, also face a significant challenge: playing an active role in the city’s social transformation.

Aboriginal leaders, for their part, have an exceptional opportunity to advance the First People’s rebuilding project: that of utilizing and mobilizing the strengths of their members living in cities. This fact has been advanced by Aboriginal writer Calvin Helin. “Probably more than Aboriginal governments are willing to admit, they must rely on the education and acquired experience of their urban Aboriginal brothers and sisters if they wish to progress [...]. Off-reserve band members have a right to be heard and participate at the political level7.”

Aboriginals living in cities must maintain healthy ties to their original communities to benefit from the same rights as their fellow natives, access to the area, the opportunity to bring their expertise back to the community, and to obtain the services that are rightly theirs from Band Councils. First Nations would do well to reduce the factors dividing them and to strengthen their solidarity while promoting the complementarity of the bases of their claims.

In reaction to the increasingly expressed willingness of Aboriginals to assert themselves and exercise power over their lives, Native Friendship Centers, which are community mobilization tools, have become areas for the expression of Aboriginal identity and pride. They have become places of reflection for a segment of the population until now forgotten: urban Aboriginals. Could these new democratic places be the foundation of a new generation of Aboriginal leaders? Could the social, political, and cultural discourse that has as its primary source the leadership from communities be transformed and enriched by these leaders from the city?

Could it be that the only way for First Nations to achieve the autonomy and governance they so desire is to take into account all of their members, including urban Aboriginals?

Only the future can tell.

1. According to the Constitution Act, 1982, the term Aboriginal applies to the three groups descendent of Canada’s first inhabitants: the Indians (referred to Amerindians in Quebec), the Métis, and the Inuits. Indians are grouped together within the First Nations. The Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada recognizes the Indian population registered in the Indian Register. The Métis and Inuits are not recognized in this Register.

Inuits are established in the northern part of the province, in Nunavik; the Métis do not reside in Amerindian communities.

2. This number of 80 000 people corresponds to approximately 60 % of the total Aboriginal population in Quebec. It was estimated based on the following aggregate data: 1) the number of people (108 425) who declared an Aboriginal identity (North American Indian, Métis or Inuit) during the 2006 census; 2) populations of Aboriginal communities who did not respond to the 2006 survey, estimated from data in the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada’s Indian Register (about 25 000). The 60 % corresponds more or less to the average Canadian proportion of the Aboriginal population who do not live on reserves; in the case of Quebec, this proportion is often underestimated due to difficulties with registration. These estimates do not take into account the “floating” Aboriginal population who elude various demographic compilations and who can be approximately estimated at between 15 000 and 25 000 people. Lastly, in favor of the upcoming implementation of the Gender Equity in Indian Registration Act (2010), Aboriginal population numbers in cities in Quebec and Canada will most certainly be modified upward.

3. Helin, Calvin (2008), Dances with Dependency: Out of Poverty Through Self-Reliance, Ravencrest Publishing.

4. Lévesque, Carole (2003), “The presence of Aboriginal peoples in Quebec’s cities: multiple movements, diverse issues”, in Not Strangers in These Parts: Urban Aboriginal Peoples, edited by David Newhouse and Evelyn Peters, Ottawa, Government of Canada, page 34.

5. Lévesque, Carole (2010), Femmes et société civile autochtones au Québec.

6. Lévesque, Carole (2010), Newhouse, David (2008).

7. Helin, Calvin (2008), Dances with Dependency.

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Issues and Challenges

Urban and Aboriginal

Vox pop

By Angèle-Anne Brouillette, Editorial Committee

Samian

Eva Ottawa is the first woman to have been elected Grand Chief and President of the Attikamek Nation. Originally from Manawan in Haute-Mauricie, she chose sociology as a way to help her nation, conducting various analyses of the social, economic, and cultural situations within Attikamek communities. With a desire to contribute to the well-being of both young people and the young at heart, her goal is to propose recommendations and action plans to reduce problems associated with suicide and dropping out of school.

Eva Ottawa

The city called out to both of these individuals at one time or another in their lives: one at the age of 13 to pursue education, the other simply for the music. In this Vox Pop, we asked them to talk to us about their relationship with the city and what the city has meant to them in the past and in the present.

Eva Ottawa

“Those who live in an urban setting don’t necessarily have the same services as those living in a community. I find this discriminatory, because they aren’t any less Aboriginal.”

“Living in the city may mean that someone is far from home but I think it depends on the individual. I know Aboriginals who go to live in Quebec City or Montreal to take law courses, for example. Often they come home with ‘baggage’ that helps their community. However, there are others who struggle...”

Samian

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“I inherited a wonderful legacy from my parents: my language and my Attikamekw identity. I spent my childhood following the rhythm of the seasons, hunting and fishing.

Today I realize that my life has changed, for example wild game is more of rarity now – it’s become a luxury! But I continue to be proud to speak my native language …”

“In my opinion, the city doesn’t necessarily give you a new identity. Regardless of where you find yourself in the world, you are who you are. Even if I live in Montreal, I don’t feel like a Montrealer. Pikogan is still my community.”

Samian “When I left Pikogan for the first time, I went to live in Sherbrooke; my friends were Latino or Black. Because I came from a reserve, I identified more with them because we had the same experiences.

When I was young, I was not accepted: I wasn’t accepted in the city because I was Indian; I wasn’t accepted on the reserve because I was White.”

“It’s not by choice that members of First Nations communities decide to move to the city; it’s often for education or due to a lack of housing in the communities. Once in the city, we discover and experience new things; life and the environment are completely different from what we know in our communities or territories. The notion of time is completely different.”

Eva Ottawa

photos : Conseil de la nation atikamekw, Allen Mc Eachern

Samian was born in 1983 in the small community of Pikogan in Abitibi-Témiscamingue. This highly engaged Métis, whose stage name is simply the Algonquin translation of his first name Samuel, has chosen rap as a way to express himself.

His lyrics reflect a personal interpretation of his life, his identity, and the history of his people. He not only incorporates drums and Aboriginal chants into contemporary hip hop rhythms, he also works with his grandmother to include the language of his ancestors and to create hip hop that is true to his community’s reality.

Issues and Challenges

Aboriginal women in an urban setting – A mobile reality By Émilie Grenier, Quebec Native Women Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) explains the rapid growth in the number of Aboriginal people living in urban settings by a certain number of common demographic factors such as fertility, mobility and migration1. However, this reading of the situation is incomplete. The reasons motivating this desire to migrate must also be taken into account, especially in the case of Aboriginal women. These reasons range from a wish to flee from family – or community – related problems (violence, abuse, addiction) to a desire to make positive choices in terms of education or employment. But another significant factor potentially contributing to this migration may be the systemic discrimination experienced by Aboriginal women under the Indian Act, a colonial and paternalistic wardship to which all Canadian Aboriginals are still subjected.

“From that time on, the city became an opportunity that many Aboriginal women learned to seize.”

Discriminatory legislation Some of this law’s provisions that are discriminatory towards Aboriginal women have existed in a number of forms since 1867 and have forced many people to take their families and abandon their communities in favor of large cities. One must remember that before 1985, the year in which one of these provisions was partly abolished thanks to Bill C-31, an Aboriginal woman lost her Indian status and the right to remain within her community immediately upon marrying a non-native; but a man in this same situation would not only maintain his status but could also pass this status on to his non-native wife and their children2. Aboriginal women driven out of their communities for this reason established themselves primarily in urban settings.

This situation still exists today. Far from having eliminated the discrimination experienced by these women and their children, Bill C-31 actually added a new dimension – a distinction between Indian status (managed by the government) and belonging to a community (managed from then

on by band councils). Sure enough, women who re-registered in 1985 came up against their band councils, which would sometimes refuse to recognize them as members of their own communities, due to lack of resources or prejudices created by the Indian Act. Thus, given status by the government but not recognized by their own communities, many of these women still live in cities.

To partially resolve this historic, institutionalized discrimination experienced by Aboriginal women and their descendants, the federal government adopted Bill C-3 (Gender Equity in Indian Registration Act) in November 2010. It is estimated that 45 000 people could potentially obtain Indian status under this Bill and it is expected that the majority of these newly registered people will live in urban settings3.

What citizenship will Aboriginal women in urban areas choose?

These women and their families are confronted with a reality than is very different from that which they experienced in their communities. In this regard, cultural differences, the lack of network and community support, and the absence of culturally adapted services are still major obstacles to their success in the city. Although the home country of these women hasn’t changed, the social context in which they must evolve is drastically different from that of their community.

“At the dawn of this new decade, a new portrait is emerging of Aboriginal women in urban centers.”

Nevertheless, it is possible to continue to live as an Aboriginal in an urban setting and to overcome the initial culture shock. Thanks to services offered by urban-based Aboriginal organizations that are in contact with, or have an established network in the communities –like the Regroupement des centres d’amitié autochtones (Association of native friendship centers) and Aboriginal women’s shelters –, native women are finding Aboriginal networks and places for socializing that help them integrate into the DÉVELOPPEMENT SOCIAL VOL.11 – No 3 – february 2011

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Issues and Challenges

my community, and provided me with tools so that I could best channel my efforts.”

Thus, a new portrait of urban Aboriginal women is emerging at the dawn of this new decade that started by commemorating 20 years since the Oka Crisis, despite the many types of discrimination and prejudice that they continue to face in major urban settings. Through educating the nonnative population and increasing the services provided by Aboriginal organizations in urban settings, Aboriginal women today have fewer challenges to address in finding a place for themselves in city life than did their predecessors.

1. INAC (2009), Fact Sheet –Urban Aboriginal population in Canada, Ottawa www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/ofi/uas/fs/index-eng.asp.

2. Quebec Native Women (2010), Position Paper: Bill C-3. Kahnawake, April http://www.faq-qnw.org/old/documents/QNW-FAQ-Positionpaper-BillC3McIvorfinal.eng.pdf 3. INAC (2010), Estimates of Demographic Implications from Indian Registration Amendment – McIvor v. Canada. Ottawa.

illustration: annick désormeaux

urban setting. These organizations do remarkable work to encourage women to use the services established specifically for them and find tools that will meet their needs. In some cases, these organizations become the primary source of employment for these women who are used to living in a different social, economic, and political context.

Thus, for many Aboriginal women, the city now constitutes an opportunity that they are learning to seize. “I have never been closer to my roots than since I am in the city,” explains Mélissa Mollen Dupuis, Innu artist, facilitator, and actress. “I became aware of the importance of communicating and keeping Innu traditions alive. This desire to communicate translated into an artistic and social approach that changed the course of my life, and that never would have flourished this way in a remote region. Sure, I am taking advantage of the entire infrastructure the city offers, but at the same time, urban Aboriginal organizations have helped me benefit from an Aboriginal environment far from

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Issues and Challenges

The merging of scientific and Aboriginal Knowledges And if we were to pursue the discussion?

by Angèle-Anne Brouillette, Editorial Committee

The 1991 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples helped change research on the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. Once the subject of research, they are now at the core of government concerns and have acquired the right to define their own research priorities. Institutional and governmental structures have contributed, and Aboriginal stakeholders have demonstrated the relevance. What is the current context of Aboriginal research? What challenges can be overcome to further the dialogue between Aboriginal and scientific communities?

illustration : Annick Désormeaux et anne-laure jean

From subjects to partners1 Research on Aboriginal peoples is not new – it was introduced by anthropologists and ethnologists in the late 19th century. It wasn’t until much later, in the 1960s, that research turned to the concepts of identity and political affirmation. While living in communities, anthropologists worked to describe the past and present way of life, all the while reporting on the social changes linked to the sedentary lifestyles of the First Peoples. It was during this time that research on these issues began to include university faculties.

The 1970s were marked by major development projects in Quebec and experts in other disciplines took an interest in the future of communities. Lawyers, linguists, geog-

raphers, and sociologists worked to identify the territorial occupation of the different Aboriginal peoples. Confrontations before the courts multiplied in the 1980s with the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution in the background.

Disputes between the state and Aboriginal communities multiplied, while a first generation of Aboriginal university students became involved in debates and university faculties.

This appropriation was accompanied by growing interest in other issues, in particular, the role of women and Aboriginals in urban areas.

The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples tabled its report in 1996; even though it didn’t have the desired political results, it set the stage for Aboriginals to take ownership of research data and its results. By giving First Nations researchers, citizens, and other stakeholders a voice, the Commission became a multi-disciplinary space that promoted a completely new state of knowledge. From a research perspective, the advances were interesting – we need only consider the creation of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and especially the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health. At the time, this Commission paved the way for the empowerment of Aboriginal political and academic leaders. Since that time, the latter have adopted frameworks of references, research protocols, and ethical guides to better regulate the research that concern them.

Reviewing the structure of research A few issues resulted in a questioning of the approaches used: the demonstration of discrepancies between scientific community representations of the realities of Aboriginals and the realities Aboriginals actually experienced; the, at times negative, repercussions on populations; and the impossibility that communities make decisions about their priorities. As DÉVELOPPEMENT SOCIAL VOL.11 – No 3 – february 2011

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Issues and Challenges

“The merging of knowledges not only provides feedback on research data, but also enables skills development in Aboriginal communities.” pointed out by Carole Lévesque, Co-Director of ODENA, the university-community research alliance, Aboriginals in urban settings in Quebec: “Aboriginal people, who are at once emerging as political actors, knowledgeable and aware subjects, the holders of specific knowledge and the bearers of an integrated approach to reality, are also helping to transform the academic world2.” Beyond the empowerment of Aboriginals, what we have here is a genuine dialogue between scientific research and Aboriginal knowledge, often referred to as traditional knowledge. In essence, a new paradigm.

