Social innovation research paper

Social Innovation Research Paper

Let Indigenous people feel safe in their own country

Isha Kapoor

Bachelor of Technology, NAIT

Dr. Vishal Sharma

June 20, 2021

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Canada is a beautiful country, not in the nature diversity but in cultural diversity too.

It is said that this is the land of immigrants. People from all over the world come here every

year to achieve their dreams and goals. But in the limelight of this dream, they forget that

originally this diverse country belongs to First Nation people. First Nation, are the people

declared under this name after the Indiana Act which made Aboriginal peoples in Canada

include Indian (First Nations), Inuit and Métis peoples. First Nations people are often known

by other names, like Indians, Natives or Amerindians (Gadacz, 2019). First Nations here in

Canada always faced racism and outlanders. Many Canadians’ beliefs, attitudes, and

behaviours toward Indigenous people remain heavily influenced by colonial stereotypes,

entrenched in a mentality of ‘us versus them’ (Bourassa, McKay-McNabb, & Hampton,

2004, p.4). Racism is a way of social injustice by assuming bad perception about other

existing community. Indigenous people were deprived of their social values, rights and

festivals to celebrate in Canada and then tagged as a community which cannot get mixed into

the “immigrants”. Ultimately, indigenous community’s younger generation goes into drugs,

homelessness, violence, street fights and snatching to prove their rights. As I am the student

of NAIT College, living in Edmonton which results my current research into this topic

specifically Edmonton based. As I was studying for a course, I came across this organization

that is helping the indigenous community who is under privileged and need exploration with

their talent to show this world. The name of the organization is iHuman. iHuman Youth

Society is a non-profit that believes all young people have gifts to share. In partnership with

marginalized young people, we amplify their creative expression, address their needs and

support goals that privilege their voices. This society is of younger indigenous community

helping the people who are struggling with their life and not feeling safe in their own country.

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This society is giving those people moral support, encouragement, confidence and inner

strength to take the step to show their real talent to the world.

The core problem iHuman is addressing

iHuman is addressing the core problem of racism and mentally torturing and forcing

the Indigenous kids to leave their culture and blend into the English society. This racism was

basically started at institutional level. Instead of supporting the same educational institutions

that respectfully incorporated western and traditional Indigenous knowledge, the government

established a system of boarding (residential) schools that aimed to “kill the Indian in the

child” (cited in Miller, 2004, p. 35). In 1880, the first residential school was established in

Canada, located off-reserve, funded by the federal government, and run predominantly by

Catholic. As recently, there was a news of remains of 215 Indigenous children found in one

of the residential schools of British Columbia, Canada. Conditions at the schools were poor.

Children were often not allowed to speak their own language and received harsh punishment

if they did. Many suffered physical and sexual abuse, with staff not being held accountable.

In 2015, a National Center for Truth and Reconciliation report estimated that more than

150,000 children attended these schools and more than 6,000 died, never returning home.

Unlike Canadian government and Indiana Act, this organization is not forcing Indigenous

community to leave their culture or just accept the fact to be treated poorly by others. iHuman

is motivating them to step up and make their own identity.

Strategic Plan

Our practice is informed by the principles of harm reduction, trauma aware care and

strengths-based approaches. iHuman takes statements like ‘youth-driven’ and ‘youth led’ to a

new level. Their credibility to practice what they say enables them to authentically build trust

with their demographic. They engage youth creatively using the arts as a positive

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engagement tool. Creative expression is embedded in all iHuman programming as a

therapeutic medium to address trauma and wellbeing, foster connection to cultural identity,

and create belonging and opportunities for skills development and therefore self-worth. This

organization represents the work that they do using a ‘trust compass’ to denote the

individualized journey that they enable for each young person.

Relevant Statistics

iHuman supports youth impacted by the negative outcomes associated with poverty,

intergenerational trauma, addiction, mental health, abuse, racism, discrimination and

exploitation. Since 1997, iHuman Youth Society has engaged Edmonton’s marginalized

youth to foster positive personal development, wellbeing and social change. Over 500 youth

between 12-24 years of age access iHuman every year, 80% of whom self-identify as

Indigenous. While they provide free access to the offered services and programs, they are not

a drop-in centre – youth actively engage in determining their individualized journey through

the available resources and guide how they can support them.

