4 F’s of The Village
It has now been over 10 years that I have been learning from the many grassroots and community leaders in Winnipeg’s inner city and I feel like I have so much more to learn. As my relationships with families in the North End have led me to many existing committees and organizations, they have also led me to often sit and listen to the challenges people have and to build or create an alternative or solution.
When First Nations, Metis and Inuit reconnect with their teachings, sharing and applying them in an urban or systemic context consistently leads to beautiful results. In Winnipeg, we see this in the “Neeginan” plan going back to 1973, the Cree word meaning village (someone wrote a Master’s thesis about this in 2012). We saw this when the Neeginan Institute took over the old Canadian Pacific Railway station. We saw it when Thunderbird House rose from the corner of Higgins & Main in 2000 and when Bannock Lady Althea Guiboche hit the streets feeding people during Idle No More in 2013. We saw it for over 10 years with the young leaders I’ve walked with and we are seeing it today with the many new and exciting culturally based initiatives like the Community Care Camp. There have even been housing related developments recently that are breathing new life into the vision of Neeginan and reminding all of us of the strength of the village.
The Village has led me to learn about my culture and reclaim teachings like mino bimadisiwin or wahkotowin and unapologetically seek them out in everything I do. This means sharing, caring, kindness and compassion at the same time as seeking accountability, healing and justice. Sometimes this means protest, sometimes this means learning and sometimes it means sharing. Sometimes it means self care. You have to balance loving yourself with helping others so you can honour all the valuable members of the village - including you.
Not only do I apply these principles to the community organizing I do, I see my relatives in Winnipeg’s inner city, in the Indigenous led groups of helpers, deploy these 4 F’s in increasingly effective ways.
FREE: When working with folks from the inner city, it is known that a large portion of residents are living under the poverty line. A recent report said that 1 in 4 kids in Manitoba live in poverty. While it is tempting for volunteer organizers to put an entry fee to raise funds, costs like that are barriers for people with less financial means. To cover costs, recruit dedicated volunteers willing to share their time or partner with other non-profits, other groups or local businesses that do have available in-kind resources or budget.
FOOD: In the North End especially, the most successful community events are ones that provide food to the people attending. Remember that people build great relationships over food and while breaking bread together. It is best if the food is relatively nutritious and is familiar to the community but don’t be afraid to try new things too (and be aware of allergies). I have to give love to Food Not Bombs Winnipeg for their amazing work over the years and the researchers involved with the “Food As Medicine” initiative as well for demonstrating this principle so clearly.
FAMILY: When so many of your community members have been victims of the systems of family seperation - the only solution is creating a safe environment where people can build healthy relationships with others as a family of choice. In this way, our community work becomes the medicine we need to heal intergenerational trauma - by encouraging the development of inter generational relationships and connecting whole families to one another. In this environment we can encourage healing for everyone and provide resources/supports.
FUN: Don’t be boring! Think of your own experiences and embrace the truth that people learn best when they are smiling. Try to ensure there is flexibility in your event planning to make room for laughter, or jokes even in serious moments. It should be noted that the humour should be family friendly and sensitive to whichever community settings we are in. [Example joke: What do you call an alligator in a vest? An Investigator! lol]
I first wrote about the 4 F’s in 2016 (read it here) - but the time felt right to share it with you all today. As I see our community building capacity in the younger generations I love to see how the village evolves and grows and adapts and shines in all that we do. Kinanaskomitinow for what you have contributed and the sacrifices of time, energy, dollars and more to fulfill our human responsibilities to all of our relatives.
We are the village.