Several strategies are converging to promote the merging of Aboriginal and scientific knowledges. First, the implementation of the OCAP principles3 established by the First Nations Regional Health Survey National Steering Committee in 1998, which reflect the desire for self-determination applied to research. Also worth mentioning is the adoption of the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS) in 1998 by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. It includes an ethical framework and 10 chapters, with Chapter 6 devoted to research on Aboriginal peoples. Updated in December 2010, it now includes 13 chapters, with Chapter 9 devoted to research on Aboriginal people. Without being explicit and limiting guidelines, it features a number of best practices with regard to research on First Peoples. [translation] These principles are increasingly recognized and used in university and Aboriginal settings. In Quebec, the Assembly of the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador adopted in 2005 the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Research Protocol whose three fundamental guidelines are the sharing of power, equity, and respect. Nancy Gros-Louis McHugh, Research Sector Manager for the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission (FNQLHSSC) comments on the protocol’s scope: “It’s a living document that communities can use as a tool, and be inspired to develop or enhance their own research codes of ethics. The community of Kahnawake has its own ethics committee, for example.” [translation] However, the scope of these principles varies; they are not systematically adopted by the research community. David Toro, environmental advisor for the Mamuitun Tribal Council, describes himself as an intermediary between scientific knowledge and community knowledge and states: “I don’t use this research protocol because it is too restrictive. I find university codes of ethics adequate to pursue research while respecting the prerogatives of stakeholders.”

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A change in practice In the field, the change in paradigm is concretely embodied in changing practices, but also in the precedence of participatory research. These practices are not specific to First Peoples, but illustrate how fieldwork research has evolved, now taking into account the diversity of populations in the field and the place it holds in the modern world. David Toro defines his contribution: “Scientific research is based on established findings that are difficult to challenge. My role is to say that this understanding is biased. The more we move forward, the more we can develop new theories through close monitoring between the scientific environment and the community setting.” [translation] The principle that Aboriginals prioritize research topics is increasingly anchored more firmly. Hugo Asselin, Chairholder of the Canada Research Chair in Aboriginal Forestry, comments: “This gives added-value to our research in terms of relevance and credibility.” [translation] The same goes for David Toro who states that communities who have chosen to work on a specific subject usually find time to actively participate in the various stages of the research process.

Nancy Gros-Louis McHugh points out: “Since we only work with communities and organizations that have accepted or chosen the topic of research themselves, we usually have excellent cooperation.” [translation]

“There continue to be inequalities as to how nations, groups, and communities are represented in the research being conducted.”

The merging of knowledges not only allows for knowledge feedback, but also skills development in Aboriginal communities. According to Hugo Asselin, “When we conduct interviews, we are always accompanied by a community liaison officer. Sometimes, we interview a Senior who often is the only one to have as much information on a given topic. The community can hence, at this stage, take the information collected and use it the way it sees fit.”

Adjusting timelines is crucial to this change in practice.

David Toro states: “It’s not time that is a constraint, it was

Issues and Challenges

the opportunities that we used to lack. To give Aboriginals a voice, we need to give them time. Scientific research was developed over several centuries. We can’t ask an Aboriginal to remove their knowledge from a library or Web site because they need to remember and this isn’t always immediate.”

If the scientific community increasingly recognizes the relevance of Aboriginal knowledge – stakeholders believe that a genuine dialogue is emerging – certain precisions need to be made. Hugo Asselin explains: “In every negotiation process or territorial claim, the government or industry’s negotiator assigns more weight to scientific knowledge. Research projects provide numbers or statistical substance to what Aboriginals already know. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that my research validates traditional knowledge, this would devalue it, what I’m saying is that it provides communities with additional ammunition to assert their rights.” [translation]

Merging knowledge, yes but...

According to Hugo Asselin, the merging of knowledge does not mean abandoning the prerogatives of either side. “I see no reason not to publish research results. We can always find common ground. I can adapt my knowledge, transfer tools, adjust my methodology, add a second pair of white gloves to disclose the results, or redo the research if necessary. Everyone loses when research is not published.”

Organizations like the FNQLHSSC respect the authority and autonomy of band councils. Nancy Gros-Louis McHugh explains: “Communities have the right to accept or refuse to take part in research and we respect that.” [translation] What about the more sensitive research issues, those concerning people’s health? Again, carefully addressing ethical and methodological considerations beforehand is vital.

David Toro goes even further: “Communities are not yet aware that they need to have a solid toolbox to appropriate research results and the research currently underway. When I speak of appropriating, I mean in a spirit of cooperation.”

in Quebec’s cities and highlight the collective action of the Native Friendship Centres in Quebec.” [translation] According to Carole Lévesque, a genuine experience of merging knowledge will lead to the development of a new research culture based on sharing, commitment, convergence, and reflexivity.

“The problems of knowledge merging are not specific to research on First Peoples. Its challenges are those shared by most initiatives that strive to open approaches and processes.”

According to some, efforts should be made to promote the training of Aboriginals to increase their numbers in academic careers. For others, the scientific community must simply be more open and be more aware of how to work and be with Aboriginals. For the FNQLHSSC, the governance of research is also an issue. Nancy Gros-Louis McHugh explains: “Research agendas are dictated by the government. Currently, First Nations are too often excluded from these discussions and not sufficiently consulted on the matter; hence it’s difficult for them to express their priorities in research and development.” Money remains the crux of the matter. Hugo Asselin adds: “Funding agencies ask us to conduct knowledge transfer activities, but there is very little money to do this.” [translation] The problem of knowledge merging is not specific to research on First Peoples. Its challenges are those shared by most initiatives that strive to open approaches and processes. The First Nations have, as all communities do, what it takes to reach their potential.

Limits and challenges to overcome What are the challenges that remain to improve the dialogue between scientific and Aboriginal communities? There is still disparity in how nations, groups, and communities are represented in current research. Political organization has a lot to do with it, the geographic factor as well, but there is also the difficulty, from a methodological point of view, of reaching certain populations, and urban Aboriginals in particular.

Because urban Aboriginals are increasing in number and are characterized by specific challenges, the DIALOG network and the Regroupement des Centres d’amitié autochtones du Québec have created ODENA, which means “city” in Anicinape, an initiative aimed to “support the social, economic, political, and cultural development of Aboriginal populations

1. Lévesque, Carole (2009), “Québec research relating to Aboriginal peoples in the age of the knowledge society and the knowledge mobilization,” in Autochtonies: vues de France et du Québec, under the direction of N. Gagné, T. Martin and M. Salaün, pp. 455-470, Quebec, Presses de l’Université Laval.

2. Ibidem, page 469.

3. The principle of ”possession” refers to a community’s collective ownership of data on its peoples. “Control “affirms that the community controls all aspects of research and information management that impact them. “Access to data” means that a community has the right to have access to all data about themselves and their communities. “Ownership” refers to the material control of data on the community.

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Issues and Challenges

Public policy and the health of Aboriginals living in urban areas By Éric Diotte and Thibault Martin, Université du Québec en Outaouais

Different notions of Health These Aboriginals who choose to settle in an urban area nevertheless have inadequate access to health services, and experience the phenomenon of exclusion. Although not well documented, the phenomenon is very real, and several factors are at issue. Exclusion arises when programs do not adequately take cultural diversity into account. The gap that persists between institutional medical practices and Aboriginal medical practices and beliefs translates into

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“According to several specialists, it should nonetheless be possible to put in place structures that enable Aboriginals to achieve greater self-government in an urban environment.”

This dissatisfaction on the part of Aboriginals toward health services in urban areas contributes to a consider-

photo : Tracy Whiteside (istock)

Aboriginals leave their villages and communities for “positive reasons” like education, employment, escape, or the search for opportunity, but also against their will for other reasons like health. Although the Canada Health Act stipulates that Canadians have the right to reasonable access to insured health services, many Aboriginals living in rural areas and northern regions have access only to basic health services. They must travel to urban centres for specialized care. For patients with chronic illness, this means frequent travel, which often isolates them from their community and prevents them from getting stable work. Add to this the stress involved in travel, and it’s easy to understand why many Aboriginals resign themselves to settling in the city to receive their care. Their “exile” sometimes includes that of their immediate family as well.

poor communications between patients and medical staff.

While Aboriginals define health and illness in terms “of balance, harmony, holistic vision, and spirituality1, medical professionals regard health in biological terms, and health as” a physical dysfunction of the individual2. Treatment is based on a patient-doctor relationship in which health professionals see patients as passive subjects who must follow the prescribed treatments3. Among Aboriginals, treatment is holistic in nature: it must lead to a better self-knowledge and understanding from a physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual perspective. Aboriginals do not perceive illness as strictly biological. On the contrary, illness is perceived as a penalty for their transgression of the social order4, and treatment must at once help the individual while also strengthening the social and moral order of the community. Treatment is therefore a social act.

Given these different notions and beliefs, it’s not surprising that Aboriginals say they do not “understand” the treatments proposed by professionals. Some even perceive health institutions as more or less hostile and destined to re-socialize them in an effort to assimilate them. Indeed, once a diagnosis is established, health professionals assess their patient’s lifestyle and may recommend or even impose changes. Aboriginal patients must therefore choose to follow a new lifestyle or remain loyal to their own.

Issues and Challenges

able increase in migratory movements. Many Aboriginals indeed move from one urban region to another to find health care that is better adapted to them, while others decide to return to their reserve. In either case, it’s a return to square one. This come-and-go5 phenomenon observed among Aboriginals with chronic illnesses creates major challenges in Aboriginal health policy.

photo : Csaba Peterdi (istock)

Policy initiatives Before the 1970s, the federal government’s goal was to prevent the contagious diseases affecting Aboriginals from being propagated to the rest of the Canadian population.

Aboriginals were therefore totally excluded from the process of planning and organizing health services6. Above all, the federal government sought to control expenses related to the reimbursement of health services for Aboriginals who had left their reserves. It was thanks in large part to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples that the situation would change. In their conclusions, the authors of the report recommended that the federal government take into account Aboriginal opinion and traditional knowledge and foster inter-sector cooperation among its departments in the development of Aboriginal health policies.

Several cooperative initiatives were instituted as a result of the Commission; these include the Aboriginal Health Human Resources Initiative (AHHRI), which seeks to increase the number of Aboriginal workers in the health field; and the Aboriginal Health Transition Fund (AHTF), whose goal is to adapt health services to the specific needs of Aboriginals and to reduce waiting time for these services. Financial support was also granted to develop health indicators adapted to Aboriginal realities7.

In urban areas, initiatives that enable Aboriginals to appropriate the management and even definition of health

services are much less common.

Despite that, there are some examples of initiatives, such as the Métis, OffReserve Aboriginal and Urban Inuit Promotion and Prevention (MOAUIPP) program, whose main goal is to provide culturally adapted services8. In Quebec, the Val‑d’Or Native Friendship Centre signed an agreement with the Centre de santé et des services sociaux de la Vallée‑de‑l’Or (CSSSVO) to create a health clinic designed to provide culturally adapted services to Aboriginals living in an urban area. During its pilot project stage, the Minowé Clinic will rely on the services of health professionals such as nurses and social workers.

During the pilot phase, it will give priority to a perinatal clientele, such as pregnant women, children aged 0 to 5, and their families. Since the clinic will be associated with the Friendship Centre, patients visiting it will not only be welcomed in a familiar environment, but will also be able to access various other services they may need (such as accommodations, food, recreation, and counseling). The pilot project seeks to create a new model of health and social services for Aboriginals in an urban environment. The model could then be adapted by other Native Friendship Centers in Quebec.

Self-government: A tool for transferring responsibilities in the health field Since the 1995 adoption by the federal government of the Policy on Aboriginal Self-Government, which “recognizes the inherent right of Aboriginals to self-government9, federal institutions have had the obligation to foster such autonomy in all areas, including health. The creation of regional governments and the transfer of important responsibilities have enabled several Aboriginal groups to achieve greater self-government in the health field. In Quebec, for example, the community of Kahnawake has taken over management of several services, including health. Its health services are planned and managed by the Kahnawake Health and Social Services Commission and are practised according to a holistic approach, allowing community members to participate fully in the management of their personal health. These health services include a hospital, dental clinic, diabetes prevention program, and addiction treatments. Similarly, Nunavik has several independent health services managed by the Nunavik Regional Health and Social Services Board, which offers services to the population. The most extensive proDÉVELOPPEMENT SOCIAL VOL.11 – No 3 – february 2011

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Issues and Challenges

bridge the cultural gap. Since collaboration is occasional and varies with each program, Aboriginals cannot plan a long-term overall health strategy that is culturally consistent. This also keeps them dependent on the state, which definitively maintains the ultimate power over whether things progress or not. While the federal government allows Aboriginals to participate in policy development, it is reticent to transfer complete power over the management of services and maintains control over spending. Aboriginal organizations are always dependent on specific government funding and must constantly meet predetermined criteria.

Instead of occasional collaboration, self-government would enable Aboriginals to better manage the coordination of and access to local and regional health services, thus improving the continuity of care. This would also be a tool for de-victimization, allowing Aboriginals to create and control health services, without individually victimizing patients.

However, achieving self-government doesn’t come without difficulties, particularly in terms of jurisdiction overlap in an urban environment. We believe the goal of Aboriginal selfgovernment in urban areas cannot be achieved without true cooperation between the different levels of government – not collaboration in creating joint programs but rather working together toward the goal of transferring the governance of all pre-existing health programs. This transfer should also occur in conjunction with the transfer of other responsibilities, such as education.

1.Shah, Chandrakant P. (2004), The Health of Aboriginal Peoples. Social Determinants of Health, Toronto, Canadian Scholars’ Press Inc., p. 267.

2. Ibid.

3. Andelson, Naomi (2003), Reducing Health Disparities and Promoting Equity for Vulnerable Populations: Aboriginal Canada, Ottawa, Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

4. Waldram, James B. D. Ann Herring, and T. Kue Young (1995), Aboriginal Health in Canada: Historical, Cultural, and Epidemiological Perspectives, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, p. 101.

5. Norris, Mary Jane and Stewart Clatworthy (2006), Aboriginal Mobility and Migration in Canada: Factors, Policy Implications and Responses, Ottawa, Aboriginal Policy Research Conference, March 21 to 23, 10 p.

6. Franks, C.E.S. (2000), “Indian Policy: Canada and the United States Compared,” in Curtis Cook and Juan D. Lindau (ed.), Aboriginal Rights and Self-Government: The Canadian and Mexican Experience in North America Perspective, Montreal, McGill-Queen’s University Press.

7. Ibid.

8. Health Canada (2000), Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative: Métis, Off-Reserve Aboriginal and Urban Inuit Promotion and Prevention, Ottawa, Framework program.

9. Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (2004), Aboriginal Self-Government, Ottawa.

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photo : wrangel (istock)

gram, the Innuulitsivik Health Centre Maternity Program, was created in 1986 by the community of Puvirnituq to meet the specific needs of residents. Six Inuit communities are now part of the program.

Self-government in urban areas comes with specific challenges related to the diversity and mobility of Aboriginal groups, since there is no territorial base – except in a few rare cases of urban reserves. According to several specialists, it should nonetheless be possible to put in place structures that enable Aboriginals to achieve greater self-government in an urban environment. However, it appears that progress in this regard is minimal. While the new federal approach has resulted in several health policy initiatives – developed in cooperation with Aboriginals living in an urban environment – most of them do not take into account the high rate of migratory movement among Aboriginals and thus do not ensure continuity of health care. Neither do the initiatives

Issues and Challenges

Homeless Aboriginals: A few considerations

By Carole Lévesque, INRS – Urbanisation, Culture, et Société; and DIALOG – Réseau de recherche et de connaissances relatives

aux peuples autochtones, Alexandre Germain, UQAM, Julie Perreault, University of Ottawa, Anne-Marie Turcotte, Université de Montréal Two years ago, the Government of Quebec launched its Plan d’action interministériel en itinérance 2010-2013 (interministerial homelessness action plan). This was the result of a government initiative started in 2008 to better understand the phenomenon of homelessness – its origins, forms, and manifestations – and to develop a concerted focus on the prevention and intervention activities that should be implemented. It is clear from the document’s introductory pages that this is a situation with a growing number of people – men and women, young and old. From a marginal and essentially male phenomenon a few years ago, homelessness has become a plural reality that Quebec society as a whole must face. This is especially true of a large city like Montreal, where most homeless people are concentrated. A few words only in the Plan d’action describe the increased presence of Aboriginal people among the clientele of available accommodation and assistance resources and the need to reflect on “...the intervention approaches to be favoured for this population1”.

The toll of the past In Quebec as elsewhere in Canada, there is a particular historical context that cannot be overlooked when Aboriginal peoples are involved, regardless of the angle under consideration. This is the colonial past we would like to forget but whose consequences are very current in terms of homelessness. We need only mention the case of Indian residential schools whose existence sanctioned the cultural alienation process that targeted Aboriginal peoples for more than a hundred years, from the 19th to late 20th centuries. It turns out that today, part of the Aboriginal homeless population consists of these cultural orphans, who were taken from their families and communities in the past to educate them according to precepts that were referred to as “civilization”.

Thousands of Aboriginal children across Canada were thus severed from the roots and values that would have firmly established their identity, existence, and relations with others. This situation created a social and identity emptiness in them that was practically impossible to fill, and that was passed on to their children and grandchildren. As Dr. Peter Menzies points out2, it wasn’t necessary to have experienced a residential school directly to suffer the effects; intergenerational trauma has transcended time and today has left its mark on both individuals and families. If this is not taken into account in the search for solutions for Aboriginal homeless people, the living conditions that we are trying to improve can easily be exacerbated.

“...the way we address the phenomenon of homelessness in our society is related to the values we hold dear, such as independence, individualism, The circular nature of change and residential stability.”

While it is pertinent to consider the intervention approaches that could be developed for the Aboriginal population in question, we believe it is equally important to try to better define the facets of a reality that is as complex as it is poorly understood. This is a process that can only be exploratory for the moment, given the lack of information available on the subject as it pertains to Quebec. Nonetheless, in light of the existing literature in Canada and elsewhere on the planet, we can highlight three major dimensions of the phenomenon: the toll of the past, the circular nature of change, and the collective reach of forms of homelessness.

Homelessness is a social phenomenon that we tend to relate directly to urban life. It is true that the more obvious presence of Aboriginals in Quebec’s cities in the past 20 years has resulted in an increased homeless population. The scientific literature describes a growing number of people who are leaving their home communities in the hopes of benefiting from what cities have to offer, finding a job, gaining access to housing, pursuing an education, or escaping a climate of violence. While most individuals may adapt to this new living environment without difficulty, many do not succeed due to a lack of resources, support, or stability in relationships. Some return to their home communities only to leave again after a while. Repeated moves from community to DÉVELOPPEMENT SOCIAL VOL.11 – No 3 – february 2011

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Issues and Challenges

The collective reach of forms of homelessness While homelessness is easily associated with urban life, it is also generally seen as an individual problem. From this perspective, intervention measures primarily focus on the

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1. Government of Quebec (2009), Plan d’action interministériel en itinérance 2010-2013, page 20.

2. Menzies, Peter (2009), “Homeless Aboriginal Men: Effects of Intergenerational Trauma,” in D. J. Hulchanski, P. Campsie, S. Chau et al. (eds.), Finding Home: Policy Options for Addressing Homelessness in Canada: 1-25. Toronto: Cities Centre, University of Toronto. http://www.homelesshub.ca/ResourceFiles/Documents/FindingHome_Full.pdf

illustration : Alec Gordon, 2006, Kuujjuaq

city and back again can thus occur – a situation specific to Aboriginals, it seems, observed in Montreal and Quebec City and especially in some regional cities such as Val-d’Or, Saguenay, Trois-Rivières, and Gatineau, all located a short or medium distance from several Aboriginal communities.

The details of these moves back and forth are as yet poorly documented; they are associated with the old nomad way of life since this is a type of mobility with which people are familiar. But while the traditional nomadic approach offered a constructive even protective framework for individuals and families, these moves back and forth often contribute to a weakening of already fragile relationships, and to an increase in psychosocial problems. Furthermore, they are giving rise to a new form of wandering within communities themselves, where the lack of housing is a crucial problem that is getting worse each year. It is no longer rare to find people going from home to home each day looking for shelter or a place to sleep. This phenomenon has also been observed when individuals travel outside their home communities and even in cities, where thanks to different networks of people they can find a place to sleep. This is therefore a hidden homelessness, with less visible manifestations but equally limiting effects.

social and professional re-integration of the individual in question. Just as the sociological profile of homeless people has changed in recent years reflecting a more difficult economic context and the rise of neo-liberalism, the increased presence of homeless Aboriginals is leading to a wide range of manifestations for which service agencies are not necessarily well prepared. Thus, homeless women are proportionally more numerous among Aboriginals than in the rest of the population, and many of them are accompanied by their children. Similarly, the number of homeless Aboriginal families is increasing, in Montreal and elsewhere. There is no doubt that the way we address the phenomenon of homelessness in our society is related to the values we hold dear, such as independence, individualism, and residential stability. But for Aboriginals, other values have as much if not more importance, such as family ties, affiliation with the home community or group, and cultural roots. It has now become essential that we review the logic behind our actions to ensure that support is also collective or community-based, that the relational dimension of the Aboriginal experience is taken into account, that at times another temporality is adopted, and that consideration is given to defining relationship to property and space differently.

Issues and Challenges

Taking action in communities to improve the economic integration of urban Aboriginals

By Odile Joannette, Commission de développement des ressources humaines des Premières Nations du Québec (First Nations Human Resources Development Commission of Quebec)

Canadian Aboriginals, it is known, fared poorly in 2007 compared to countries ranked on the human development index by the UNO, while Canada as usual, still has its place at the top of the charts1. Unfortunately, these gaps continue to persist for both Aboriginals living in communities and those living in urban settings.

Without a sustained effort to help communities, new urban Aboriginals, whose numbers are ever-increasing, will continue to join the ranks of the disadvantaged, the marginalized, and even the homeless. When Aboriginals decide to move to an urban setting, they bring with them their community experiences, the pain of being excluded, and intergenerational trauma. Often under-educated, burdened with serious social problems, young parents, at times even single parents, they sometimes struggle with the French and English languages. The problems encountered in communities are often perpetuated in their new living environments.

In this context, it appears clear that improving the quality of life of Aboriginals living in their communities of origin constitutes a prerequisite to better social and economic integration in urban settings: the two go hand in hand.

Reducing poverty among Aboriginal peoples According to the Réseau de recherche en santé des populations du Québec (Quebec Population Health Research Network), “[...] disparities in health between native and non-native people are above all the result of different social constructs, leading to marginalization of Aboriginals, whether in their own communities or in urban settings...2” Only by addressing fundamental issues and taking long-term appropriate action can we envision the disappearance of the persistent poverty in Aboriginal communities. In this regard, it is imperative that measures be taken to deal with the social problems resulting from the Indian Act, the establishment of reserves, and the policies aimed at assimilating First Peoples.

The school dropout rate, which is linked to the chronic underfunding of education, impedes the social, human, and economic development of Aboriginals. Adequate funding should enable First Nations communities to offer an education comparable to that offered to all Quebecers. It should be noted that the funding formula for First Nations schools dates back to 1988. Many of its schools are in poor shape and new technologies are practically non-existent.

In addition, housing should provide a context favorable to the social and human development of children, youth, and families. With 4200 houses in the various communities overcrowded and 6700 in urgent need of repair and/or decontamination, it’s hard to imagine this as an environment conducive to educational success, not to mention the social and health problems resulting from such over-crowding.

“It should be noted that the funding formula for First Nations schools dates back to 1988. Many of its schools are in poor shape and new technologies are practically non-existent.”

Lastly, the canadian economy has changed over the last decade and the development of natural resources plays an increasingly important role on the ancestral lands of the First Nations. The settlement of land claims associated with the establishment of appropriate partnerships with the First Nations would guarantee significant economic changes within communities. Since this development is taking place DÉVELOPPEMENT SOCIAL VOL.11 – No 3 – february 2011

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in the heart of their territories, the First Nations should be granted royalties in various forms.

Employment and training: Priority issues The employment problem is obviously a determining factor in poverty: 55 % of the Aboriginal population is unemployed, compared to 31 % for the general Quebec population. Among the unemployed, 75 % have not completed their general education or have not acquired the required skills to enter the labor market.

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This means that more than half of the people do not work and that three quarters of them will need continued support to overcome the many obstacles that stand between them and the labor market. This situation currently presents a considerable challenge and will become even more so with the increase in our population of working age. Yet, we have to deal with a level of resources that is clearly below that in the rest of the province, one eroded by inflation, never having been indexed to the cost of living.

To attain job parity with Quebec’s non-Aboriginal population by 2017, efforts must be continued and indeed stepped up to increase the current number of Aboriginal workers by

photo : Commission de développement des ressources humaines des Premières Nations du Québec

Issues and Challenges

Issues and Challenges

Offered to clients in 33 points of service throughout the territory and in all Quebec regions, including Val‑d’Or, Montreal, Quebec, and Sept‑Iles, the programs and services offered seek to facilitate integration into professional training programs in demand, particularly by allowing them to complete their high school studies, if required.

To facilitate integration, partnerships have been estab-

“...without sustained effort to help the communities, new urban Aboriginals, whose numbers keep climbing, will continue to swell the ranks of the poor, the marginalized, and the homeless.”

30 %, a goal attainable only if there are resources to meet the challenge.

lished with several relevant organizations, including the Commission de la construction du Québec –CCQ (Quebec construction commission).

The programs also allow Aboriginals to benefit from employment measures seeking to offer them relevant work experience, through paid internships or wage subsidies offered to companies. Services also include brief training sessions on job search, developing a curriculum vitae, etc.

Support is also given in starting a business, with the collaboration of the Centres locaux de développement – CLD (local development centers).

To expand the scope of its services to urban Aboriginals, the FNHRDCQ has negotiated agreements with organizations in Joliette, the Saguenay, and Gatineau. Outreach services have also been developed in the main cities in AbitibiTémiscamingue and a plan to offer services to incarcerated Aboriginals on the North Shore is currently being evaluated.

Nearly 3000 job and training measures are funded annually. In urban settings, clients are completing more steps towards better integrating into the labor market since the introduction of follow-up officers. Yet the challenge remains enormous.

Taking up the challenge The First Nations Human Resources Development Commission of Quebec (FNHRDCQ) has been mandated by the Chiefs in Assembly to develop the work force and labor market of the 29 communities and all urban Aboriginals in Quebec. In addition to the responsibility for the administrative management of the agreement on behalf on the 29 communities, the FNHRDCQ offers programs and services to facilitate the integration of Aboriginals into urban settings.

1. Canada ranked 4th and Canada’s First Nations ranked 68th. See the article by Édith Cloutier and Carole Lévesque on page 6 of this edition.

2. Quebec Population Health Network (2008), PopHealth Notes, Issue 4, July, page 2.

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In the field

Greater recognition for our Seniors

The Centre d’amitié autochtone de La Tuque (CAALT) has been working with seniors for a number of years. Having found that many of them are socially isolated, and knowing that young people have great respect for generations before them and are interested in learning their know-how, we sought to reinforce their respective sense of belonging by increasing the opportunities for the two generations to meet.

The Courtepointe intergénérationnelle (intergenerational quilt) is a project that aims to promote the work of seniors and enable young people to actively remain connected to and experience their culture. The project, tested and conducted in La Tuque in 2007 and 2008, will soon call upon all urban seniors in Quebec to become an example of sharing among generations, and also among cultures, and regions.

Through this project called Masinakwaso, we wish to mobilize seniors in other native friendship centers in Quebec, to create a gathering in the form of a Circle of Elders. An employee and one or more seniors from our region will soon visit other centers to present this project, aimed at promot-

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ing the meeting of generations so that seniors can exchange and share their knowledge and allow the entire community to benefit from their expertise. The project will continue with the creation of an intergenerational quilt in each region visited, whose theme will be chosen by the elders beforehand.

Lastly, we will undertake a provincial quilt to represent the Centres d’amitié autochtones du Québec movement, which will be unveiled during a provincial meeting of the participants interested in meeting at the Centres d’amitié autochtones du Québec’s annual general meeting.

By bringing together all urban Aboriginal seniors, we will of course help break their isolation, give a greater sense of value to their roles, and enhance their sense of belonging.

