Unity in diversity : a multicultural education program designed to promote tolerance and an appreciation of human differences

[15], 330 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm.The Four Worlds Development Project is the result of many people's efforts and wisdom. Some were directly involved, while others inspired us through their work in the fields of education, human and community development, health promotion and substance abuse. Direction for this project was first set at a historic council held in Lethbridge, Alberta in December, 1982. Participants at the council were Native elders, cultural leaders and professionals from various communities across North America who gathered to address the root causes of Native alcohol and drug abuse. It was this gathering that gave birth to the Four Worlds Development Project. In February of 1987, many of the elders and cultural leaders who participated in the original council, reinforced by others (over one hundred in all), representing some 40 tribes from across North America, gathered at St. Paul's Treatment Centre on the Blood Reserve near Cardston, Alberta. They were invited to review the philosophy, guiding principles, activities, and strategies for human and community development articulated and implemented by the Four Worlds Development Project during its first four years, and to give direction and guidance for the years to come. The elders and their collaborators were overwhelming in the strength of their support, approval and encouragement for all aspects of the Four Worlds Development Project. We are therefore confident in saying that the philosophy and principles the Project is based upon, as well as the processes, strategies, activities and vision of the future outlined in these documents, have received the full and unreserved support of the many respected Native elders and cultural leaders from across North America who attended this historic council. The contribution of these dedicated leaders was framed by their own commitment to Native people and their own, often hard won, experience. To each of them we offer our deepest respect and appreciation. It is with their continued encouragement, guidance and prayers that we proceed "toward the year 2000" with the complete faith that Mother Earth and all her people will be healed

EcoHealth journal special supplement November 2004

Includes abstract in French and SpanishDue to copyright restrictions, this item cannot be sharedThe standpoint from which this article is written is that of development practitioners who work fairly continuously with community transformation processes, and with their peers in many disciplines who are trying to stimulate and support such processes. Drawing on three case examples, the authors put forward four lessons for an ecosystems approach to health development work. First, health and natural resource management professionals, and the technical solutions they create, cannot, by themselves, solve many of the problems communities face. To be effective, solutions have to address a complex set of variables that may be largely invisible to professionals from outside the communities. Creating a map of the human and natural systems within which a particular human health issue arises is often an important first step. Second, another reason why professionals cannot solve complex health challenges on their own is that, in the end, many of the solutions must be implemented by community people from the inside out. Therefore the ‘‘map’’ needs to include human dynamics and community capacity. Third, identifying and assessing the specific capacities that a community needs to address particular health determinants is therefore an important part of health development work. It is critical that community capacity assessment is not undertaken in the abstract, but rather in a way that links capacity assessment with real, ongoing work and through a participatory process that builds understanding and commitment within the community, and identifies clear pathways for future action. Finally, outside professionals working with a community contribute to its capacity to address critical health challenges, not only because of the technical knowledge and skills they bring, but also through the characteristics and attitudes they exhibit. It is therefore important that professionals build their own capacity to role model effective community practice

Aboriginal Domestic Violence in Canada

This study looks at the contextual web relating to Aboriginal family violence advocating a framework for intervention that addresses root causes

Using a community of practice model to create change for Northern homeless women

This is a story about three virtual and face-to-face communities which met in the capitals of Canada’s three Northern territorial cities over a two-year period to discuss and act on culturally safe and gender-specific services for Northern women (and their children) experiencing homelessness, mental health and substance use concerns. It is a story of how researchers and community-based advocates can work across distance and culture, using co-learning in virtual communities as a core strategy to create relational system change. The three communities of practice were linked through a pan-territorial action research project entitled Repairing the Holes in the Net, in which all participants: learned together, mapped available services, discussed the findings from interviews with northern women about their trajectories of homelessness, analyzed relevant policy, planned local service enhancements, and generally took inspiration from each other

Using a community of practice model to create change for Northern homeless women

This is a story about three virtual and face-to-face communities which met in the capitals of Canada’s three Northern territorial cities over a two-year period to discuss and act on culturally safe and gender-specific services for Northern women (and their children) experiencing homelessness, mental health and substance use concerns. It is a story of how researchers and community-based advocates can work across distance and culture, using co-learning in virtual communities as a core strategy to create relational system change. The three communities of practice were linked through a pan-territorial action research project entitled Repairing the Holes in the Net, in which all participants: learned together, mapped available services, discussed the findings from interviews with northern women about their trajectories of homelessness, analyzed relevant policy, planned local service enhancements, and generally took inspiration from each other

Trajectories of women's homelessness in Canada's 3 northern territories

Background: Repairing the Holes in the Net was a 2-year, multilevel action research project designed to inform the development of culturally appropriate and gender-specific services for northern women who are homeless or marginally housed and who face mental health and substance use concerns. The study was designed to learn about the barriers and supports experienced by homeless women in the North when accessing mental health care, shelter, housing and other services; and to inform the work of northern service providers and policy advocates in a position to implement adjustments in their praxis. Methods: This article describes the trajectories of women's service access and their ideas for service improvement from 61 qualitative, semi-structured interviews conducted with homeless women in Whitehorse, Yukon (YT), Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (NT), and Iqualit, Nunavut (NU). Results: Unresolved trauma, poverty and social exclusion, inability to find and maintain housing and ineffective services emerged as interconnected and multifaceted challenges related to women's service engagement. In the face of these challenges, women displayed significant resilience and resistance, and offered important ideas for service improvement. Conclusions: The 4 interconnected systemic challenges identified in the research, coupled with specific ideas for change cited by the resilient homeless women interviewed, offer points of entry to improve service policy and delivery. Implementing trauma-informed approaches emerged as a key example of how access to, and quality of, services could be improved for homeless women in the North