Newsletter 2013 Spring/Summer - Indian Residential School

irsss.ca
Indian Residential School Survivor Society
Spring/Summer 2013
Inside This Issue:
2-3
IRSS vs. TRC vs. RC
8
PNE Map for TRC Event
4
Our Services and
Resources
9
Membership Form
5
How to Achieve Counsel- 10
ling Services & Hands
Helping Hands
Aboriginal Youth Internship
Andrea Medley
6
Truth and Reconciliation 11
Events
Elders Voice: Andrew
Yellowback
7
Truth and Reconciliation 12
Commission (TRC)
Reconciliation Poster
IRSSS RHSW’s and Contact
Info
Visit us @ www.irsss.ca
1
Indian Residential School
Support Organizations At A
Glance
About
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has a mandate to learn the
truth about what happened in the residential schools and to inform all Canadians
about what happened in the schools. The Commission will document the truth of
what happened by relying on records held by those who operated and funded the
schools, testimony from officials of the institutions that operated the schools, and
experiences reported by survivors, their families, communities and anyone personally affected by the residential school experience and its subsequent impacts.
The Commission hopes to guide and inspire First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples
and Canadians in a process of truth and healing leading toward reconciliation and
renewed relationships based on mutual understanding and respect.
The Commission views reconciliation as an ongoing individual and collective process that will require participation from all those affected by the residential school
experience. This includes First Nations, Inuit, and Métis former students, their
families, communities, religious groups, former Indian Residential School employees, government, and the people of Canada.
The Indian Residential School Survivors Society began in 1994 as a working
committee of the First Nations Summit.
As of March 2002, the organization formally became the Indian Residential
School Survivors Society.
Indian Residential School
Survivors Society
The mandate of the IRSSS is to assist aboriginal peoples in British Columbia to
recognize and be holistically empowered from the generational effects of Indian residential schools by conducting research, promoting awareness, establishing partnerships and advocating for justice and healing. We do this by assisting
with Healing, Education, Counselling, Traditional Healing, Support Groups,
Criminal and Civil Court Support & Referrals
Reconciliation Canada is the vision of Chief Dr. Robert Joseph, Gwawaenuk Tribal
Elder. This charitable project is a collaboration between the Indian Residential
School Survivors Society (IRSSS) and Tides Canada Initiatives Society (TCI).
In the spirit of Nam’wiyut (we are all one), the initiatives of Reconciliation Canada
create opportunity for Canadians, Aboriginal peoples and all Canadians, to learn
about the impacts of residential schooling, heal together by sharing knowledge
and experience, and develop strategies for moving forward in a mutually positive
manner.
Reconciliation Canada firmly believes collective sharing and understanding will
pave the way forward for a stronger and united Canada. Our goal is to revitalize
cross-cultural relationships by hosting reconciliation dialogue workshops across
British Columbia that educate participants about the legacy of residential schools,
followed by a series of cultural events and celebrations during Reconciliation
Week in Vancouver, B.C., on September 17, 21, and 22, 2013
Visit us @ www.irsss.ca
2
Contact Information
Purpose

Prepare a complete historical record on the policies and operations of residential schools.

Complete a public report including recommendations to the parties of the Indian Residential
Schools Settlement Agreement.

Establish a national research centre that will be a
lasting resource about the IRS legacy.

Supports survivors through crisis counselling,
court support, and providing information and referrals

Head Office
1500-360 Main Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3C 3Z3
Telephone: (204) 984-5885
Toll Free: 1-888-872-5554 (1-888-TRC-5554)
Fax: (204) 984-5915
Email: info@trc.ca
413 West Esplanade
North Vancouver, BC
Assists communities to help survivors through
partnerships, training & educational workshops
V7M 1A6

Raises awareness of residential school issues
Toll Free: 1-800-721-0066

Supports and conducts research
Fax: (604) 985-0023

Advocate for justice and healing in both traditional
and non-Aboriginal forms
Email: reception @irsss.ca



Deliver a safe learning opportunity for a diversity
of faith, cultures and organizations to gain an understanding of one another’s shared history beginning with the stories of Aboriginal people and
the Indian residential school system
Engage people from every level of society in open
and honest dialogues about reconciliation and the
unique contributions our diverse histories and
experiences offer in building resilient communities
Telephone: (604) 985-4464
Suite 206 – 1999 Marine Drive
North Vancouver, BC
V7P 3J3
Telephone: (604 )770-4434
info@reconciliationcanada.ca
Catalyze a new way forward in the relationships
between Aboriginal peoples and Canadians that
facilitates a better, stronger Canada for all
Visit us @ www.irsss.ca
3
More about our Services and Resources
We provide emotional support to Indian Residential School (IRS) students/
survivors and those impacted through intergeneration’s. These services are offered before, during and after hearings, at Truth and Reconciliation Commission
(TRC) events, as well as at commemorative events.
At IRSSS we are here to help and support with:

Preparing for hearing(s)

Giving emotional support the Survivors as they go through the hearing
process or giving a statement/testimoney .