But, we will also be able to better understand and meet their needs. Thanks to the upcoming Circle of Elders gatherings to be held throughout the province, we will be in a position to hold information sessions focused on their needs. These sessions will help prevent the abuse too often inflicted on seniors and inform them of resources available in their communities.

photo : Centre d’amitié autochtone de La Tuque

By Mélanie Napartuk, Centre d’amitié autochtone de La Tuque (La Tuque native friendship center)

Aboriginal economic innovation: Towards the development of solidarity initiatives

By Danielle Larose, Regroupement des centres d’amitié autochtone du Québec – RCAAQ

photo : Jorge Herrera

(association of Quebec native friendship centers)

Tommy Kingwaksiak and Louisa Neill, young Inuit sculptors participating in the Inter-Tribal Youth Centre of Montreal’s MUNIAN project.

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In the field

“Through collective entrepreneurship, the Aboriginal community in cities adopts the means to meet its increasingly specific needs through projects that are innovative, growthgenerating, employment-creating, and sustainable.”

May 2010. About 40 Aboriginal promoters, members of the Centres d’amitié autochtones du Québec, and their partners were gathered at Piolet, a social economy and workplace integration enterprise. For two days, participants discussed the best practices to establish collective enterprises that would meet the needs of Aboriginals: housing, social and workplace reintegration, arts, fair trade, and tourism. The event was organized as part of the Aboriginal Social Economy Circle, created by the Regroupement des centres d’amitié autochtones du Québec. The success of these first Journées d’économie sociale autochtone – JÉSA (Aboriginal social economy days) confirms the relevance of the shift towards social economy begun by the RCAAQ in 2005.

The social economy shift Indeed, the RCAAQ and the Centres d’amitié autochtones officially and collectively began the social economy shift by means of resolutions. The social economy has since become a lever that enhances all of their actions. In partnership with the Chantier de l’économie sociale (social economy work group), the RCAAQ promotes the development of social economy among Aboriginal communities and Aboriginal organizations in cities.

Social economy is an innovative economic development tool that encourages the integration of Aboriginals in cities.

It is an avenue accessible to everyone seeking financial independence and social inclusion.

This Aboriginal model offers an alternative mode of economic development that aims to meet people’s social, cultural, economic, and spiritual needs in an innovative way. Through collective entrepreneurship, the Aboriginal community in cities adopts the means to meet its increasingly specific needs through projects that are innovative, growth-generating, employment-creating, and sustainable.

The Aboriginal Social Economy Circle Following a collective reflection held January 2009, the Aboriginal Social Economy Circle was created to become a forum for joint efforts. Its structure and modus operandi

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were inspired by the Pôles régionaux d’économie sociale (social economy regional hubs) that are part of the Chantier de l’économie sociale. The Circle promotes social economic practices in Aboriginal settings, rallies promoters and partners, reinforces skills, and helps with the implementation of initiatives.

The initiatives The reality of Aboriginal citizens in cities particularly impacts their initiatives. The Aboriginal approach is holistic and fosters consensus-building decision making based on democratic and participative principles. Intergenerational links and continuity with culture are intrinsic to any project. The sectors prioritized are housing, employment integration, arts and crafts, community support, the procurement of goods and services, and leisure and tourism.

International outreach Since 2005, the RCAAQ has taken part in a number of international events: International Meeting for the Globalization of Solidarity in Dakar in 2005 and in Luxembourg in 2009; the Social Enterprise World Forum in Australia in 2009; and two missions to Mexico in 2009 and 2010.

In the field

Sense of community belonging among Aboriginals living in Montreal

By Ramélia Chamichian, City of Montreal

“We are part of a story, the story that has brought us to alarming statistics and put us at the bottom of the social scale in Quebec, but we will also be part of a future, the future we will build through our efforts. The Network is a forum for dialogue among the people who develop and provide services, those who use them, and those who fund them and contribute to their implementation. Together, we can plan strategies and actions to improve the well-being of all Aboriginals living in the greater Montreal area – according to our values and respecting our traditions.”

The Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network is a strategic urban initiative whose mission is to improve the quality of life of the Aboriginal population in the Montreal area through a coordinated and concerted effort that aligns collective interests in supporting locally driven initiatives. With more than 500 organizational and individual members, the Network serves the Aboriginal population of the metropolitan region of Montreal as well as representatives of organizations and different levels of government

illustration : Annick Désormeaux and anne-laure jean

Odile Joannette, Co-President of the Network

Current means of action

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that serve the Aboriginal population. It gives organizers the opportunity to broaden their achievements and to create measurable and sustainable improvements: first, by sharing knowledge and know-how; next, by prioritizing needs, exploring partnerships, and initiating joint projects; and finally, by working toward holistic visions that will help maintain and strengthen interdisciplinary work relations. The current goal is to continue to maintain, reinforce, and increase the number of partnerships with Aboriginal and non-native organizations, community groups, the private sector, and federal, provincial, municipal, and First Nations and Inuit stake holders.

A bit of background The emergence of the Network dates back to 2006 during the Socioeconomic Forum held in Mashteuiatsh in October that year, and when the Regroupement des centres d’amitié autochtones du Québec (association of Quebec native friendship centers) called for the cooperation of federal and provincial governments to better address the needs of Aboriginals living in urban environments. Subsequent to the Forum, several government bodies and Aboriginal organizations decided to launch the Network, which saw the light of day two years later, on November 5th, 2008, in response to the priorities set during the Forum and described in the needs assessment1 carried out by Organizational Development Services (ODS) consultants. During the two years of persistent preparations, a coordination mechanism was designed and improved, to eventually become the Network’s steering committee. Its 12 members consist of governmental partners (Office of the Federal Interlocutor of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, Secrétariat aux affaires autochtones du Québec, City of Montreal), Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, Makivik Corporation, and representatives of the six working committees: art and culture, communications, employability-training-education, youth, health, and social services. A Seniors’ position remains to be filled.

“The Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network is a strategic urban initiative whose mission is to improve the quality of life of the Montreal region’s Aboriginal population.”

The link between the urban Aboriginal population and the organizations serving it was facilitated by the Directory of Resources Offered to Montreal’s Aboriginal Community2.

Published by the City of Montreal, this directory of resources for Aboriginals has been transferred to the Network, which will update future editions. In addition, a Web site3 enables contact and rapprochement between individuals, members, and organizations. The Network’s logo expresses its mandate: hands that at once symbolize action, strength, support, and the community foundation of the Network; the central emblem in the form of a heart, recalling the City of Montreal but also representing the six working committees with, in the center, a teepee and an inukshuk highlighting the needs of the Aboriginal (First Nations and Inuit) population; the feathers, the ulu, and the four colors of the medicine wheel (red, yellow, black, and white), as well as blue, green, and orange, highlighting the diversity of the urban Aboriginal community; the ulu, a knife traditionally used by Inuit women, represents the female dimension, and the infinity symbol represents the Métis communities of Canada.

All these strong and powerful symbols perfectly reflect the need of urban Montreal Aboriginals to enjoy a sense of community belonging.

Big steps toward the future Of all Quebec municipalities, Montreal has the largest population with an Aboriginal identity. It is the eighth largest Canadian metropolitan area and has the most Aboriginals (17 865). To meet the needs of this growing urban population, the Network, through its working committees, continues to set priority goals that reflect real needs and to try to find solutions to the various problems. A few examples of these priority goals of the Network’s working committees are the creation of an urban community and cultural center; the development of an Aboriginal information center to give the community means through education, training, and employability; the establishment of a fully functional health center; and the creation of a shelter for men.

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1. Évaluation des besoins des Autochtones qui composent avec la réalité urbaine de Montréal, (2008).

2. To view the directory: http://www.reseaumtlnetwork.com/eng/ Portals/5/Executive Summary Aboriginal Justice Research Project.pdf 3. To view the Web site: http://reseaumtlnetwork.com/eng/

In the field

Departures, disruptions and homelessness

By Maud Emmanuelle Labesse, Editorial Committee

photo : La Piaule

Located in a small three-storey home in a modest part of Val‑d’Or, the non-profit community group La Piaule de Val‑d’Or Inc. has been helping the homeless 24 hours a day, 365 days per year, since 1984. Providing those with no homes temporary board and lodging, La Piaule also offers individualized intervention plans to all of its users. Aboriginals represent a third of the organization’s clientele; thus, the team at La Piaule has acquired significant knowledge regarding the problems faced by this specific group of clients.

“Even though we do not specialize in Aboriginal communities, our proximity to them makes us close observers of their experiences,” says Véronique Gagné, Executive Director of the organization. “Val‑d’Or is a center where health institutions serve Aboriginals from the surrounding communities, some of which are very far away. So they arrive here with physical problems and consult the recommended services, but along the way some deviate from this path, becoming attracted to the opportunities for consuming alcohol and drugs or gambling that one can encounter in Val‑d’Or,” she says. [translation] La Piaule and the site it manages, Le Dortoir, mainly handle severe cases of homelessness. Aboriginals who experience a period of situational homelessness tend instead to go to the Val‑d’Or Native Friendship Centre, which has stricter criteria in terms of its visitors’ intoxication. “The Aboriginal homeless people we accommodate often have heavy consumer profiles. Suddenly, these people find themselves in a chronic state of homelessness that is difficult to get out of.

Val‑d’Or’s population is 4 % Aboriginal, but Aboriginals make up more than half of the Dortoir’s clientele. This is a completely disproportionate overrepresentation...” points out Véronique Gagné. “Aboriginal homelessness involves the same difficulties as non-native homelessness: poverty, erosion of one’s social capital, isolation, mental health problems, etc.” [translation]

La Piaule’s Executive Director, describing what she sees in her practice, “Racism among property owners in the city systematically disadvantages Aboriginals, for whom access to housing is not easy, even in their own communities.

Nonetheless, I have the impression that Aboriginal people are in a phase of cultural transition and a search for identity, which contributes to their arrival in the city. You can sense a collective psychological distress, which leads some individuals, for example, to exclude returning to their community, whatever the cost. Resources are available to reintegrate some people back into their home communities, who would be ready to welcome them back, but what would be the point if they’re not going to feel comfortable there?” [translation] Having worked in conjunction with La Piaule, social work researcher Stéphanie Grenier associates homelessness with a phenomenon of disaffiliation, which leads to a multiplication of disruptions along one’s life path.

And the number of broken lives is increasing in Val‑d’Or. “La Piaule alone dispenses 2500 nights of accommodations annually, but we no longer succeed in meeting the demand,” said the Executive Director. “We’re therefore starting a reconstruction project that would enable us to accommodate more individuals and, above all, to adapt to the changing face of homelessness. Because in Val‑d’Or, homelessness is changing rapidly...” [translation]

Factors contributing to the seriousness of the phenomenon of Aboriginal homelessness in Val‑d’Or Of particular concern since 2006, the Val‑d’Or housing crisis undoubtedly contributes to the phenomenon of homelessness, but it doesn’t explain everything. According to DÉVELOPPEMENT SOCIAL VOL.11 – No 3 – february 2011

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Successful joint efforts in Saguenay

By Yanik Tourigny, CSSS de Chicoutimi (Chicoutimi health and social services center) and Michèle Martin,

Sugar camp activity, organized by the Centre d’amitié autochtone du Saguenay (Native friendship center of Saguenay)

Data from the 2006 census indicate that 2215 members of the First Nations live in the town of Saguenay, whose total population is 145 089. The city is home to a number of Aboriginals from the Mauricie region (Wemontaci and Opitciwan), the Saguenay (Mashteuiatsh), and North Shore communities. In the Chicoutimi area alone, it is estimated that a little over 450 Aboriginals attend educational institutions.

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The path leading to a diploma is riddled with difficulties such as isolation, culture shock, and racism. Aware of the presence of these important school dropout factors, those responsible for educational institutions in the region wanted to adapt their services to encourage Aboriginals to pursue their education.

In fact, the Centre d’éducation des adultes Laure-Conan (Laure-Conan adult education center) – that created the

photo : Centre d’amitié autochtone du Saguenay

Cégep de Chicoutimi (Chicoutimi CEGEP)

In the field

Solidarité avec les Autochtones (solidarity with Aboriginals) project –, the Cégep de Chicoutimi (Chicoutimi CEGEP), and the Centre des Premières Nations Nikanite de l’UQAC (UQAC’s Nikanite center for First Nations) each established similar services for Aboriginal students (intervention and academic support, both individually and in-group settings) as well as their own unique services. For example, at the Centre Laure-Conan, students can choose to be part of a strictly Aboriginal group; at the CEGEP and the UQAC, scholarships are awarded to students to encourage them to succeed. Beyond providing academic support, institutions organize social and sports activities to give young people the opportunity to socialize. At the UQAC, a sharing group was formed to provide Aboriginal students with a forum where they can discuss their points of view regarding their new realities.

Furthermore, all three establishments offer assistance to their teachers to raise their awareness about Aboriginal realities. At the Centre des Premières Nations Nikanite de l’UQAC, this enhanced awareness has been extended to the population as a whole as a result of various activities such as CinéNikanite, which presents movies directed by Aboriginals or portraying subjects related to Aboriginals, and the Journées de sensibilisation à la culture autochtone (Aboriginal culture awareness days).

The three educational institutions work together to foster academic perseverance; common activities and the exchange of services are frequent. Their efforts go beyond students’ academic needs. In fact, this spirit of cooperation even inspired a broader movement throughout the Saguenay region. The three institutions called out to other community partners (health and social services center, community groups and agencies, elementary schools, high schools) to create an intervention/consultation group called Groupe de soutien aux Premières Nations – GSPN (First Nations support group). Giving itself the mandate to get to know and understand the realities of Aboriginals living in urban areas and attempt to better meet their needs, the group conducted a survey to which responded 41 Aboriginals, between the ages of 18 and 62.

The conclusions of this survey were alarming. Many Aboriginals find themselves vulnerable when they leave their communities for the city to study, work, access healthcare, or simply get away from an unhealthy environment.

Many face poverty, psychological distress, and drug addiction, while racial discrimination is a daily obstacle. The study also mentions housing needs and the absence of a culturally adapted gathering place.

For these reasons, the GSPN, with the help of the Regroupement des Centres d’amitié autochtone, supported the creation of the Centre d’amitié autochtone du Saguenay – CAAS (Saguenay Native friendship center).

