On June 21, 2017, on the summer solstice & National Aboriginal Day (Canada), Turtle Lodge Elders, four youth torch runners, four water carriers & the drum group Red Shadow Singers from the Original

On June 21, 2017, on the summer solstice & National Aboriginal Day (Canada), Turtle Lodge Elders, four youth torch runners, four water carriers & the drum group Red Shadow Singers from the Original Nations of this land lit a sacred fire at the sacred site of Manitou Api in the centre of the continent. The flame was brought to Winnipeg and the Centennial Flame lit by Elder Dave Courchene, where it will burn in front of the Manitoba Legislative Building for one year, to help inspire the province and the nation. The 2017 Canada Games torch run commenced with this sacred flame in Manitoba, and the sacred fire was brought Friday to light the 2017 Canada Games cauldron. Video created by Patrick Roberge, PRP Inc., for the Canada Games. Acknowledgements to the Elders for their vision & to Barry Mathers for all his hard work in working with the Canada Games & the Turtle Lodge to make this happen.

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Speech before the American Public Works Association (APWA) Sustainability in Public Works Conference, July 27, 2011 in Portland, Oregon. Too often the debate over sustainability is brought down to a level of minutiae or a debate over whether or not climate change is real or not rather than understanding the importance of keeping the balance between the natural and  man-made environment. He cites Rachel Carson, Jane Benyus, and David Orr as models of integrity and vision.

George Crombie is President of the APWA and a senior faculty member for public works administration in the MPA program at Norwich University military college in Vermont.

He was interviewed by Ruth Ann Barrett of EarthSayers.tv, voices of sustainability.

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The Reconciling Ways of Knowing Forum in collaboration with the Victoria Forum, shared the fifth dialogue in our Online Forum series, “Millennia of Experience: Drawing on Indigenous Knowledge in

The Reconciling Ways of Knowing Forum in collaboration with the Victoria Forum, shared the fifth dialogue in our Online Forum series, “Millennia of Experience: Drawing on Indigenous Knowledge in Responding to COVID-19.” on November 12, 2020. This dialogue explored how collaboration between Indigenous knowledge and science can improve public health outcomes throughout Canada in the face of COVID-19. Preliminary reports from Indigenous Services Canada suggest that First Nations communities are experiencing 1/4 of the infection rate and 1/5 of the mortality rate from COVID-19 experienced by the general Canadian population. The session will explore how Indigenous Peoples have leveraged their millennia of experience enduring past pandemics to protect their people and foster their resilience in the face of new public health challenges. Speakers Elder Dr Dave Courchene, Jr, an Anishinaabe Elder and spiritual leader; Grandmother Katherine Whitecloud, a Dakota knowledge keeper and Indigenous health and wellness advocate; Miles Richardson, OC, a Haida political leader and negotiator focused on Nation-to-Nation relationships between Indigenous Peoples and Canada; Tom Swanky, JD, a historical researcher focused on the role of smallpox in the foundational relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the Crown in British Columbia; and Dr Sabina Ijaz, a medical doctor who has built deep relationships in Indigenous communities, in dialogue with moderator Darrin Mah, JD, discussed the history of what Indigenous Peoples have learned in responding to pandemics, how this informs their responses to COVID-19, and what can be learned more broadly within Canadian society and the global community from these lessons. The speakers discussed issues including: How Indigenous knowledge has been marginalized by a presumption within policy- and decision-making circles that (Western) science is the only valid form of knowledge upon which to base and inform their work; How the devastation of Indigenous populations during previous smallpox and Spanish Flu pandemics has influenced Indigenous responses to COVID-19; How Indigenous Peoples have exercised their sovereignty and self-determination to protect their nations and communities; The role of traditional medicines and healing practices in protecting community health and recovering from the pandemic; How Indigenous knowledge has helped mitigate negative health outcomes that may result from factors such as remoteness from healthcare facilities, food security challenges, higher poverty rates and housing shortages on reserve; Opportunities for collaboration between Indigenous knowledge and science for improved health and social outcomes as we navigate our way through the pandemic together. More information at https://www.waysofknowingforum.ca/dialogue-5 and https://www.waysofknowingforum.ca.

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