LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Missed opportunity for Indigenous funding

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/03/2023 (610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On March 3, our organization learned of funding opportunities through Brandon Neighborhood Renewal Corporation’s (BNRC) Reaching Home Initiative according to a Brandon Sun article. A potential sum of $300,000 is available to Indigenous organizations through the Indigenous stream that is designed to assist community-based programming in preventing and reducing homelessness at a local level.

Our organization, Saabe inc., is a private-based home that welcomes Indigenous offenders to serve their conditional release under Section 84 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. We also offer a caring and culturally supportive home to those who are seeking to improve their lives and open our home to our houseless and incarcerated relations. Much of the work we do begins at the ceremonial grounds that have been established at Brymar Campgrounds. We work with families and individuals seeking spiritual and/or cultural support and do all this with private funds.

So, coming across the potential funding opportunity with BNRC was welcoming news until we realized there were only 10 days left to apply. This was a missed opportunity to seek financial support. Had there been sufficient notice, we may have considered applying. However, with further understanding, we will pass on this opportunity with BNRC this year, but are left with more questions than we began with.

So, the question is: now what?

Now, what happens to the funds that are designated for Indigenous organizations? Will they be awarded to one of the many non-Indigenous agencies in Brandon that predominantly serve Indigenous people? Who decides that, and what are the guidelines for this decision?

BNRC is identified as a Community Entity agency responsible for distributing federal funds under Canada’s Homelessness Strategy. As a Community Entity responsible for distributing funds specifically designated for Indigenous Peoples, the question lends itself to who are the Indigenous voices at that table? How about the Community Advisory Board? Is there Indigenous representation on that board?

Furthermore, the article quoted Judie Holliday from BNRC, who is responsible for the Indigenous stream funding that Indigenous agencies can’t duplicate already existing services with these funds. Does that mean an Indigenous organization can’t implement anything that is already being done by a non-Indigenous agency? If so, then how will we ever assist the houseless Indigenous population? Is it not fair to state that perhaps we can do a better job to assist our own people?

Who is guiding the non-Indigenous agencies that take advantage of designated funds for Indigenous Peoples? Should they receive Indigenous funding? It is not enough to state that an initiative will have some form of cultural component and check off a list of proposed requirements. This has never worked. It still does not include us and only serves the agency utilizing Indigenous funding. There are great programs and individuals out there doing some great work but that is not the concern necessarily. The concern is the lack of Indigenous voices at those tables.

Who is speaking for Indigenous people? Where are the voices?

Brandon has a few Indigenous agencies, and even an Aboriginal council — the Brandon Urban Aboriginal Council (BUAPC) — but not even those are Indigenous-led. Brandon’s largest potential platform for Indigenous people, and we aren’t even leading that. It’s not personal — it’s a matter of principle. Who sits on that board? All other Brandon council committees list the names, but not for that committee. At this week’s city council meeting, BUAPC appears to have weight in decisions that affect all Indigenous people in Brandon. Should we not be aware of who this is? Can we view the minutes of these sessions? Should we not have access to this information?

A predominant keynote speaker and well-known Indigenous leader at a recent function suggested to us that we begin to ask the following; if an Indigenous person is speaking on behalf of “us,” we need to start asking, “what gives you the right to speak for us?”

That is a reasonable question.

Perhaps we can start here. Checks and balances and transparency and accountability to council groups and social service agencies that predominantly serve Indigenous Peoples utilizing Indigenous streaming funds. Who sits on your boards and committees? If an organization and institutions state they have consulted the Indigenous community, then list who and how that process was done. Simply stating that an agency has done so or claiming they talked to one elder, etc., is not sufficient, so let’s be open with whom you are consulting. Who are these Indigenous voices? Where do they come from and what gives them the power to speak for all of us?

Indigenous people can speak for themselves, and we know what is best for us. We need to ensure we are engaging the entire Indigenous community and that their voices are heard and not just a select few. We need fair representation on all boards and leadership roles, and currently, that is seriously lacking. The goal of reconciliation is to empower Indigenous Peoples, and this includes allowing us to take the lead on projects, programs and initiatives that affect our lives. Is that happening here?

As Elder Eugene Arcand of the National Truth and Reconciliation Survivors Circle said so eloquently at a recent session: “Nothing about us, without us.”

Being open, transparent, and accountable with decisions being made for Indigenous Peoples is a reasonable request. That would be a start before Brandon City Council gives us another committee or task force to deal with the “downtown problem” and the same players simply shuffle their chairs.

GISELLE CAMPBELL

Saabe inc.

Brandon