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ABORIGINAL ALBERTA

The Edmonton Sun n Thursday, June 21, 2012

Wicihitowin gaining traction

ROB DALY Edmonton Sun
The word is a mouthful for newbies, but Edmontons urban Aboriginal strategy program is aptly labelled: In Cree, Wicihitowin means help each other, and that concept is central to Wicihitowin: Circle of Shared Responsibility and Stewardship. The program was the third to be established in Alberta (following Calgary and Lethbridge) after the federal government initiated a new strategy in 2007 designed to address issues facing Aboriginals in Canadian urban settings, and to improve their social and economic opportunities. Its an urban governance model based on indigenous values and governance, said Karen McCarthy, executive director of Edmontons Wicihitowin office. The dialogue between the City and urban Aboriginal people resulted in the Aboriginal Accord and Declaration. The process also identified the need for urban Aboriginal governance, which was developed into the Wicihitowin Circle of Shared Responsibility and Stewardship. The Circle is divided into smaller circles that take action on issues that were identified early on in Wicihitowins short, three-year history. Back in the early days they developed action circles, which were based on the identified areas of need, which are also common with non-Aboriginal communities, said McCarthy. Weve got housing issues, economic development issues, employment and training the action circles were formed to help deal with these areas of concern. Action circles are made up of organizations, community members and agencies that have services or mandates in common. For example, in the Housing action circle, people come from the Homeward Bound program, the Bissell Centre and several areas of government. Each action circle has Terms of Relationship that govern how they function; they have a work plan, and they figure out what their priorities are going to be. Then they develop projects and programs, and work at bringing in new participants. Once those priorities, programs and projects have been set, McCarthy and the rest of the Wicihitowin Circle of Shared Responsibility Society takes those decisions to the next logical step. The society is a separate entity ... we were formed to facilitate contractual agreements and to do the work requested by the Circle. What makes us unique is that we dont deliver programs and services at all. Our mandate is based on four core values: we engage the community as well as organizations and agencies that deliver programs and services for Aboriginal people. We build those relationships up with the community members and organizations and different levels of government. We also work to establish working relationships with First Nations and Metis communities. We co-ordinate the processes. The third pillar is collaboration, which is what we need between the organizations, governments and ministries coming together through identified priorities that this community has come up with. The fourth area is sustainability, because we really believe we need to be selfsustaining. We want to work toward needing less funding from government. While less government funding is the ultimate goal, the municipal government recently earmarked additional funds to enable Wicihitowin to reach shorter-term markers. For the first three years, Wicihitowins worked on a funding model of $75,000 per year, but that base funding has now been increased to $500,000 per year based, claims McCarthy, on the value the mayor, council, and Community Services see in the work currently under way. The Wicihitowin model of engagement, co-ordination, collaboration and sustainability has begun to pick up steam, according to the executive director. We v e s e e n a s t e a d y increase in amount of active participation, and in good outcomes because of that participation and co-ordination between the organizations. As an example, McCarthy describes an initiative derived from the Arts and Culture action circle that went before City Council in February. The Spirit of Edmonton initiative is a series of eight projects along the River Valley, worked on and designed by the Aboriginal community and spearheaded by Lewis Cardinal, a prominent Aboriginal leader and former NDP federal candidate. One of these projects involves Fort Edmonton Park, with efforts being made to enhance the facilitys indigenous peoples experience. Another area is the Shaw Conference Centre, where the plan is to open an arts and culture showcase and sacred fire. A Louise Umphreville governance fountain in the same area will be part of what the initiative hopes to name the Indigenous Trail. A natural history trail has also been suggested, as well as the renaming of the Walterdale and Low Level bridges to the John Rowand and Louise Umphreville bridges respectively. Rowand was Fort Edmontons first Chief Factor, while Umpherville was his Metis wife the first lady of the fort. Theres no guarantee that all or even some of these projects will come to fruition, but with Wicihitowin now able to help guide the process, chances are good that participants will be able to help each other bring these grand designs to fruition.