“It (the Saguenay Native friendship center) hopes to work with them to provide information about the Aboriginal reality to non-Aboriginal stakeholders.”

Today, the CAAS is a gathering place for all Aboriginals living in the City of Saguenay. It offers intervention services for young people and their parents along with support to make their urban integration easier. It is currently approaching other municipal groups and institutions to establish partnerships. It hopes to work with them to provide information about the Aboriginal reality to non-Aboriginal stakeholders.

We are still in the early stages of our existence, but the enthusiasm and motivation of the Aboriginals involved and of our partners, and the warm welcome received from other local players are encouraging. They lead us to believe that this story, which is built on sound relationships, will be both long and beneficial to the well-being of Aboriginals living in the City of Saguenay.

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See and hear First Nations Présence autochtone festival in Montreal

By Angèle-Anne Brouillette, Editorial Committee

Plexiglas turtle by designer Michael Marsolais, inspired by the works of artist Christine Sioui Wawanoloath

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the Summer 2010 taken place at Place des festivals, next to the Francofolies, the Festival international de Jazz de Montréal, and the Just for Laughs Festival. Développement social had an opportunity to visit the Land InSights gallery space and meet one of its three founders, André Dudemaine, who still is the organization’s president.

Twenty years of fluctuation “Our beginnings were modest,” he tells us. With the 1990 Oka Crisis as a backdrop, the first edition almost never saw the light of day because so many potential funders and Aboriginal organizations were suspicious of the event,

photo : Présence autochtone

Their names are Jeff Barnaby, Georgette Obomsawin, Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau, and Ashukan; one is a filmmaker, the others a visual artist, author, and musician.

During the summer of 2010, they were the headliners at the First Peoples’ Festival Présence autochtone, a major First Nations and Inuit cultural event, which has been organized in Montreal for the last 20 years by the Land InSights organization. The mission of the festival, an initiative from the grassroots movement and supported by Aboriginal artists, is to increase awareness of First Nations culture among the Quebec and broader Canadian public, and thus help showcase Aboriginal artists from all disciplines. For many years held at Parc Émilie-Gamelin, Présence autochtone has since

In the field

Program covers: : Présence autochtone

which was seeking to promote intercultural rapprochement.

Artists came to the rescue and Alanis Obomsawin, Richard Desjardins, and Florent Volant, among others, offered a benefit concert so the festival could be held.

The first two years were also difficult due, in particular, to budget cutbacks faced by cultural organizations. There was no budget, just volunteers. Finding small grants here and there, slowly creating a niche for itself, over the years Land InSights developed a network of partners, promoters, and funders that allowed for some stability and growth. “The turning point was the commemoration of the 300th anniversary of the signing of the Great Peace of Montreal in 2001. Together with Pointeà-Callières, the Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History, we organized a series of events throughout the year. It was a huge success! We gained amazing credibility.” [translation]

Visible in modern public places Thanks to partnerships with existing public institutions, Présence autochtone has enabled artists and their works to find their way into the Cinémathèque québécoise (museum of moving images), the City of Montreal, and even the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (library and archives of Quebec). This presence in modern public places has been accompanied by a profusion of artistic creation, a true explosion, and greater recognition of Aboriginal artists in Quebec, and also around the world. The film Atanarjuat, shot entirely in Inuktitut by Zacharias Kunuk, has won many awards, including the Caméra d’Or at the 2001 Cannes Festival. And he’s not the only one to have done well. People like Ojibway visual artist Carl Beam have exhibited at

Program covers from various editions of the Festival.

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the National Gallery of Canada; the great Cree author and playwright Tomson Highway is not only known here but is celebrated throughout the world; Alanis Obomsawin directed a key and relevant documentary series on the Oka Crisis. Many Aboriginal artistic figures who are resolutely modern and deeply rooted in their era have emerged over the past 20 years.

to an increased demand for Aboriginal audiovisual productions: Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) by and for Aboriginals in Canada. “This has created a demand for Aboriginal documentaries. An increasing number of films are being made thanks to the next generation of Aboriginal producers.” [translation]

We know that many Aboriginal points of reference have disappeared. Traditional activities have become craft trades that only a few people still carry out. All their economic activity structures have been weakened and the physical world has also changed. “If we want people to continue to live a distinctive Aboriginal lifestyle, they will need to find other points of reference and that’s where, in my opinion, artists come into the picture because they’re able to create new images, images that we can internalize,” explains André Dudemaine.

One of the Land InSights projects – one of the pillars of the Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy NETWORK’s Arts and Culture Committee* – is to create a signature location to assert the Aboriginal character of the Island of Montreal. This venue for creation, artistic presentation, and the transmission of traditional know-how, a dream during the infancy of Présence autochtone, will, if it comes to fruition, provide the city with a vibrant area focused on Aboriginal culture. “2017 will mark Montreal’s 375th anniversary. This provides us with a promising context for the completion of this contemporary space, strongly rooted in the 21st century,” passionately explains André Dudemaine. “Aboriginal young people need to create meaningMalecite visual artist Raymond Dupuis explains the project (part of which can be seen here) that he ful messages linked to tradition, but will present at the next Présence autochtone festival. also completely avant-garde. Youth and The increasing accessibility and availability of movie- older people don’t want to live in the past; we don’t want making techniques also contributed to extraordinary to be considered as holdovers, but rather as living people.” growth. “Back 20 years ago and also along the way, we asked [translation] ourselves: ‘Let’s face it. Is there really sufficient film pro*See the article on page 23 on the Montreal Urban Aboriginal duction among First Nations to offer a film program?’ This Community Strategy Network year, we received 300 film and documentary proposals,” smiles André Dudemaine. A new player has also contributed

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photo : maude chauvin

Images to do away with a hurtful past

In the field

Together with our differences

photo : Centre d’amitié autochtone de Sept-Îles

By Josée Leblanc and Karina Castonguay, Centre d’amitié autochtone de Sept-Îles (Native friendship center of Sept-Îles)

The Centre d’amitié autochtone de Sept-Îles hit hard and, better yet, on target, when it undertook an innovative pilot project its team called Ensemble avec nos differences – END (together with our differences). The launching of such a project, which aimed to improve relationships between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals from a very young age, proved to be necessary in the region. Despite more than 300 years of cohabitation between Innu and non-Aboriginals, racism is often part of daily life with the region’s inhabitants often unaware they have adopted discriminatory behavior.

Thus, the Centre d’amitié autochtone de Sept-Îles decided to tackle this issue by introducing a program for children 0 to 6 years of age and their parents. Above and beyond countering racism and changing preconceived notions among the very young, the program uses games and discussions to enable children to develop positive contacts with members of the various nations who rub shoulders daily, make cohabitation easier, and encourage the acceptance of differences.

Through cultural and educational activities, families met two to four times per month. They were given the opportunity to attend and participate in an outdoor traditional Aboriginal dance workshop, listen to tales and legends, contribute to the creation of a collective painting with a well-known Innu artist, watch the filming of a lip dub, go on an excursion on La Grande Basque Island, learn how to bake bannock (traditional Amerindian bread) in sand, collect medicinal plants and red berries, and even fashion Innu mittens.

Surprisingly, this Aboriginal immersion had much more of an impact on the parents than on their children.

Children seemed to naturally play with one another and simply come together out of pure pleasure. It was therefore through the eyes of their children that adults learned to rediscover others, to appreciate and savor the difference.

First to believe in our project and fund it through the Fonds régional pour le rapprochement des peuples – FRRP (regional fund for bringing peoples closer together) was the Conférence régionale des élus de la Côte-Nord (regional conference of elected officials of the NorthShore). With its support, we were able to raise awareness of the importance of harmonious cohabitation and its posi-

tive aspects within more than 15 families. The project also had an indirect impact on all the people who come in contact with these families in their everyday lives.

“The launching of such a project, which aimed to improve relationships between Aboriginals and nonAboriginals from a very young age, proved to be necessary in the region.”

In spite of the extremely positive spinoffs of this project, it will not be repeated since, as we were writing this article, we learned that the strategic plan of the Fonds régional de rapprochement des peuples will unfortunately not be renewed. Despite this, the Centre d’amitié autochtone de Sept-Îles and the families who participated in the project will continue to make a difference through countless daily actions. With increased awareness of discriminatory behavior towards us, they are setting the stage for a better future.

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The challenge and success of Cree integration into urban environments Dominique Simard, Comité de développement social de la Baie-James (James Bay Social Development Committee) and Jo-Ann Toulouse, Centre d’amitié autochtone de Chibougamau (Native friendship center of Chibougamau)

By

In Quebec, the Cree population is composed of 14 500 people, living in nine villages located along the banks of James Bay and Hudson Bay, as well as inland1. In the James Bay region, Chibougamau has the highest number of Aboriginals living in an urban centre. The proximity of the Oujé-Bougoumou, Mistissini, and Waswanipi communities partially explains this significant Aboriginal presence.

Rather than making daily or weekly supply trips to the city, Aboriginals are increasing migrating towards urban environments to stay permanently. This reality is changing their rapport with others. With the accelerating growth of the Cree population, the James Bay region has developed a new perspective of the Aboriginal urban profile. This profile is no longer limited to the drug or alcohol consumption and intercultural incomprehension that, for a long time, characterized the view of Crees in urban environments.

For over 40 years, the Centre d’amitié autochtone de Chibougamau, which is better known as the Centre indien cri de Chibougamau – CICC (Cree Indian Centre of Chibougamau), has been offering welcoming, support, and accompaniment services to Aboriginals in urban environments. Located in the heart of the municipality of Chibougamau, the Native Friendship Centre represents a place for meeting and cooperation to many Cree, where it is interesting to be able to witness the reconstruction of community space.

From the beginning, the Centre’s mission has been to welcome and support Aboriginals in urban environments, while remaining open and accessible to the entire population. Its craft shop and very popular conferences and events help it fulfill this mission. This openness in regards to the community is essential. As Jo-Ann Toulouse, general manager of the Centre explains, “The more the Centre demonstrates openness, the more Aboriginals feel involved in it.”

The announcement of the imminent opening of the Centre de la petite enfance Awash Utamet (Awash Utamet early childhood center), which will welcome Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal James Bay children in the urban area of Chibougamau, perfectly reflects this community openness. Obviously, this Centre will fulfill a desperate need for childcare spaces for the 0 to 5 year old population as a whole. However, the ori-

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ginality of the project attests to its determination to offer a community-based service in the three common languages: French, English, and Cree.

The language barrier is often an important obstacle to the Cree in the process of integrating into urban environments.

Although English and Cree are predominantly used in daily life, the use of French is essential as a language of service and for communicating with the James Bay population. By providing a liaison service for each aspect of urban, social, community, cultural, family, and political life, the Centre d’amitié autochtone de Chibougamau plays a very important role in both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities.

Another great example of openness and integration is the innovative welcoming and accompaniment program developed by the Centre d’études collégiales de Chibougamau (Chibougamau college studies center) as part of the Diplôme d’études collégiales en soins infirmiers autochtones (diploma of collegial studies in Aboriginal nursing) to guarantee the academic success of approximately 30 Cree students. In fact, this is one of the means established to support effort and promote academic achievement while contributing to the successful integration of Aboriginals into urban environments. This represents both a winning and fulfilling strategy for those involved in the project, especially the students.

As far back as we can remember, the Cree have been part of our lives. Here, everyone has a story to tell, life experiences to share. Even after all these years of cohabitation, the integration of Aboriginals into urban environments remains an important social development issue.

1. http://www.autochtones.gouv.qc.ca/relations_autochtones/ profils_nations/cris_en.htm

In the field

A cultural starting and finishing point for Montreal’s homeless people

photo : Projets autochtones du Québec

By Maud Emmanuelle Labesse, Editorial Committee

Dolores White Quill, Coordinator of Projets autochtones du Québec (Quebec Aboriginal projects) and Susan Chittspattio, Member of the Board of Directors.

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‘’Individuals who seek shelter in Montreal must deal with the consequences of these problems as well as the difficulties associated with metropolitan life. “If the problems present in the communities and Nunavik are not controlled, the homeless problem in Montreal will intensify,” concludes Robert Aitken.’’ [translation] Although Aboriginals make up only 0.5 % of Montreal’s population1, a brief visit to downtown Montreal suffices to make one aware that they are overly represented among homeless people who pace the city. It is estimated that up to a third of homeless people are Aboriginals. Another striking fact is that 43 % of homeless Aboriginals in Montreal are Inuit 2. How can this presence, which is both immediate and distant, be explained? “The majority of Quebec Aboriginal communities are geographically isolated. Their residents come to Montreal to access care and services, often related to their health. Furthermore, the lodging and employment demands in their communities exceed those that are available. In view of all this, Montreal becomes a natural attraction. The big city seems to promise golden opportunities,” explains Robert Aitken, Director of Projets autochtones du Québec (PAQ), the main shelter for homeless Aboriginals in Montreal. This overload within the communities exacerbates various social problems, such as violence, drug addiction, psychological distress, etc. Individuals who seek shelter in Montreal must deal with the consequences of these problems as well as the difficulties associated with metropolitan life. “If the problems present in the communities and Nunavik are not controlled, the homeless problem in Montreal will intensify,” concludes Robert Aitken. [translation] Well aware of its clientele’s requests and needs, Projets autochtones du Québec workers have noted that several elements complicate the socio-professional integration of their clients in the city. On one hand, the language and methods used in the communities are often quite different from those which prevail in Montreal. On the other hand, although it isn’t totally non-existent, the urban social network of Aboriginal newcomers is limited and often overwhelmed by the level of support required. Finally, accessing lodging, which is generally complex in the metropolitan region, is even more difficult for Aboriginals. “They already face racial prejudices. Imagine how difficult it is when they are homeless too!” insists Robert Aitken. This is also true when their actions lead them into the justice system. “Aboriginal homelessness in Montreal is particular well known as a fast track towards correctional services,” he notes. “However, above all, what makes Aboriginal homelessness in this city so unique is the historic pain of identity felt by individuals and families.” [translation]

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To ease this suffering and the cultural shock created by Montreal, Projets autochtones du Québec has chosen to culturally adapt its interventions. “Our approach gives them the opportunity to nurture their sense of self here in Montreal, to realize that one can be Aboriginal and urban at the same time. We hope to help them build an identity that takes into consideration their culture and their history, but also their contemporary urban reality. This is why we work towards building bridges between our clientele and the non-Aboriginal society,” [translation] explains the Director. In addition to offering shelter for 28 men and 9 women on a daily basis3, Projets autochtones du Québec also provides meals and workshops inspired by Aboriginal traditions to help its clients find themselves in the city and gain control over their lives in Montreal. Aboriginals faced inequalities in their communities and they continue to face them in the city.

Homelessness is a prime example. Nonetheless, the urban context can represent an opportunity to acquire power not only over their day-to-day lives, but also over their identities.

1. Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census.

2. Nielsen, Greg M. (2009), “Écrire la pauvreté,” CReMIS, Vol. 2, no. 2, p. 27.

3. In October 2005, 105 clients visited Projets autochtones du Québec (PAQ) on a daily basis.

In the field

32 years of coming together for the peoples of Senneterre

By Annette Mathias, Centre d’entraide et d’amitié autochtone de Senneterre (Native Friendship Centre

of Senneterre) Senneterre, Fall 1978. The Centre d’entraide et d’amitié (mutual help and friendship center) opens its doors to help a nomadic population composed of Cree, Algonquin, and Attikamekw who visit the area for supplies and services of all kinds. Harmonious cohabitation has yet to exist in the region, which means that Aboriginals must leave town before sundown to avoid imprisonment. On both sides, indifference and distrust persist from one generation to another, but the determination of the founders of the Centre d’entraide et d’amitié autochtone de Senneterre will make a difference.

Over the years, the involvement of numerous Aboriginal partners and civil society organizations has made it possible for the Centre to consolidate its services and attain its main goals, i.e. to improve the quality of life of Aboriginal people, promote their culture, and foster closer relations

photo : Centre d’entraide et d’amitié autochtone de Senneterre

“The Shabogamak chalet [...] serves as an ideal location for presenting Aboriginal cultural awareness workshops and developing authentic relationships with new generations.” among peoples.

Countless intercultural interaction projects between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginal residents of Senneterre have been carried out. These include discussion workshops and a working table successfully bringing together stakeholders from various backgrounds. We must not forget the Nottaway Migwam event, during which an actual Aboriginal camp is set up. The population is invited to taste traditional cuisine, enjoy traditional dance presentations, view documentaries on culture, and chat with Cree, Algonquin, Atikamekw, and other nations who visit the Centre d’entraide et d’amitié autochtone de Senneterre.

The Shabogamak chalet is a magnificent site located on the banks of Lake Parent, just nine kilometers from

Activity organized at the Shabogamak chalet

Senneterre. It is the ideal natural setting for the organization of activities for the entire population. Whether it be for camping and fishing in the summer, or tobogganing and snowshoeing in the winter, the chalet can also accommodate training workshops, cultural demonstrations, and Aboriginal social gatherings.

The Shabogamak chalet welcomes students from Senneterre schools and serves as an ideal location for presenting Aboriginal cultural awareness workshops and developing authentic relationships with new generations.

Senneterre Aboriginal history and countless Aboriginal customs are learned through the intergenerational passing down of their culture. Very popular among students and school authorities, these gatherings are a means of reconnecting with our Elders and raising awareness among young Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals regarding the protection of our Mother Earth. The Shabogamak chalet also hosts an annual carnival featuring a program for all ages and gathering Senneterre’s nations and residents together for games and activities, both traditional and sports-related: a broomball tournament, ice fishing, a tug of war, tobogganing, snowmobile rides, and an Aboriginal feast!

After all these years, the Centre d’entraide et d’amitié autochtone de Senneterre has an integrated vision and plays an important role in its community. Its challenges have evolved since 1978 and harmonious coexistence has been facilitated because of those who believe in peace and friendship.

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In the field

Abinodjic-Miguam Early Childhood Center: The face of change!

By France-Claude Goyette, Centre de la petite enfance Abinodjic-Miguam

(Abinodjic-Miguam Early Childhood Centre)

The Vallée de l’Or regional county municipality (MRC) has the largest number of Aboriginals within its jurisdiction. This group, representing 7.9 % (3500 people) of the population, is also experiencing the strongest demographic growth in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region. Val‑d’Or is already home to 55 % of Aboriginals, and this number will no doubt continue to increase given the accelerating pace of urbanization. The idea of creating an Aboriginal early childhood center for all communities – Aboriginal and non-native – therefore arose

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from this obvious need for daycare places for Aboriginal children living in the city, as well as from the significant need of Algonquin and Cree communities passing through Val‑d’Or, from Aboriginal poverty and the underuse of existing daycare services, and finally from the urgent need to foster intercultural exchanges to counter racial discrimination.

Open to the public since April 1, 2003, the AbinodjicMiguam Early Childhood Centre – its name means “house of children” in Algonquin – welcomes 130 children: 80 at

photo : CPE Abinodjic-Miguam

Graduating to preschool

In the field

“The Abinodjic-Miguam Early Childhood Centre and its little ones can be agents of change!”

the facility and 50 through its home daycare services coordinating office. Aboriginal children represent 60 % of the clientele. At the early childhood center, children, adults, Aboriginals, and non-natives learn to get to know one another, share their cultures, and enjoy a daily routine of discovery and learning together. For the early childhood center, it is essential that this mix, and the ratio, be maintained to help harmonize cultures in Val‑d’Or. And from everyone’s point of view, early childhood is the strategic starting.

The Abinodjic-Miguam Early Childhood Centre’s mission is obviously to ensure a happy, healthy, safe, and stimulating environment for children under the age of 6. But the Centre also seeks to promote, share, and experience First Nations’ culture in a respectful, harmonious, and rewarding environment for all. The Centre therefore works constantly to keep that culture present, for example through language, dance, and legend. The approach is holistic and promotes the four dimensions of a person’s life: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. And since the individual is an integral part of the community environment, the entire community is taken into account in the Center’s work. Seniors, for example, play a major role as participants in activities.

Of Algonquin, Cree, Attikamekw, Wendake-Huron, and Abenaki origin, Aboriginal educators represent 86 % of the Centre’s educational staff. A hiring policy was adopted giving priority to members of the First Nations in recruiting.

This policy ensures the presence of Aboriginal personnel to preserve and support the cultural character of AbinodjicMiguam’s mission over the long term.

In partnership with local Aboriginal organizations, the Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue offers two custom training

“Of Algonquin, Cree, Attikamekw, Wendake-Huron, and Abenaki origin, Aboriginal educators represent 86 % of the Centre’s educational staff.”

photos : CPE Abinodjic-Miguam

Noémie-Angel says “Peek-a-boo!”

sessions for the daycare education of Aboriginal children.

The training has enabled 37 Aboriginal women and one man to receive a diploma in daycare education, to enter the labor market, and therefore to improve their living conditions.

A third training session was in progress at press time.

One of the early childhood center’s challenges is the high absenteeism rate, both among children and educators. There seem to be several explanations: higher maternity rate among Aboriginal educators than non-native ones, hunting seasons, mourning that affects a lot of people at once, etc.

Many parents staying in Val‑d’Or for post-secondary studies (Pavillon des Premiers-Peuples at the UQAT) return to their communities in the North during the summer.

Despite the challenges, the Abinodjic-Miguam Early Childhood Centre is an asset for the Aboriginal community. It creates community research and jobs, affirms the Aboriginal presence in Val‑d’Or, and contributes to intercultural harmony. During the first registration period in 2003, the parents of non-native children were hesitant about the qualifications of Aboriginal educators; some concerns that demonstrated prejudice and a lack of understanding of Aboriginal culture were even expressed. One year after the daycare opened, the same parents said they were privileged to benefit from its cultural mix. As such, the AbinodjicMiguam Early Childhood Centre and its little ones can be agents of change!

The MIGIZI (eagle) group with their Halloween creation.

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In the field

Aboriginal Montreal A guided tour by l’Autre Montréal

By Angèle-Anne Brouillette, Editorial Committee

Widespread presence Aboriginals from Quebec, the rest of Canada, the United States, and Latin America have been moving to Canadian cities since the end of World War II. In Montreal, this phenomenon was particularly evident during the 1980s. Developing a reliable statistical portrait of the Aboriginal presence in Montreal is a dicey proposition and estimating the population comes down to evaluating the power relationships at play. First, who is an Aboriginal and who has the authority to decide so? Next, Kahnawake and Kanesatake, the Mohawk reserves in the region, decided to no longer be included in Canada’s last two censuses. Moreover, some Aboriginals do not identify themselves as members of First Nations due to the lower status often associated with this specific group, while others identify themselves as living in their home communities, even if they now live in the city. Thus, the last census indicates that there were 18 000 Aboriginals in Montreal, while observers estimate the number to be closer to 50 000.

This is a huge gap that illustrates the complexity of the identity issue at the heart of the reality of Aboriginal Montrealers.

Striking cohabitation Since its early existence, Montreal has been a city where non-Aboriginals and Aboriginals have cohabited, because it was the favored location for converting the latter to Catholicism. The Autre Montréal guided tour illustrates this well, through visits to several historic buildings, including the Collège de Montréal at the corner of Sherbrooke and Atwater, a small Sulpicien Order kingdom, one of the two congregations behind the organization of the Kanesatake territories. A major crossroads for the fur trade, Montreal was also the meeting place for various First Nations. During this era, Montreal also had 1500 slaves driven out of the Mississippi Valley by various military raids, a third of them Black and two thirds Aboriginal.

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The Caughnawaga Reserve, as seen from the Lachine Bridge.

Dispelling myths, promoting a modern image A survey of members undertaken by Aboriginal friendship centers reveals a disparity between non-Aboriginal perceptions and the reality experienced by Aboriginals in Montreal.

Catherine Browne, organizer-researcher at l’Autre Montréal states: “They are deeply rooted in the contemporary world, and have been since the beginning of colonization. The Mohawk are very cosmopolitan; they sent representatives to the European courts beginning in the 18th century, they fought alongside the British in Egypt in 1885, and at the end of the 19th century, they helped construct major 20th century buildings and structures: bridges and skyscrapers. To suggest that these people are removed from the modern world is completely false.” [translation] The guided tour demonstrates the cultural vitality and international nature of relationships among Aboriginals in our surroundings today, particularly thanks to the dynamic nature of the Montreal First Peoples’ Festival. “We can see that the community is vibrant. Aboriginal people have gone from being invisible to slightly more visible within the city, mostly thanks to cultural events. There is a real reconstruction of their image and a healthy confrontation with the modern world.” [translation] Providing surprises and discoveries, the Autre Montréal guided tour makes people aware of significant historical realities that are often hidden. Catherine Browne explains: “We’re the ones learning in this situation. Both the participants and our organization have been struck by the little we know about Aboriginals and yet, they were here before the Europeans, they were here with the Europeans, and they’re still here!” [translation]

photo : L’Autre Montréal

On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Oka Crisis, l’Autre Montréal (The Other Montreal) – an urban educational organization born of a commitment by members of the Saint-Louis tenants’ committee to understand issues surrounding the transformation of certain Montreal neighborhoods during the 1970s – offered a guided tour of Aboriginal Montreal with visits to several key landmarks. This is a tour that challenges certain myths and sheds a little more light on the presence of First Nations people pivotal in the city’s founding.

In the field

La Légende d’Aigle-Doré

photo : Julie Girard BOOK’S Illustration: Tanicha Flamand illustration : anne-laure jean

By Carole Flamand, Centre d’amitié autochtone de Lanaudière (Lanaudière Native friendship center)

Fostering closer relationships among peoples, promoting culture, and improving the quality of life of Aboriginal citizens are daily challenges faced by Quebec Native Friendship Centres. Their mission is carried out through various efforts, and at the Centre d’amitié autochtone de Lanaudière, this has involved provoking both individual and collective reflection among young Aboriginals living in the region’s urban area by proposing an innovative and creative project entitled La Légende d’Aigle-Doré to them.

An Aboriginal tale about egalitarian relationships, presenting a non-stereotypical situation of a young Aboriginal teenage girl, La Légende d’Aigle-Doré was created by young Aboriginals who live in the Lanaudière region’s urban area.

They illustrated, edited, and wrote the tale. Tapping into the Centre d’amitié autochtone de Lanaudière’s reading and writing club, La Légende d’Aigle-Doré successfully mobilized youth, offering young participants the opportunity to be personally involved in a concrete and comprehensive publishing project.

Officially launched in Joliette in April 2010, La Légende d’Aigle-Doré has been distributed in Attikamekw schools and Quebec Native Friendship Centres, as well as in elementary and high schools in and around Joliette. This project gives a whole new meaning to building bridges among peoples: with its Aboriginal tale and Atikamekw-French vocabulary, La Légende d’Aigle-Doré is becoming a tool for enhancing self-esteem among and passing down Aboriginal culture to all young people! Through this initiative, the Centre d’amitié autochtone de Lanaudière is seeking to strengthen identities and the social bonds between the peoples and nations cohabiting the region.

skills. La Légende d’Aigle-Doré is also enriching the social and cultural lives of young people and contributing to an enhanced sense of pride in their culture and heritage.

La Légende d’Aigle-Doré: a tale written and illustrated by young Aboriginals.

“La Légende d’Aigle-Doré (the legend of Golden Eagle) has become a tool to enhance selfesteem among and pass down Aboriginal culture to all young people!”

By making this idea their own and getting enthusiastically involved in all aspects of this rallying project, young Aboriginals living in urban areas worked towards improving the well-being of their community and enhanced the development of their own educational, cultural, and entrepreneurial DÉVELOPPEMENT SOCIAL VOL.11 – No 3 – february 2011

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In the field

The work behind an improved reciprocal integration

By Maud Emmanuelle Labesse, Editorial Committee

By weaving new future networks for young Aboriginals and their families, a small Val-d’Or socio-professional integration business is encouraging an intercultural rapprochement between the population and local businesses. without explicitely intending it.

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“When Technobois opened in 1997, Aboriginals were not among its target customers,” states Stéphane Audy, the organization’s director. “Today, Aboriginal communities located around Val-d’Or are overflowing and very few job opportunities are available. An irreversibly ascending wave

photo : Technobois

Ice fishing activity organized by Technobois.

In the field

“...it’s quite a paradox that a metropolis capable of making room for places that disseminate the culture of different ethnic groups has not yet succeeded in doing so, and to the same extent, for First Nations.”

photo : Technobois

of Aboriginals is moving to the city. To this fact, one must add the critical shortage of workers that is currently affecting the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, forcing businesses to recruit outside of their traditional non-Aboriginal labor pool.

There is, however, a significant school dropout rate among young Aboriginals, a fact that complicates their access to the job market. Thus, Technobois offers them socio-professional guidance aimed towards professional insertion or the pursuit of their education.” [translation] Today, young Aboriginals represent up to 40 % of Technobois’ workforce. They complete a 26 week journey, working full-time and accomplishing various tasks throughout the wood processing chain. Make no mistake: “Wood is only an excuse,” states Stéphane Audy. “What we work on here is mainly the behavior of these young people, both inside and outside the factory. With the Aboriginal clientele, a big part of the project consists in explaining the values on which the western work culture is based, such as

Employees at work at the Technobois factory.

assiduity and performance. These values are not intrinsically present in Aboriginal cultures who greatly value the present.”

To succeed, Technobois has chosen a culturally open and adapted approach. Employees must, among other things, participate in six workshops that address psychosocial aspects varying from problem-solving skills to self-awareness. These workshops use as many Aboriginal cultural references as possible. Bringing together both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal employees, the workshops create a unique intercultural rapprochement by demystifying cultures.

“The greatest difficulty is not learning at Technobois, but leaving. [...] Businesses, which belong mainly to white people, remain hesitant about hiring Aboriginal workers,” says Stéphane Audy. “Their methods are designed for a culturally uniform workforce. We often approach them ourselves, seeking internships for Aboriginal candidates. [...] This can be the missing piece required to lead them elsewhere. We sometimes even offer to pay their salary for a two-week period to eliminate any hesitations. [...] Since they are hard workers, they are often given the opportunity to remain on the job after this period.”

Because of their difficulty breaking into the labor market, most young Aboriginals go back to school once their journey at Technobois is completed. “On one hand, I think they realize what kinds of jobs are available to them without a diploma. On the other hand, most of our Aboriginal employees have children. For them, education is a means of improving their situations. Since they come from families who faced numerous social problems, due to the fact that their parents were unemployed, this is an opportunity for them to break the cycle and offer a different childhood to their own children.” [translation] Without intending to do so, the socio-professional integration process Technobois fosters makes the business a real transitional ground between two cultures, two living environments, and two generations.

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In the field

Vision of the eagle, wisdom of the turtle

By Gustavo Zamora Jiménez, Cercle des Premières Nations de l’Université du Québec à Montréal

Working out of downtown Montreal, the Cercle des Premières Nations de l’UQAM –CPNUQAM (First Nations Circle of the University of Quebec in Montreal) is a student association dedicated to supporting Aboriginal students at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), particularly in terms of their integration into university and city life. It also disseminates and promotes Aboriginal culture, while creating bonds of friendship and cooperation between Aboriginals and non-natives.

Although it appears a simple student association, the Cercle des Premières Nations is much more than a university group, as its many successes show – the fruit of constant hard work that continues today.

“In fact, it’s quite a paradox that a metropolis capable of making room for places that disseminate the culture of various ethnic groups has not yet succeeded in doing so, and to the same extent, for First Nations.”

Background The group started in 1990 under the name Comité des Premières Nations de l’UQAM Committee of First Nations of UQAM). In 1993, the CPNUQAM adopted its current name, and obtained an office at the university, becoming the first French-language university organization devoted to supporting Aboriginal students in an urban environment. The Cercle des Premières Nations was accredited as a non-profit organization in 1994 and expanded its mandate beyond the university in 1996 by developing a partnership with Land InSights for the production of the First Peoples’ Festival Présence autochtone. What distinguishes the Cercle is that many mem-

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bers remain in the group even after graduating, because they believe in its mission, its commitment to Aboriginals, and its ability to work by consensus with a composition of Aboriginal and non-native members.

Successes Over the years, members of the Cercle have accomplished a variety of political, artistic, and cultural activities. A demonstration around the signing of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was organized in 2008 in partnership with the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, and Amnesty International. The same year, Aboriginal artwork and critical discourse were highlighted at the colloquium Paroles et pratiques artistiques autochtones au Québec aujourd’hui (the words and art practices of Aboriginals in Quebec today), organized jointly with the Centre interuniversitaire d’études sur les arts, les lettres et les traditions – CELAT (inter-university center for the study of arts and traditions). In 2010, the event KéBEK: La place des Premières Nations dans un Québec interculturel (the place of First Nations in an intercultural Quebec), strongly supported by the Interdisciplinary Research Group on the Americas, called to mind that Amerindians and Inuit also have contributions to make to the development of an intercultural Quebec model. These are just three examples of the number of activities carried out by the Cercle and its supporters.

Aboriginal art-culture evenings Since 2010, the Cercle des Premières Nations de l’Université du Québec à Montréal has been part of the Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network’s Art-culture committee. Working in cooperation with such august organizations as Land InSights and Ondinnok, the Circle has been organizing monthly meetings – the Soirées Art-culture autochtones (Aboriginal Art-culture evenings) – the first Thursday of the month. The evenings are designed to bring people together in a 5‑à‑7 ambience, uniting Aboriginals and giving them a sense of belonging while also building bridges with non-natives, who are cordially invited to participate in the evenings and to enjoy the cultural wealth of music and performing arts from 11 Aboriginal nations in Quebec. By December 2010, four such evenings had already been organized, and the Cercle des Premières Nations hoped they would become a tradition.

In the field

While the success of the Aboriginal Art-culture evenings is worth celebrating, it should also be noted that they were created precisely to remedy the absence of a community location for Aboriginal art and culture in Montreal. In fact, it’s quite a paradox that a metropolis capable of making room for places that disseminate the culture of various ethnic groups has not yet succeeded in doing so, and to the same extent, for First Nations. The Art-culture Committee of the Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network is therefore working to create the conditions that would make such a place possible.

In the future, the Cercle plans to launch many other initiatives to help Aboriginal students find their place and to give the rest of Quebec an opportunity to better understand the wealth of First Nations’ contributions to all of society.

Future projects

illustration : Anne-laure JEAN

Obviously, the story of the Cercle des Premières Nations de l’UQAM does not stop there.

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community life

Healthy lifestyle habits for children and youth in Aboriginal communities

By Caroline Beaulieu, Secrétariat aux affaires autochtones (Aboriginal affairs secretariat)

Driven by a desire to contribute to the fulfillment of young Aboriginals’ potential, the Quebec government established the Programme d’aide financière pour l’embauche et le suivi de coordonnateurs en sport et loisir, et d’implication communautaire et citoyenne (funding program for the hiring and follow-up of sports and leisure coordinators, and for community and citizen involvement). This initiative, which emerged from the First Nations Socio-Economic Forum (2006), is currently underway in 15 Aboriginal communities, impacting more than 5000 children and teenagers living in underprivileged areas.

Efforts to provide these communities with concrete means to fight idleness respond to a need expressed by several Aboriginal chiefs, who have stressed the importance of constructively occupying youth. By learning to enjoy sports and outdoor activities, young Aboriginals enhance their self-esteem and develop a sense of purpose and a desire for success.

By organizing and coordinating recreational activities, sports and leisure coordinators actively promote healthy lifestyle habits among community members. They use diverse means to encourage people to be active and the results are often spectacular. For example, they organize team sports tournaments and day camps during summer months, encourage youth and their parents to participate in community walks, plan forest expeditions, and lead workshops in youth centers. Hundreds of young people and their parents are consequently more active and more aware of the benefits of physical activity.

Québec en forme (Quebec in shape), a key partner in the program, puts its network and its resources to work for Aboriginal communities. Both regionally and provincially, Québec en forme assists sports and leisure coordinators in

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their community mobilization efforts targeting the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits. Within each administrative region, a Québec en forme development agent works closely with the provincial program coordinator to help communities wishing to acquire tools to promote a physically active lifestyle.

Inspired by the coordinator in Wemotaci (Attikamekw First Nation community of over 1000 inhabitants, located in the Mauricie region of Quebec), approximately 20 local stakeholders (education, health, social services, elected representatives, etc.) joined forces to develop a strategic plan to instill healthy lifestyle habits among youth from 0 to 17 years of age. As part of this plan, a soccer camp was organized. This made it possible for about 40 youngsters to enjoy an active and stimulating summer. This local mobilization, supported

by Québec en forme, is an excellent example of a community’s willingness to equip itself with tools that will guarantee the well-being of young people. Without a doubt, other positive initiatives resulting from community mobilization efforts will soon be developed within other communities. The program’s spin-offs are numerous and translate into greater access to activities, a higher youth participation rate in recreational activities offered, less vandalism, and an improved social climate, among other things. The data collected reveals that community mobilization, especially when paired with parental involvement, makes effective youth intervention possible and helps improve communication among the various partners, both within and outside the community.

After all, they all have a common goal: the promotion of healthy lifestyle habits.

SOCIAL INNOVATION

New Technical College Transfer Centers

photo : fanny ducharme

By Caroline Mongrain, Editorial Committee The Centres collégiaux de transfert de technologie – CCTT (college centers for technology transfer) have been recognized since 1983 by the Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport – MELS (department of education, sports, and leisure) in conjunction with the Ministère du Développement économique, de l’Innovation et de l’Exportation – MDEIE (department of economic development, innovation and export trade).

The new CCTT-PSNs (college centers for technology transfer in innovative social practices) are research transfer and development agents. Their ultimate goal being social development, the centers are sites for applied interdisciplinary research that aim to fulfill the needs of user environments and solve social problems and issues expressed by these users.

Through knowledge transfer and training, the CCTT-PSNs provide support to practice environments in the area of prevention, in particular. They work in association with various partners such as institutions, organizations, and communities.

Recently, the MDEIE, through the Direction de l’innovation et du transfert – DIT (innovation and transfer branch), participated in the selection process for the recognition of three additional CCTT-PSNs. Those selected were: The Centre for Research on Educational and Professional Inclusion for Students with Disabilities (Centre de recherche sur l’inclusion scolaire et professionnelle des étudiantes et étudiants en situation de handicap or CRISPESH), affiliated with Dawson College and the Cégep du Vieux Montréal (Old Montreal CEGEP); its mission will be to contribute to the development and adoption of practices for the optimal integration of people living with disabilities in both their educational settings and the environments in which they will be practising their trade or professions.

The Centre d’initiation à la recherche et d’aide au développement durable – CIRADD (Introduction to research and sustainable development assistance center), affiliated with the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles (Gaspesie and Islands CEGEP); it will offer support services in social innovation research that promotes sustainable development principles to the entire Gaspésie and Îles-de-la-Madeleine population.

The Centre d’étude en responsabilité sociale et écocitoyenneté – CERSÉ (social responsibility and ecocitizenship research center), affiliated with the Cégep de Rosemont; this Centre will play a consultation and referral role as well as encourage the transfer of social innovation and the adoption of innovative social practices from a sustainable development perspective.

It seems important here to define “social innovation”, to properly understand what is meant by the term “innovative social practices.” “Social innovation” can be defined as “any new approach, practice, or intervention or any product developed to improve a situation or solve a social problem that has been adopted by institutions, organizations, and communities1.” Innovative social practices include all actions, strategies, methods, or products developed – through research among other things – of an innovative nature that aim to fulfill precise needs within an environment.

The CCTT-PSNs respond primarily to needs expressed by user environments, and encourage new knowledge transfer towards these environments by accompanying them throughout the various steps involved. They provide monitoring, research, consultation, training, and accompaniment activities. They bring together an environment’s stakeholders and create a pool of resources for the appropriation of new knowledge and the development of new social practices within their environment. By welcoming knowledge sharing, enhancing the understanding of social issues, and collaborating towards the identification of possible solutions for problematic issues, the CCTT-PSNs are guaranteeing a positive impact on Quebec’s economic and social development and their regions.

A CCTT-PSN is considered to have made a positive impact when a social problem has been resolved or improved, new skills have been cultivated or developed within a user environment, or economies of scale have been made in terms of quality of life or quality of work, improved life in society, a positive impact on people’s health, or changes in culture or leisure activities.

1. Camil Bouchard (1999), Groupe de travail sur l’innovation sociale, p. 46.

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JUST RELEASED

Community organization practices in health and social services centers RQIIAC terms of reference RQIIAC in cooperation with René Lachapelle (2010), Quebec City, Presses de l’Université du Québec.

With the creation of the Centres de santé et de services sociaux (CSSS) (health and social service centers), in 2004 and transformations in local communities in the past decade, it has been essential for the Regroupement québécois des intervenantes et intervenants en action communautaire en CSSS (RQIIAC) (association of community action workers in health and social service centers) to revise its terms of reference published in 2003. Adopted in March 2010 following a consultation carried out in various regions of Quebec, the new text describes the key aspects of the work of community organizers in health centers. It includes the practice framework, which addresses the organization of work, its management, and support, as well as 14 practical accounts that illustrate the concepts being put forward.

[In French]

The point of view of citizens in the northern Lanaudière region on their participation in local sustainable development facilitation activities Forest, Danielle and Lise St-Germain (2010), Research Report, Centre de recherche sociale appliquée, CSSS Nord de Lanaudière Drawing on the concrete experience of close to 60 citizens involved in six facilitation processes in their region, the research in this book highlights their point of view on the motivation, factors, and impediments that influenced their participation in the processes. The points of view of workers, elected officials, and leaders relating to this citizens’ account are also highlighted. The study concludes with several avenues for action and recommendations to support citizen participation in sustainable development facilitation activities in their region.

[In French]

Another way to travel in Quebec Transport 2000 (2010), transport2000qc.org Whether for leisure, study, or work, Quebec and especially the metropolitan region of Montreal offer a variety of ways to get around. This guide is a first in the French-speaking world: it gathers information about the different means of public transit in Quebec and breaks down regional barriers by presenting all means of public transit available throughout Quebec.

