Joanne Pinnow (Eeikachkimaki – Trying Hard Woman) is the Director of United Way of Calgary and Area’s (United Way’s) Akak’stiman initiative and is an international leader in creating pathways for Indigenous parallels and learnings through Planet Youth Calgary. On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR), Joanne is sharing her outlook on Akak’stiman and the work that lies ahead for everyone in Calgary and area in our journey towards reconciliation.
In 2021, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was established in response to the discovery of unmarked graves of children on a former residential school site near Kamloops, B.C. with more sites discovered across Canada since then. My understanding of the NDTR is that it is a day to learn and acknowledge the truth about the past and current realities of Indigenous people’s lived experiences in Canada. I believe that in doing so, Canadians can commit to learning more about these truths and make real efforts to do better.
This is not an easy day for us as Indigenous people, whether you are a First Nations, a Métis, or an Inuit person. Some of us are survivors and some of us are relatives of survivors. When thinking about the idea of this commemorative day, I’ll never forget what Elder Dr. Reg Crowshoe said about it on the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. He said he was glad for the commemorative day because whenever he previously talked about his residential school experiences and reflected on it, it felt like no one was hearing him. He said it was like being in a room alone and talking to the blank walls, but now people are finally listening.
“We need to listen and take on the responsibility to learn and do our best to support Indigenous people to heal, achieve their own self-defined goals and feel that they have true allies and friends to feel safe with.” – Joanne Pinnow, Director – Akak’stiman
As hard as this day is, we absolutely cannot give up hope because the lives and happiness of Indigenous youth depend on it, as does a better society. Supporting hope requires persistence, commitment and hard work. I am proud of all the Indigenous people, groups, organizations and companies in Calgary who have been working to move forward, long before the NTDR was established. They have created awareness and space to invite dialogue that creates better futures. Moving forward along the road takes commitment, humility, persistence, courage, caring and conviction. This is about paradigm change to support Indigenous people’s ability to live a good life and be themselves in a world that does not always recognize or care about the legitimacy of Indigenous ways and knowledge.
United Way has also had a journey of persistence and continuous learning in our work with Indigenous people. When I started working at United Way over 24 years ago, we funded a handful of Indigenous programs in Calgary. Later, we decided to focus on the specific topic of high school completion for Indigenous youth. Then, the work evolved into the creation of the Natoo’si Indigenous Healing and Well-being Initiative. Natoo’si was, and remains, a way that we support partner agencies in implementing programs that intentionally address individual and family healing from intergenerational trauma.
Finally, when the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Reports came out, United Way began the journey to elevate and advance our Indigenous work into what has now become the Akak’stiman strategy. Akak’stiman guides our work in the community, our work with other partners and our internal work as an organization. Akak’stiman is a Blackfoot word that roughly translates into English as “journey of creative planning to achieve goals.” Although we call Akak’stiman a strategy, many of my colleagues involved in its development and implementation think of it more as a journey because it feels organic, flexible, healing and powerful.
Akak’stiman gives us a new path, approach, way or “methodology” for learning how to work better with Indigenous people to achieve shared goals. It is not about jumping into a checkbox list of actions with limited impact. It means having people willingly choose to shape our direction of work with Indigenous people.
Today, Akak’stiman is an approach that allows us to take the time to build trust, strengthen relationships and decide together what to do. To work together, we need to enter an ethical space with Indigenous people. An essential part is acknowledging and engaging in Indigenous ways to honour them, not having our Western ways supersede them. Learning about, welcoming and implementing Indigenous practices is essential so they do not become an afterthought or an add-on. Under the leadership of our Elders, it becomes second nature of equal value to Western practices to creatively help Indigenous people feel safe and valued.
Akak’stiman also works with our donors, community partners and partner agencies to bring learning and awareness about our principles like Making Relatives, Ethical Space, Elders and Indigenous Cultural Knowledge, and Kindness Towards Everything. These principles are just not words in a document. When understood and committed to, they come alive in an actual practice and approach. They become the foundation that focuses on the current community needs. For example, we have used the Akak’stiman principles to:
- Develop the Indigenous parallel of Planet Youth Calgary, a first in Canada.
- Develop what a “systems options” approach may be with community partners as we think about “systems change” from Indigenous perspectives and practices.
- Support our Natoo’si agency partners in learning these principles so that we can have a common understanding of collaboration and good service delivery.
- Co-lead a national Indigenous sharing circle group of Canadian United Ways with Indigenous staff overseeing their local United Way’s Indigenous work.
- Support unique initiatives such as the Elders Knowledge Circle Society.
As I am writing all this, I’m thinking of my mother. She was a day school survivor who did not choose to speak much of her specific experiences. As I became more aware and educated about the experiences of Indigenous people in Canada, I came to realize how these truths impacted her and my family. It’s hard to think of these things, especially when they hit so close to home. We need to listen and take on the responsibility to learn and do our best to support Indigenous people to heal, achieve their own self-defined goals and feel that they have true allies and friend to feel safe with. At a minimum, it teaches us and reminds us to be kind to each other and treat each other with kindness, respect and empathy because our actions can have a lasting impact, good and bad. Let’s choose the good and keep working in our ways within our circles of work, families and friends. Let’s be persistent in our determination to learn and do what we can. Let’s take action, keep the faith and be hopeful.
At United Way of Calgary and Area, we remain fully committed to the Akak’stiman strategy and the vital work we do alongside our partners in the Natoo’si initiative. We encourage everyone in Calgary and Area to take a look at our list of resources on National Day of Truth and Reconciliation to help guide your own personal journey this year and in the years to come.