Three women have been recognized for the work they do for the well-being of Indigenous children, youth and families in the Guelph community.
The Award of Merit was awarded to Wendy Stewart, Donna Dubie and Tauni Sheldon by Family and Children’s Services of Guelph and Wellington County (FCSGW) during its annual general meeting on June 20.
The award recognizes the commitment and work local organizations and individuals do in their communities.
Stewart is Bay of Quinte Mohawk and is the founder of Tall Tree Peace Building Circles. The organization does original dispute resolution between Indigenous families and the Children’s Aid Society. She said it is less about mediation and more about relationship building.
She has worked in the Guelph community since the mid-90s and works with FCSGW as a consultant. When she was approached about the award she wanted to extend it to Dubie and Sheldon too. “And together hand in hand, we've been able to do what we do,” she said.
“It was a surprise for me, because we've been doing this for all these years, and we've never been recognized by anybody. And to be recognized, it was very honouring,” said Dubie, who is Mohawk of Grand River and is the executive director and founder of The Healing of Seven Generations.
The organization supports First Nations, Métis and Inuit people through child welfare, housing, health care, education and justice systems. It works with FCSGW to provide services to families in Guelph-Wellington.
“I was very grateful because I don't think anybody really understands the work that's been done, or the day to day pain. And there's tremendous pain, you know, we shoulder, huge, huge things,” said Stewart.
“It's the work being recognized. And it's the three of us united and standing together, really, that is important. And it also shows community that Indigenous peoples, we are standing up for our people, we are working hard for our own people. And that means that other Indigenous people can do the same,” said Sheldon, is Inuk from Nunavik in Northern Quebec and is a cultural advisor for the Kamatsiarniq Program at Tungasuvvingat Inuit (TI).
TI is an Inuit-specific not-for-profit servicing Ontario and offers social support, cultural activities, employment and education assistance, youth programs, counselling and crisis intervention. Sheldon has provided Inuit training for FCSGW.
Although the women all have many decades of experience in child welfare, specifically for Indigenous families, they don’t do it for recognition. They do it because these families need help navigating the child welfare system. “They need to know that they have somebody that's not afraid to stand up to those systems that they're fighting against. Those systems out there can be very intimidating,” said Dubie.
The women all said their organizations are in need of more funding. “So if our funding stops, for whatever reason, well, guess what, we're still going to the office every day. We're not even paid to go to the office. But we still go to the office every day. And that's because it's beyond the job. It's your responsibility as cultural people. It's our responsibility as mothers, as grandmothers, as aunties, as friends,” said Stewart.
“If we had the support from those who hold the purse, it would make our jobs a little bit easier,” said Dubie.
Their investment is supporting the “current generation to become the leaders of tomorrow,” said Stewart.
