Here it is!

I had the opportunity to gain some funding to start a community action to empower Indigenous women. Thanks to Native Youth Sexual Health Network and Girls Action Foundation! I almost didn’t apply because I didn’t think I would be able to do it but I applied anyways. What have I got to lose? Nothing!

You can view the poster by clicking on the image below:

A bit of background as to why I thought of this:

I attended an earlier workshop who addressed stigma with another group. A lot of what I learned in this workshop could definitely be transfered to other areas in life or other topics up for discussion, like Indigenous issues. I included LGBTQ2 because before settlers arrived, Indigenous nations valued 2-spirit people and held them with high regard. However, today, they still face stigma!

In my first year of university, I was a bit overwhelmed on a few significant occasions. So much so, that I had to leave the classroom. Some of the things I would hear from students were:

“We need to stop giving the chiefs handouts and start giving them handups“ I have no idea what this means but the discussion that followed it was not all that warming.

“Aboriginal people face high poverty rates because they do not have the same mental capacities as other races” This was in an online classroom and I had no idea what to think.

“It’s funny how people with unrelated degrees can get jobs in unrelated fields” This was said in my presence after being hired on a health research team as an Aboriginal cultural consultant and I did not have a health-related degree.

The above are just a few examples and I know I am not alone as a student. I thought to create this safespace/empowering workshop environment so that other students can meet, share their stories, learn skill sets/gain experience, and discover that we can all support each other in our educational pursuits!

If you are interested in attended, please do not hesitate to contact me! Any questions/comments/concerns, please email me (nls@kwetoday.com), comment below, or follow instructions on poster!

Looking forward to this opportunity!