New program encourages leadership

A new approach to crime prevention is expected to have a positive impact in the city that is home to the second largest urban Aboriginal population in the country.

“We’re learning how to better engage the Aboriginal community in crime prevention in a cultural context, and that’s what’s important about this in terms of the initiative,” said Kate Gunn, executive director for the REACH Council for Safe Communities. “This is hugely significant. No where else in Canada is there an initiative quite like this.”

REACH Aboriginal Leadership Circle was launched on April 14 in a special ceremony at Edmonton City Hall. The celebration included a smudging by Elder Francis Whiskeyjack, drumming and fiddling, and ended with a round dance that included Mayor Stephen Mandel.

Mandel said embracing Aboriginal culture is what will make REACH effective as a crime prevention strategy.
Mandel struck a task force in 2008 to deal with the issue of crime. The REACH task force commenced meetings in 2009 and the result was a report with nine recommendations. The fifth recommendation calls for the city’s Aboriginal leaders to foster prevention solutions from a uniquely Aboriginal perspective.

“This approach is one of those which will allow First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people to do what they need to do to mentor their young people,” said Mandel.

REACH is a catalyst for bringing together Aboriginal partners, securing funding and providing expertise which will give young people the support and guidance they need to become leaders. Half of Edmonton’s Aboriginal population is under the age of 25 years.

“We’re … teaching (young people) respect for their families, their Elders, their community, and most of all for themselves. . . . We’re helping them take a path in life that does not include crime, gangs or drugs and (to know) that family violence is not the norm,” said Rachelle Venne, CEO for the Institute for Advancement of Aboriginal Women (IAAW).

Statistics provided by the Elizabeth Fry Society are startling: More than 90 per cent of the women in Alberta jails are Aboriginal. Of those in jail, nearly half, at 48 per cent, are incarcerated because of poverty-related crimes and 70 per cent of them have children.

“Our young Aboriginal people are living through deep, heart-wrenching trauma,” said Venne.

Trying to reach these young people and teach them pride in their culture and, in turn, keeping them off the streets and away from crime is one of the goals of REACH.

The Canadian Friendship Centre, a partner in the program, hosts a powwow, dance and regalia program twice a week for adults, children and their families.
“We’re connecting young people to their roots, letting them know they come from a strong community,” said Venne.

IAAW, also a partner in the venture, delivers a leadership development program designed to help Aboriginal men and women find positions on committees and boards to provide an Aboriginal voice in decision-making.

The programs are about empowering young people, reconnecting them to their cultural identity and language, and nurturing the ability to lead.

“This is new thinking, new solutions, engaging new voices to challenges that have been with us for generations,” said Gunn.

Also partnering in the program are the Wicihitowin Circle and the city’s Office of Diversity.