Majorie House and Kanawayhitowin collaborate

by Karina Hunter

Kanawayhitowin Logo

This week, Marjorie House and Kanawayhitowin: Taking Care of Each Other’s Spirit presented Raising Awareness in Your Communities and Providing Support for the Women-Children-Men in Your Communities a learning opportunity for professionals working with children and families which was
offered free of charge and included lunch, beverages and snacks.  

Presentations were held in Rossport and Marathon and covered many topics including the historical context of abuse in aboriginal communities (i.e. residential schools; loss of employment) identifying and helping women in need, safety planning.  Attendees, approximately a dozen at each seminar, included professionals working with community services,  child protection workers, school board representatives, victim services volunteers, law enforcement professionals and regular citizens who also participated in exercises demonstrating the role of women in aboriginal society and how men’s role of provider/protector had been taken from them. In Rossport, the Elders’ Introduction included a reminder of the relevance of these workshops being held in the Spring, the Elder spoke of bears being born in February, lambs being born in March and how all new things begin the cycle of creation in Spring; she also spoke of her own Northshore history, sharing stories of how she and her family had paddled between communities before Hwy 17 had existed.Speaker and organizer Gloria Harris, Executive Director of Marjorie House, said feedback in regards to the full day sessions had been very positive; encouraging in light of statistics that show Northwestern Ontario communities having significantly higher risk of domestic abuse. Programs such as this one which using collaborations of traditional and modern approaches are a big piece of the puzzle when hoping to reduce the number of families affected by abuse; Harris explained that there has yet to be any visible increase in incidents of domestic abuse but that she is hopeful this will change with continued diligence “We need to continuously get into the communities and must involve the men in finding solutions” said Harris.  She elaborated, explaining that men need to be encouraged to be participants and receive training to become facilitators; there was one man in attendance at Marathon’s Kanawayhitowin seminar.

Kanawayhitowin is the Aboriginal sister campaign to mainstream Neighbours, Friends and Families initiative both are partnerships between the Ontario Government, Ontario Women’s Directorate and the Expert Panel on Kanawayhitowin through the Centre for Research and Education on Violence against Women and Children. Much of the documentation shared at the Marathon and Rossport seminars can be found at www.Kanawayhitowin.ca including, brochures,  PSA’s (Public Service Announcements), and the Community Action Campaign Manual, for more information or to receive hard copies (also available soon will be French versions of the information) of any of the information contact Gloria Harris at gharris_mh@shaw.ca or by phone at 229-2223. 

About Kanawayhitowin

Kanawayhitowin is a Cree word which translates into: Taking Care of Each Other’s Spirit

“The Kanawayhitowin logo reminds us of the sacredness of women according to the teachings of our 13 Grandmother Moons and as caretakers of the earth we have a responsibility to take care of each others spirit.”

Pauline Shirt, Grandmother 

The following are PSAs from www.Kanawayhitowin.ca

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