Welcome to Shared Value Solutions' biweekly funding and news digest. We hope it finds you well!
Lots of fun news to share this week! And we share the first post in our latest blog series, IndigeSTEAM Careers, that celebrates Indigenous professionals with careers in STEAM.
In SVS News, we welcome one of our newest team members, planning intern Katie Turriff. Also, please check out our latest job postings, and share widely with your network. We share our usual inspiring stories from across Turtle Island, as well as our usual round up of funding opportunities for you to check out. Stay well, everyone!
Welcome to our series that celebrates Indigenous professionals with careers in STEAM! SVS is committed to supporting Indigenous youth who are pursuing careers in STEAM through our scholarship program (with Indspire), but also through the mentorship and inspiration of our staff members.
IndigeSTEAM's website defines STEAM like this:
"STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. When we want to talk about the connections of STEM to social enterprise, humanities, arts, innovation, entrepreneurship and more, we put an 'A' into STEM to get STEAM. The A can reflect Arts, Architecture and Agriculture – all areas that Indigenous peoples have been innovators in for thousands of years. Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Western Science represent two different ways of looking at the world around us."
Over the next while we will be sharing the personal essays of our talented team members about their very individual journeys to their current careers. First up is Robin Heavens.
Water Resources Specialist, Shared Value Solutions
"When I was a child, my Mother and I would spend hours together making regalia. I grew up dancing at powwows in the fancy dancer’s regalia we made together. She instilled on me from a young age that water is living and traditionally spoken for by women. I have always felt a deep responsibility to protect our water and ancestral lands.
An Ojibwe language strategy in Ontario, called Anishinaabemodaa, is working towards revitalizing Anishinaabe language throughout Ontario.
The program works with youth in pre-schools all the way up to post-secondary education and anyone who just wants to learn.
Montreal has a new tip line for cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls – and as of Monday, the toll-free number will be visible all over the city of Montreal. “You will see this [number] on buses, street columns, in metros, and on billboards on highways,” Nakuset, executive director of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal, explained.“We find a lot of the times when someone goes missing in Montreal, that it is the Indigenous community who knows where these people are.”
Support is pouring in from across Turtle Island in response to the events surrounding Ethan Bear. The Edmonton Oilers defenceman said on social media Wednesday that people hurled racist insults at him on social media following the team’s first round loss in the playoffs. Bear: “I’m here to stand up to this behavior, to these comments. I’m proud of where I come from.”
Dokis First Nation has reached a settlement timber over timber dues that were misdirected to the Crown in 1912, when the money was deposited in the government's Indian Land Management Fund instead of the community's trust fund. The community has decided to distribute 30 per cent of the claim among members. But most of the funds have been put away for future generations.
While many of us haven't put a lot of thought into what to wear this past year (except occasionally above-the-waist for Zoom calls), some Indigenous artists and designers have continued to explore style and expression through fashion.
This week on Unreserved, we look at how clothing is a way of making a statement and telling people what you believe. Fashion can empower, it can challenge, and it can be deeply political.
Here are some opportunities to check out:
The Canadian Council for the Arts’ Creating, Knowing and Sharing Program is seeking applications from eligible First Nations, Inuit or Métis artists, cultural carriers or arts/cultural professionals for projects. The program will provide support for activities including:
The two streams of funding with upcoming deadlines in June 2021 include:
"Through our Green Jobs in Green Spaces Program, Project Learning Tree Canada can provide a 50% wage-subsidy to support sustainability-focused youth employment in the forest and conservation sectors.
MENDM has funding available for Indigenous communities to hire a mineral development advisor for a period of three years (with maximum funding of up to $130,000 per year), to assist in the regulatory consultation process. Applications are accepted on an on-going basis.
The Ontario government is investing over $12.8 million to immediately expand and enhance culturally appropriate mental health and addictions services for Indigenous peoples, families and communities across the province. This funding is part of the $176 million being invested in the government's mental health and addictions plan, Roadmap to Wellness. The plan is delivering high-quality care and building a modern, connected and comprehensive mental health and addictions system.
Check out our collection of informative eBooks that are available for free download:
First Nations are reporting that, even in the midst of a pandemic that has many band offices closed, resource development proponents continue to send referrals to move projects forward. We have ideas on how to support. Get in touch.
Planning Intern
Katie is a budding planner in the world of Indigenous planning. She is building strong foundations in Indigenous planning theory and practice, with a particular focus in Indigenous law, First Nation – municipal relationships, traditional governance, and community empowerment through traditional and western planning processes. She brings to SVS an exciting drive through a learning-teaching relationship with the planning team where she provides theoretical insight from her graduate courses while she engages with SVS projects.
Katie is currently a graduate student at University of British Columbia’s Master of Community and Regional Planning in the Indigenous Community Planning concentration. In 2020, she completed her undergraduate degree in environmental studies at the University of Waterloo where she studied planning. Her undergraduate thesis conceptualized a Haudenosaunee culture of planning from the interpretation of Indigenous planning theory and Haudenosaunee culture; this was a first in Indigenous planning scholarship.
During the rest of her time, Katie enjoys discovering new music, reading, exploring neighbourhoods by foot, and trying out new crafts.
From coast to coast to coast, our team at Shared Value Solutions is busy working with our First Nations, Métis and Inuit clients - and we are looking to fill the following positions:
In the spirit of reconciliation and diversity, we are committed to increasing our number of Indigenous employees. Please let us know in your application if you are First Nations, Métis or Inuit. And please let us know if you speak: French, Cree, Ojibway, Oji-Cree, Innu, or other languages that might be useful for this position! Please share these posts widely with your networks.
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We are a Canadian B Corp, and we assist Indigenous Nations with support throughout regulatory processes surrounding major development projects like mines, hydroelectric facilities, transmission lines, highway expansions, oil and gas pipelines, natural resource transport applications and nuclear power.
We have deep context and experience behind the recommendations we provide, having worked for our clients on almost every major project in Canada over the last 10 years. For us, it’s all about building long-term relationships with our clients. We want to get to know you and what you want to do so we can help you move your plans forward.
Core Services: