{"id":2160,"date":"2024-10-04T14:33:27","date_gmt":"2024-10-04T14:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/?p=2160"},"modified":"2024-10-04T14:33:27","modified_gmt":"2024-10-04T14:33:27","slug":"indigenous-presence-in-st-johns-a-look-at-first-light-friendship-centre-urban-indigenous-peoples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/indigenous-presence-in-st-johns-a-look-at-first-light-friendship-centre-urban-indigenous-peoples\/","title":{"rendered":"Indigenous Presence in St. John\u2019s: A Look at First Light Friendship Centre & Urban Indigenous Peoples"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Territory Acknowledgement & Positionality<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to acknowledge that the lands on which I work, study, and live\u2014within the St. John\u2019s area\u2014are situated in the traditional territories of diverse Indigenous groups, including the Beothuk [bee-oth-uck] and Mi\u2019kmaq [mee-gum-maq] on the island of Newfoundland. Further, I acknowledge with respect the diverse histories and cultures in the province, including the Beothuk and Mi\u2019kmaq in Newfoundland and the Innu [in-new] and Inuit [in-new-eet] in Labrador.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am a settler from Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), with family ties to Conception Bay North and Central Newfoundland\u2014home of the Beothuk and Mi\u2019kmaq since time immemorial. I am an anthropological archaeologist in training and cannot speak on behalf of Indigenous Peoples. However, in my work, I strive to help correct colonial misconceptions about Indigenous history, motivated by my experience growing up in urban Newfoundland and not learning about Indigenous Peoples in NL (or Canada)\u2014including the past and ongoing colonial injustices that Indigenous Peoples have and continue to face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this blog post, I have decided to write on two topics I think anyone studying in St. John\u2019s should know about\u2014First Light: St. John\u2019s Friendship Centre and Urban Indigenous Peoples. I was motivated to write on these topics after attending the First Voice Reconciliation Report a week ago. First Voice is a coalition for Urban Indigenous Peoples, launched in 2019 by First Light, where they work with service partners, individuals, and government to advance Truth and Reconciliation in St. John\u2019s and the greater provincial community. During this event, First Voice shared the progress on 42 Calls for Change to advance Truth and Reconciliation in St. John\u2019s. These 42 Calls for Change were released in their 2023-2033 Action Plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the event with First Voice, it became clear that Urban Indigenous Peoples are often overlooked in discussions surrounding Indigenous topics, including history in the province. As mentioned in their report and the work of Dr. C\u00f4t\u00e9 (Sociology, Memorial University), the Indigenous history of St. John\u2019s is poorly documented\u2014with many non-Indigenous residents believing there is little to no Indigenous presence in the province. Undoubtedly, this is perpetuated by Indigenous Peoples being left out of the Terms of Union between Canada and Newfoundland prior to Newfoundland joining Canada in 1949. Evidently, this is reflected in First Voice\u2019s top priority Call (also Call for Change 1): \u201cPromote and support the redevelopment of the K-12 curriculum so that it includes appropriate content on Indigenous histories, cultures, stories, and languages as well as a discussion of colonialism and its legacy in the province. This process must be undertaken with the collaboration of all Indigenous groups in the province, including urban Indigenous people\u201d (pg. 5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Light: St. John\u2019s Friendship Centre<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Light (formerly St. John\u2019s Native Friendship Centre) is a registered non-profit whose mission is to serve the urban Indigenous and non-Indigenous community. First Light provides programs and services based in cultural revitalization, strengthening, and celebrating Indigenous cultures and language in the spirit of trust, respect, and friendship. Their programming includes a wide range of activities, grouped under the following themes: Arts & Culture, Youth Development, Senior Programming, Recreation & Wellness, Teen & Young Adult Programming, Family Friendly Activities, and Land-based Programming. Specific events include: Wisdom Circles, Yoga, Starting with Steps: Walking Program, and more\u2014check out their Monthly Programs Calendar for more information. First Light also participates in advocacy for the Indigenous community in St. John\u2019s and the province through First Voice, collaborative research working with, for, and by Urban Indigenous Peoples, and through their three levels of Indigenous Cultural Diversity Training (1 Hour Training, 3 Hour Training, and 8 Hour Training). I was lucky enough to participate in the 3-hour Indigenous Cultural Diversity Training during my undergraduate studies and I highly recommend it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Urban Indigenous Peoples<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During First Voice\u2019s Reconciliation Report, they discussed a large group of Indigenous Peoples that seem to be underrepresented in academic and political circles, Urban Indigenous Peoples. Urban Indigenous Peoples refers to Indigenous Peoples, defined as Inuit, M\u00e9tis, or First Nations in Canada, residing in an urban area. Typically, when discussing Indigenous Peoples in NL, people tend to think of people living outside St. John\u2019s, in Indigenous communities, such as Miawpukek (Conne River) or Makkovik. However, according to Statistics Canada, St. John\u2019s has experienced the highest growth in Indigenous Peoples living in the metropolitan area than any other jurisdiction in Canada. The Indigenous community in St. John\u2019s grew by 237.3% between 2006 and 2016\u2013as mentioned in First Voice\u2019s report. It is important to note that many Indigenous Peoples living in St. John\u2019s, and other urban areas throughout the province and Canada, still have connections with their family\u2019s home community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Urban Indigenous History in St. John\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite popular belief, Indigenous Peoples have a history in the province, including in St. John\u2019s. Dr. Rochelle C\u00f4t\u00e9, Associate Professor and Interim Department Head in Memorial\u2019s Department of Sociology, has been working on a project to document the invisible history of Indigenous Peoples in St. John\u2019s, titled: Always Here: Documenting the Invisible History of Indigenous Peoples in St. John\u2019s, NL<\/em>. Dr. C\u00f4t\u00e9\u2019s project involves searching MUN\u2019s Digital Archives\u2019 collection of Newfoundland newspapers for stories of Indigenous Peoples. Though results of this project are preliminary, it shows several themes and evidence of Indigenous Peoples in St. John\u2019s and on the Avalon Peninsula, particularly the Beothuk. This project is now part of a larger partnership project between Memorial University and University of Saskatchewan aimed at highlighting Urban Indigenous Peoples\u2019 stories. Much of this research, including the creation of the database of newspapers mentioning Indigenous Peoples in St. John\u2019s, has been completed by undergraduate and graduate students at Memorial. Dr. C\u00f4t\u00e9 is currently seeking an interested MA or PhD student to work on this project. She is also looking for an interested graduate student for a Graduate Assistantship on the project. If interested in either opportunity, please reach out to Dr. C\u00f4t\u00e9 at rrcote@mun.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned in a previous blog post, it is important to know the history of the place you are working and studying in, especially when much of the history is Indigenous\u2014including Urban Indigenous Peoples. For anyone interested, I recommend checking out First Light\u2019s website, First Voice\u2019s website, and Dr. C\u00f4t\u00e9\u2019s Faculty page for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Territory Acknowledgement & Positionality I want to acknowledge that the lands on which I work, study, and live\u2014within the St. John\u2019s area\u2014are situated in the traditional territories of diverse Indigenous groups, including the Beothuk [bee-oth-uck] and Mi\u2019kmaq [mee-gum-maq] on the island of Newfoundland. Further, I acknowledge with respect the diverse histories and cultures in the … [Read more…]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":64,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[21,8],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-jthogan","4":"post-2160","6":"format-standard","7":"has-post-thumbnail","8":"category-student-blog","9":"post_tag-grad-life","10":"post_tag-phd"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2160"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2163,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2160\/revisions\/2163"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}