Responding to change

There are many programs that this organization is running. iHuman services and

supports have grown into an ever adapting model of community care with and emphasis on

creative services, which centre the experiences and needs of young people who face serious

barriers.

One of the iHuman’s programs is iSucceed which is a leadership, education and

employment program targeting older Indigenous youth (18-24) who communicate goals

beyond immediate crisis. Common life goals at iSucceed include advanced education,

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sustainable employment and skills development. Another program is Outreach Program is a

core, front-line service for Edmonton’s most vulnerable youth.

Their team of addictions, youth and social workers help navigate complex systems such as

housing, mental health, justice, financial assistance and medical care. A specialized

addictions worker has a caseload for this specific crisis and animates Friday Night Challenge

– a support group for marginalized youth coping with the damaging effects of substance

abuse.

Lastly, the most vibrant program is Creative Studios. Instead of a drop-in model, all iHuman

youth engage iHuman Studios. Activated daily, programmed spaces include music, fashion,

visual art and performance studios. iHuman arts mentorship model is a powerful tool that

facilitates healing, skills development, cultural connection and self-expression.

Innovative Ideas

1. My idea for them is to target the audience outside of the Edmonton city too by

hosting concerts and fashion shows in Alberta so that they can make other

Aboriginal community feel homely. With this, they can get more funding and can

support more children for their studies too.

2. I think they should loosen up their volunteer scheme as I discussed with my

friends that they prefer most of the times only Indigenous people to volunteer

more but as I came to know about First Nations so I wanted to volunteer there and

listen to them. They should give immigrants a chance to volunteer for them.

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Evidence of Success

iHuman is an Edmonton based non profit organization founded in1997 by Wallis

Kendal and Sandra Bromley who began collaborating with young people through their work

on a major creative work - the Gun Sculpture. Over the course of the project, they connected

with many young people as mentors and sought funding for continuation of their efforts and

for space to host and nurture the creativity and health of the young people they met.

The centre also hosted a drive-thru donation drive on April 1 from noon until 4 p.m.,

in its parking lot at 9635 -102A Ave. Some needed items are new and gently used clothing

and toiletries. Also, fundraisers donated 4,500 disposable face masks to the iHuman Youth

Society. Operation Warmth and Reworks raised $800, with donations coming from friends

and local businesses, in order to purchase the masks for iHuman. They are focusing on four

core values Belonging Identify Purpose Self Worth.

iHuman is more active on Instagram too. The way they are targeting the audience and

grabbing the attention of the youth is appreciatable. Social media nowadays is the only way

to connect with the youth and they are doing it right. Hosting concerts, organizing live

fashion shows and visual art shows is what making this society work ethic more vibrant and

catchy.

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References

Bourassa, C., McKay-McNabb, K., & Hampton, M. (2004). Racism, sexism and colonialism:

The impact on the health of Aboriginal women in Canada. Canadian Woman Studies,

24(1): 23-30. https://cws.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cws/article/viewFile/6172/5360

Davis, W. 2021. The Remains Of 215 Indigenous Children Have Been Found At A Former

School In Canada. NPR 50. https://www.npr.org/2021/05/29/1001566509/the-

remains-of-215-indigenous-children-have-been-found-at-a-former-school-in-can

Gadacz, René R. (2019). "First Nations". The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica

Canada. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/first-nations. Accessed 20

June 2021.

iHuman Scoiety. 1997. https://ihuman.org/volunteer

Loppie, S., Reading C., & Leeuw, S. 2014.Indigenous experiences with racism

and its impacts. National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health.

https://www.nccih.ca/docs/determinants/FS-Racism2-Racism-Impacts-EN.pdf

Miller, J.R. (2004). Lethal legacy: Current Native controversies in Canada. Toronto, ON:

University of Toronto Press. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?

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