[In French]

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The pedagogy of social development: Building a common cause Graven, Jean-Luc, Anne-Catherine Berne, and Pascaline Nové-Josserand (2010), Lyon, Chronique sociale What is social development? How can a region’s population be motivated to participate and work together? How should that population be reached? Is it possible to motivate people to make long-term commitments? How should partnerships be created with the various stakeholders that work in a given region? Can the involvement of residents really transform their daily reality? How should change be evaluated?

These are some of the questions tackled by the team that led the Faire cause commune (building a common cause) project. They initiated field work to enable the residents of working-class districts to get involved as citizens with the various stakeholders in their environments. This experience was the source of a methodological research project, enriched significantly by other social development experiences in France and abroad, leading to the publication of this book.

[In French]

Networks responsible for their populations: Modernizing health governance and management Roy, Denis A., Eric Litvak, Fred Paccaud (2010), Montreal, Les éditions Le Point How can a health system that is more effective and better adapted to the many constraints be created? This book offers a set of innovative avenues and proposals to renew health governance and management. Since today’s needs and the ways of responding to them are very different from those of the past, many traditional approaches must be questioned and replaced by other better adapted, simpler, less costly, and more effective ones.

[In French]

The tree is in its leaves and the forest, in its community Teitelbaum, Sara and Éric Saumure (2010), A guide to community forestry, Solidarité rurale du Québec Quebec’s forests cover an area about twice the size of France. However, this resource wealth provides little benefit to the nearby communities. Aware of the interest that a forest management method in line with community aspirations would have, in turn providing nearby communities with a lever for sustainable development, Solidarité rurale du Québec (rural solidarity) has launched a guide to community forestry. The current context is favorable to such an approach, and the new forestry regime allows for local forest projects. Intended for leaders, workers, and citizens, this guide explains this concept, which is the result of a long tradition of local action. A dozen novel initiatives happening in Quebec, the rest of Canada, and elsewhere are presented, as well as the success factors.

[In French or in English] DÉVELOPPEMENT SOCIAL VOL.11 – No 3 – february 2011

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Briefing Notes

The trend chart: Essential to community development

By Ginette Boyer, Tableau de bord CSSS-IUGS (Health and social services center – University Institute of Geriatrics of Sherbrooke trend chart)

Finally! Thanks to the Tableau de bord des communautés (community trend chart) developed by the Observatoire estrien du développement des communautés – OEDC (Estrie region community development platform), statistical data from Statistics Canada and the Institut de la statistique du Québec (Quebec statistics institute) are now available on a small scale for 66 local communities in the Estrie region, to enable them to better focus their development.

“Detailed knowledge of each community is essential to be able to work effectively toward its development, to enhance the implementation of strategic plans, family policies, and local interventions,” [translation] said Paul Morin, president of the OEDC and social development researcher at Sherbrooke University. The trend chart gathers statistical data on income, demographics, economic activity, etc., as well as qualitative data on community development potential such as sense of security, citizen participation, and interactions in terms of local dynamics.

With all this data available on the www.oedc.qc.ca Web site, this is much more than a tool. “In the Memphremagog region, more than a hundred people helped implement the trend chart,” said Vicky May Hamm, Mayor of Magog. “The tool’s implementation and development process alone is an achievement. More than a statistical portrait, the trend chart enables stakeholders to reveal the dynamic identity of our milieu, to understand the inter-influence of strengths and weaknesses in each zone within our area.” [translation] Éric Bourgault, rural development agent at the CLD du ValSaint-François (Val-Saint-François local development center) and coordinator of the Table intersectorielle stratégique (strategic inter-sector committee), added that: “What’s interesting is that the data are available by local community, by MRC, and at the regional and provincial levels.” Yvon Boisvert, coordinator of community life at the City of Sherbrooke, agreed: “The community trend chart is a special tool for drawing a portrait of the situation and helping interested boroughs to prepare their social and community development action plans.” [translation] The trend chart adventure started in the Spring of 2008 when 66 local communities of about 5000 people were defined for the Estrie administrative region. To ensure validity and respect certain ethical issues, some rural villages had to be combined, and some urban districts divided. Then a series of indicators was chosen. In all, the community trend chart has 19 indicator categories, such as population age, which result in 126 information elements, such as 14 age groups.

This inter-sector, participatory process was coordinated by the OEDC in close cooperation with the Direction

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de la santé publique et de l’évaluation de l’Estrie (Estrie public health and evaluation department). Many partners also invested in the project, including the Conférence régionale des élus de l’Estrie (regional council of elected officials), the Estrie health and social service centers, Emploi-Québec, the City of Sherbrooke, Centraide-Estrie, the Estrie SADCs (community futures development corporations), and Statistics Canada’s community liaison program. “This was a real success for partners in the Estrie region – with great collaboration between the local and regional levels, between the central city and MRCs, between researchers and people in the field,” said Paul Morin. [translation]

Municipalité amie des enfants (child-friendly municipality) recognition and accreditation program Maude Bergeron-Lavoie, Carrefour action municipale et famille (family and municipal action center) By

Both Quebec City and the Municipality of Notre-Dame-duMont-Carmel were given Municipalité amie des enfants accreditation last Fall by the Carrefour action municipale et famille and UNICEF Québec during National Child Day celebrations.

Launched in November 2009 during the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Municipalité amie des enfants is a recognition and accreditation program run by the Carrefour action municipale et famille in cooperation with UNICEF Québec. Gradual implementation of the program in Quebec is in progress, having begun subsequent to the launch, when three pilot municipalities were accredited: Saint-Bruno, Sainte-Julie, and the Borough of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

What is the origin of the Municipalité amie des enfants program?

This is the Quebec version of the International Child Friendly City Initiative, launched in 1996 through a resolution adopted at the Second UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II, Istanbul 1996), whose goal was to make cities livable for all, particularly children. The Conference’s declaration confirmed that the well-being of children is the supreme indicator of a healthy habitat, a democratic society, and the sound management of public affairs.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child calls on cities to rethink their structure, services, and facilities that affect the quality of life of their communities. In terms of municipal responsibilities, a Municipalité amie des enfants is therefore com-

mitted to helping apply the Convention and celebrating National Child Day. The Municipalité amie des enfants program is directly linked to the movement, started in Quebec in 1989, that led municipalities to adopt a family policy for their community.

Municipalité amie des enfants goals The main goal is to make known the projects and actions undertaken by municipalities, regional county municipalities, cities, and boroughs that agree to respect and promote the Convention of the Rights of the Child in their community.

More specifically, the program: Makes the living environment increasingly welcoming and accessible to children and youth, while improving their safety, environment, and access to culture and recreation; Makes children and youth aware of civic-mindedness and fosters their inclusion in the community through their participation in adapted structures where they are heard and respected; Encourages the development of projects that foster family policies by making the rights of children central to the process; Makes the situation of children in the world better known and develops a spirit of international solidarity; Annually celebrates National Child Day. To participate in this citizen project, interested municipalities must prepare a candidate’s file by downloading the required documents from the CAMF site (www.carrefourmunicipal.qc.ca). A promotional video is also available to learn about best child-friendly practices.

Strategies to improve working conditions in social economy and community action employment

By Céline Charpentier, Comité sectoriel de main-d’œuvre de l’économie sociale et de l’action communautaire – CSMOÉSAC (sectoral committee on the social economy labor force and community action)

The survey Les Repères en économie sociale et en action communautaire. Panorama du secteur et de sa main-d’œuvre 2009 (Reference points in community action and the social economy. An overview of the sector and its labor force 2009) sheds additional light on the work and wage conditions of workers in the sector. In the survey, more than half of the managers (60 %) say they are concerned about succession, forecasting the largest wave of departures in 2012. In the last three years,

51 % of organizations encountered difficulties filling one or more positions. To address this lack of qualified labor, managers clearly indicated that one of the preferred strategies is to improve working conditions and wages (bonuses, upgrades, competitive salaries, wage increases, group insurance, pension funds, member-funded retirement savings, etc.).

Held last Fall, a day of reflection on improving work conditions was organized by the Groupe national pour l’amélioration des conditions de travail (national group to improve working conditions)1. The goal was to inform and sensitize stakeholders regarding the challenges involved in improving work conditions (mainly financial) in the sector.

To guide the reflection and discussions among 85 participants, three case examples of organizations that developed strategies in this regard were presented. Participants then had the opportunity to share in a workshop setting. They discussed at length the obstacles encountered in trying to implement such strategies. Finally, potential solutions were discussed, including collective approaches. The following are a few elements that surfaced.

Organizations have specifically adopted measures that increase non-pecuniary benefits in their efforts to improve working conditions.

Organization funding and the change of mentalities are considerable obstacles to improving work conditions, which is impossible to separate from the current economic situation. Organizations must update their human resources management practices to increase employee loyalty.

In terms of internal management, the mobilization of several actors – including board members and workers – is required to adequately respond to current challenges.

The process of improving work conditions involves collective strategies when alliances with national groups and unions can help generate strength in the eyes of funding providers.

Recognition for work accomplished by community organizations and social economy enterprises and the visibility of this value-added sector of employment is central to the work perspectives identified by participants at the day of reflection on improving work conditions.

The Groupe national sur l’amélioration des conditions de travail in social economy and community action employment will continue to hold various meetings based on the ideas expressed. Therefore, to be continued!

1. The Groupe national pour l’amélioration des conditions de travail consists of the following organizations: Chantier de l’économie sociale, CSMO économie sociale action communautaire, CSN, FTQ, Relais Femmes, Fédération des centres d’action bénévoles du Québec, Coalition des organismes communautaires en développement de la main-d’œuvre, Conseil des loisirs du Québec, Fédération des professionnèles-CSN, Société des attractions touristiques du Québec, and Festivals et Évènements Québec.

DÉVELOPPEMENT SOCIAL VOL.11 – No 3 – february 2011

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D’ici et d’ailleurs

Concrete action for the future of urban Aboriginal youth

By Jorge Herrera, Centre d’amitié autochtone de Montréal (Native Friendship Centre of Montreal)

For a second consecutive year, a group of seven young Aboriginals from various urban communities throughout Quebec eagerly took part in the project Sensibilisation à la culture entrepreneuriale collective chez les jeunes Autochtones en milieu urbain (raising awareness of collective entrepreneurship culture among urban Aboriginal youth). Initiated by the Regroupement des centres d’amitié autochtones du Québec – RCAAQ (Association of Quebec Native Friendship Centres), and in partnership with the Office Québec-Amérique pour la jeunesse – OQAJ (Quebec-America office for youth), this creative and innovative Quebec-Mexico exchange was aimed at raising awareness of collective entrepreneurship among Quebec Aboriginal youth through a cultural sharing of experiences between Aboriginal communities. For a week, a delegation of young Aboriginals from specific urban communities – La Tuque, Val-d’Or, Quebec City, and Montreal – visited various Aboriginal social economy projects in the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico.

A sea of opportunities and even dreams This experience enabled us to attain a number of goals, including the main one: to remind us that social economy remains anchored in our Aboriginal roots, that it is part of our past, and that it can still serve as a tool to ensure our future; and secondly, to widen our horizons by establishing bonds of solidarity, within and outside the community; and lastly, to encourage our youth to become promoters of social entrepreneurship. We need to help youth to see themselves as key community agents. They must learn to assume their responsibilities in collective decision-making. The QuebecMexico project already seems to be bearing fruit!

New solidarities Most of young Aboriginal Quebecers living in urban settings feel distant from their communities and must often face their difficulties alone. Having Quebec Aboriginal youth meet Aboriginals from Chiapas helped point out the importance of solidarity, mutual aid, and knowledge sharing, even beyond geographical borders.

Thanks to this exchange, young people from Quebec and Mexico were able to recognize the similar challenges they face: racism, marginalization, assimilation, social injustice, economic hardships and poverty, changes to their traditio-

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nal living environments, etc. By building bonds of solidarity, the community becomes stronger, making it easier to overcome difficulties and reach set goals. The goal is taking on an added dimension because a larger community is supporting it, and difficulties become learning opportunities rather than failures.

The Chiapas Aboriginal communities increasingly recognize the importance of a partnership between Aboriginal organizations in Quebec and those in Chiapas. This second year of exchange led to improved cooperation between government authorities and Aboriginal organizations, both in terms of planning and organization.

New initiatives Over the last two years, 12 Aboriginal youth from different communities were introduced to social economy. Today, they have become active members of their communities and raise awareness among others, creating ties thanks to new initiatives, in community entrepreneurship in particular.

For instance, after our experience in Mexico, the Centre d’amitié autochtone de Montréal applied its new “expertise” to create a stone-carving cooperative, bringing together young Aboriginals wishing to master the ancient art of carving soapstone. A special room was set up to create these sculptures and the required equipment was purchased. A stone carving artist joined the project and shared his knowledge with youth. After a year and a half of preparation, planning, organizing, and creating, we have had a number of opportunities to exhibit about 20 works. And the project continues!

A few members have already received training on how to manage and administer a cooperative. Soon, a permanent boutique will open to exhibit works and offer Aboriginal art to the Montreal public, with no intermediary. While patiently waiting for the exchange project’s next group of participants, we will pursue these new initiatives with strength and conviction.

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Board of Directors of the Amis de la revue Développement social Mélanie Chabot, Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) Ariane Émond, independent journalist and broadcaster Marcel Gélinas, Regroupement québécois des intervenantes et intervenants en action communautaire (RQIIAC) Denis McKinnon, Table nationale des Corporations de développement communautaire (TNCDC) Louis Poirier, Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) Christiane Lussier, Réseau québécois de développement social (RQDS) Editorial Committee Angèle-Anne Brouillette, Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) Mélanie Chabot, Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) Maud Emmanuelle Labesse, Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) Caroline Mongrain, ministère du Développement économique, de l’Innovation et de l’Exportation (MDEIE) Coordinator and Editor-in-Chief Mélanie Chabot Contributors Robert Aitken, Hugo Asselin, Patricia Auclair, Stéphane Audy, Caroline Beaulieu, Maude Bergeron‑Lavoie, Ginette Boyer, Catherine Browne, Karina Castonguay, Ramélia Chamichian, Céline Charpentier, Édith Cloutier,

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