Assisting with self-care preparation

Providing referrals to mental health and wellness service providers

Offering support and advocacy for justice and healing

Delivering grief/loss sessions

Counseling and Art Therapy

Coordinating services of Elders and/or Traditional Healers

Specific services determined by the needs of the Survivor (or family)
Dialogue, traditional ceremonies, prayers or traditional healings
We have Resolution Health Support Workers and Cultural Support Workers
available in Vancouver, Surrey, Chilliwack, Kamloops, Williams Lake and Terrace.
Our workers are safe, confidential, respectful and non-judgemental.

For more information or assistance, please call our toll free number: 1-800-721-0066
Visit us @ www.irsss.ca
4
Health Canada
For professional counseling and transportation (when services are not local) please contact
Health Canada.
They will review eligible services available for you under the Health Support Program.
For BC Region:1-877-477-0775 For Yukon: 1-800-464-8106
For Alberta: 1-888-495-6588
Or visit: www.healthcanada.gc.ca/irs
For immediate emotional support/assistance:
1-866-925-4419
Hands Helping Hands:
Homelessness Partnering Strategy Project
By Danielle Wilson-Brown
The Hands Helping Hands program has been going great! The transition from Bonnie Henry
as the community response worker to me was very smooth. I am very excited to be back at the
IRSSS.
I am Tsimshian and Haisla from the Gitxaala Nation. I am studying to be a counselling psychologist at UBC and currently at the Vancouver College of Counselor Training to receive my
certificate in Youth and Family work and diploma of Professional Counselling.
We are keeping quite busy in the New Year. I applied for and received a small grant for
Leadership Capacity Training for Aboriginal Youth. I decided to hold a small youth and elder
dialogue event about social and systemic issues that the two generations have been dealing with.
This was on March 22nd at the Aboriginal Friendship centre. Thank you to all the youth and elders that attended.
We had a great time with our Monthly Food Giveaway on the 31st of July. Our team assembled over a 160 lunches that we handed out at Oppenheimer Park. This month, we are partnering with Mission Possible to hand out our Monthly Lunch Giveaway on the 28th of August.
I have also maintained partnerships with other organizations such as Vancouver Native
Housing Society, Vancouver Native Health Society, Cedar Project, Mission Possible, Aboriginal
Mother Centre, and various youth groups. I believe that by collaborating with other organizations, we can better meet the needs of those who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.
I am also planning an event called Lugwaant’is, which means Celebrate in my language, Sm’algyax
(Tsimshian territory). Please contact me with any questions or if you’re interested in participating.
Visit us @ www.irsss.ca
5
Upcoming Reconciliation Week Events
A sacred fire will be lit to symbolize
Lighting the Flame
of Reconciliation
the commencement of
Reconciliation Week
Monday September 16, 2013
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Ambleside Park, End of 13th Street,
off Marine Drive
All Nations
Canoe Gathering
False Creek, Vancouver
Tuesday, September 17, 2013 Noon to
2:00p.m.
Watch as beautiful cedar dugout canoes paddle into False Creek from Kits Point to
Science World and are welcomed in a traditional ceremony to the Coast Salish lands.
Reconciliation Canada’s All Nations Canoe Gathering is unlike any event Vancouver
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Downtown Vancouver, 4 km
8:30a.m. to 1:30p.m.
The Walk for Reconciliation is designed to transform and renew the very essence of
relationships among Aboriginal peoples and all Canadians. It sounds so simple, but
just the act of gathering and walking and sharing our stories can join us all in a shared
commitment to creating a new way forward in our relationships with each other.
It’s time to move past apologies and politics and money.
It’s time to move forward. Together.
Visit us @ www.irsss.ca
6
Visit us @ www.irsss.ca
7
Pacifi
c
Natio
nal Ex
hibiti
on
Map
Visit us @ www.irsss.ca
8
Indian Residential School Survivors Society
Membership Form
Full Name: ________________________
Date Submitted: ____________________
Address: __________________________
Nation/Band: _______________________
Phone: ____________________________
Email: ____________________________
Type of Membership
(Please choose the boxes that apply)
Residential School Survivor


