1. Locating PWRDF’s Canadian Indigenous Program on the Map
What are the foundations of a fair and honourable relationship between
the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people of Canada? (Royal Commission
on Aboriginal Peoples, 1991)

2. PWRDF Indigenous work responds to:
the needs and priorities identified by Indigenous partners and by the 1991 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) report,
the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP);
the Recommendations of the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action.

3. In 1996 PWRDF carried out visits and consultations with Indigenous communities with whom the Anglican Church had worked.
These communities identified four strategic areas in which PWRDF could work with them:
Restoring language and culture
Working with youth
Empowering women
Health and wellness
Inter-Indigenous networking

4. Based on Indigenous partners’ vision, perspectives, and expectations of a new relationship, PWRDF launched the Canadian Indigenous Communities Program in 1997.
The aim was to build a new partnership based on principles of trust, equal respect and ensuring Indigenous peoples identify and implement the work they would like to accomplish.

5. OPERATIONAL PRINCIPLES
Transparency
Non-partisanship
Non-proselytization
Complementing other development assistance to Indigenous communities in Canada
Facilitating implementation of Indigenous peoples’ agenda towards self-sufficiency
Including intended beneficiaries in the participatory process of designing and implementing community development projects
Responsiveness to needs as expressed by and for women and youth
Sustainability
Micro rather than macro-economic projects

6. Since it’s inception the PWRDF Canadian Indigenous program has supported partners and projects focusing on:
Indigenous Language and Culture
Working with Youth
Empowering Women
Health and Wellness
Inter-Indigenous Partnerships
Indigenous Rights Education and Awareness
Strategic Collaborations

7. Present Work
Nuu-chah-nulth Economic Development Corporation (NEDC), BC
First Nations Adult and Higher Education Consortium (FNAHEC), AB
Kanien’kehaka Onkwawén:na Raotitiohkwa (KOR), QC

8. The Nuu-chah-nulth Language and Culture Program (NLCP) was established in 2002 to support community initiatives that contribute to the preservation of the Nuu-chah-nulth language and culture for current and future generations.

9. The goal of the First Nation Adult and Higher Education Consortium program is to develop skills and knowledge for, by and with Siksika communities about their cultural objects, their meaning, protocol and care to educate, promote and preserve Siksika knowledge, culture and language.

10. The mandate of Kanien’keha:ka Onkwawen:na Raotitiohkwa Language and Cultural Centre (KORLCC) is to develop and implement language and culturally based programs that meet the needs and benefit Kahnawake’s children, youth, adult learners and the wider community in general.

11. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
The PWRDF Canadian Indigenous Program is currently undergoing a review and discernment process as it seeks a way forward in its efforts to deepen relationships with First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples. Two initiatives have emerged that are helping to point the way forward:

12. Pikangikum Water Project
Pikangikum is a remote fly-in First Nations’ community in Northern Ontario. It has a population of about 3,000, of which half are youth. Pikangikum was brought to international attention in 2010 as having the highest suicide rate in the world after a wave of youth suicides. A supply of safe drinking/washing water and the provision of safe sewage disposal were identified as key priorities by the community’s leadership moving forward. The Water Project in equipped 14 homes in Pikangikum with clean water, wastewater removal, and the skills/labour training and jobs that go with the system. Between 10 and 19 homes are to be completed in 2016, with further work to be undertaken as funds become available. PWRDF is working in collaboration with the Pikangikum Band Council, Pimatisiwin Nipi (Living Waters), a network of concerned Anglicans under the leadership of Trinity Church in Aurora, Ontario and National Indigenous Bishop Mark MacDonald, the Pikangikum Working Group, and Habitat for Humanity.

13. National Youth Project
The National Youth Project (NYP) is an initiative
that engages young Anglicans and Lutherans.
The current NYP is the “Right to Water” which
is focussed on the limited access to clean water
in Indigenous communities across Canada.
Information, educational activities, prayer and reflection resources all can be found at
Churches and youth groups can get involved with this project through a number of ways –
Prayer and Reflection – realizing the importance of water in your own life, you will begin to understand why everyone should have adequate access to clean running water.
Education – sharing what you learn with others by doing presentations or posting on social media.
Advocacy – writing a letter to your member of Parliament telling them this is something important to you and that you want to see them take action.
Relationship Building – working to build relationships with Indigenous people in your own community. By working to restore broken relationships, we can move forward together to help bring about sustainable change.
Fundraising – raise money to help homes in the First Nations community in Pikangikum, ON get outfitted with all of the fixtures and fittings necessary for clean water and wastewater systems.

14. PWRDF Indigenous Maternal Health
Since 2015 PWRDF has been working in collaboration with three national Indigenous organizations and three universities to develop an Indigenous maternal health initiative. These are:
Mexico: Kinal Antzetik, a long-time PWRDF partner based in Mexico City in collaboration with the Universidad Autonoma de Guerrero
Peru: Chirapaq, Centro de Culturas Indigenas del Peru, in collaboration with the Universidad Nacional San Cristobal of Huamanga, Ayacucho
Canada: The National Aboriginal Council of Midwives (NAMC) in collaboration with the Ryerson Aboriginal Students Centre at Ryerson University, Toronto
The proposed initiative will seek to disseminate midwifery knowledge, expertise and experience and to share best practices through Indigenous communities in Canada and Latin America. Where possible and appropriate, the learnings from PWRDF’s MNCH work in Africa and Asia will be shared through this program.