Intergenerational Survivor

Day Scholar


Day School

Associate Member


Honorary Member

Other


Youth

Associate and Honorary Members can attend and speak at meetings but may not vote or
hold positions at the Society.
Please mail, fax, or email completed membership form to:
413 West Esplanade, North Vancouver, BC V7M 1A6
Email: reception@irsss.ca or Fax: 604.985.0023
Any information you provide will be kept strictly confidential
Visit us @ www.irsss.ca
9
The Aboriginal Youth
Internship & IRSSS
My name is Andrea Medley, and I am from the Haida nation
of Old Massett on Haida Gwaii. I have a background in health
sciences, and I have come to work with the IRSSS through the
Aboriginal Youth Internship Program (AYIP).
The AYIP is a 12 month internship program that begins in September, and ends in August. In this year, interns spend 9
months a government Ministry, and 3 months with an Aboriginal Organization. I spent my Ministry placement at the Ministry of Health, at the Aboriginal Healthy Living Branch, in the area of health governance, and
now, here I am, at the IRSSS, helping out with the Educational Legacy Project.
The Educational Legacy Project serves to further develop the www.irsr.ca website. The project is funded by Vancouver Foundation. It is designed to help educators teach their students about the history and impacts of the Indian Residential Schools
by developing accurate, balanced, and engaging lesson plans and resources to supplement
curriculums. The development of curriculum is being guided by an Advisory Committee,
which is built from partnerships with a variety of educational institutions. The project is now
led by Devi Goberdhan and Naomi Williams, and I have been assisting, through involvement
in meetings with the Advisory Committee, as well as reviewing website materials and assisting in the design process. The main updates with the project have been: the hiring of
web designer, to provide a cutting edge design for the new content; working with UBC to
create a day of learning for teachers on residential school during an upcoming Pro-D day
and; participating in a panel at SFU in regards to their Week of Reconciliation this upcoming
September. We are currently working with our web designer to map out the site, and our
next steps are to bring together the Advisory Committee and professors who specialize in
Indigenous Studies to further develop the website’s content.
Visit us @ www.irsss.ca
10
Elders Voice
Andrew Yellowback
What does reconciliation mean to me?
Our philosophy surrounding our relationship with the Creator is a principle that is the focus of our
Aboriginal life.
As Aboriginal people, our First Nations have
hundreds of different words in our own languages signifying what we mean when we say Creator. We realize we make no gains without the Great Spirit in our lives.
Neither I, nor anything we do, will work without our Creator. Being Aboriginal and being spiritual has the same meaning. Spirituality is our gift from the Great One.
As an Aboriginal man, woman, or youth, we will return to the traditional and spiritual values that have guided our ancestors for the past generations.
We will look with new eyes on the powers of our ceremonies and religious ways, for they
are important to the very survival of our people.
We have survived and are going to grow and
flourish spiritually. We will fulfill our teachings and the purpose that the Creator has given us
with dignity.
Each day, we will pray and ask for guidance. We will commit to walk the Red Road, or whatever the spiritual way is called in our own culture. We will walk this road with dedication. That’s
what Reconciliation means to me.
Visit us @ www.irsss.ca
11
Indian Residential School Survivors
Society
MAIN OFFICE-NEW LOCATION
REGIONAL OFFICES
Kamloops Office:
413 West Esplanade
North Vancouver, BC
V7M 1A6
Office: 604-985-4464
Fax: 604-985-0023
Toll Free: 1-800-721-0066
Email: reception@irsss.ca
www.irsss.ca
123 Palm St.
Kamloops, BC, V2B 8J7
Office: 250-376-1252
Fax: 250-376-1253
Toll Free: 1-877-778-5356
RHSW:
Roberta Moses
RHSW:
Janice Knighton
RHSW:
Frank Wallace
Admin Team:
Williams Lake Office:
Executive Director:
Office Manager:
Workshop Coordinator:
Office Assistant:
Cindy Tom-Lindley
Grace Cameron
Angela White
Christine Johnson
59-1st Ave S.
Williams Lake, BC , V2G 1H4
Office: 250-392-4466
Fax: 250-392-4466
Toll Free: 1-877-563-4472
RHSW Team:
Supervisor:
Scheduler:
RHSW/Art Therapist:
RHSW:
RHSW:
RHSW:
RHSW:
RHSW:
RHSW:
Maxine Windsor
Melanie Vivier
Adeline Brown
Devi Goberdhan
Bonnie Henry
Vera Jones
Ross Muehlfarth
Naomi Williams
Terry Windsor
RHSW/Therapist:
RHSW:
Shirley David
Maise Wright
Terrace Office:
Homelessness Partnering Strategy Project:
#204 - 3228 Kalum St.
Terrace, BC, V8G 2N1
Office: 250-635-4498
Fax: 250-635-4498
Toll Free: 1-877-335-4499
Community Response Coordinator: Danielle Wilson-Brown
Supervisor: Sandra Greene
RHSW:
RHSW:
Arlene Roberts
Johnathan Whonnock
IRSSS Elders Support Coordinator:
Maxine Windsor
Cultural Support
Fort St. James:
Hazelton:
South Hazelton:
Port Alberni:
Surrey:
Vancouver:
Penticton:
Lytton:
Betsy Dennis
Mark Louis
Sadie Howard
Ben David
Alannah Atley
Charles Chapman
Marylou Louie
Charon Spinks
Vancouver:
Vancouver:
Vancouver:
Vancouver:
Vancouver:
Vancouver:
Vancouver:
Visit us @ www.irsss.ca
Andy Yellowback
Brenda Wesley
Michael Kelly
Sam George
Theresa Campbell
Glen Williams
Sadie McPhee
12