- Everything is done by agreement
- Every voice has a right to be heard
- Every voice has a commitment/responsibility to listen
- We help Co-define and Co-create Cultural Safety
- We help Establish agreements for what comprises Decolonizing Conversations
- We help Define and develop Inter-Cultural and Inter-Faith Relationships
- We help Engender Well -Being / Wellness (Emotional, Mental, Physical, Spiritual)
With this in mind we can begin to consider how these understandings, processes and agreements guide the structure, the manner and the method of our Gatherings. An essential understanding is the recognition of a process by which we become available to consider if it is possible that it might be less important what we think, but rather how, that it is important not just what we do, but how we go about doing it.
Further, INITC is a First Nations shared platform for allowing cultural perspectives to be heard. It is in itself is not a goal based - entity. The above considerations are part of a process. These processes are the foundation for how we learn to share and work together in what we describe as transformative collaboration. This means that we acknowledge and honor that we change through the process. Where there are many outcomes that arise, the primary purpose is not to achieve a predetermined one.
Along with this comes another important consideration. That we both take and make the time, as well as the space necessary where these things can happen. When we carefully consider our shared values, we can realize that these are not just notions to be given but a cursory glance for our agreement or approval. They are representative of both an individual and a collective process, one that requires deep listening and reflection in our own selves, creating what we choose together. Time is our friend, our ally, our relative, not our enemy. How easy is it in the ‘modern world’ to see time as a restraint or an obstacle? Do we have the time that it may take to create genuine trans-formative collaboration?
These few tenets of INITC help us both to learn and acknowledge that we come from many Nations. The diverse experiences and knowledge of these Nations working together are what give us the opportunity to deepen our collective idea of what it means to be a human being – with each other and with our environment. We accept and celebrate that there are diverse knowledge systems and methods that pre-date the colonial paradigm. The inclusion of First Nations Peoples’ knowledge and experience, along with that of non-First Nations relatives, gives rise to a unique opportunity for co-creating the space for genuine transformation.
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The InterNātional Indigenous Initiative for Transformative Collaboration (INITC)
And
present
There is a growing recognition amongst institutions, organizations and wider community members that language must adapt to encompass wider perspectives and greater understanding. Euro-centric and Anglo-centric ideas of classification such as ‘American Indians’ / ‘Red Indians’ or ‘Aboriginal’ are disingenuous. They are historical perspectives from ways of viewing the world, amalgamating Original Nations and Peoples (ONP) to an inequitable position, perpetuating ideas and perspectives that have historically and continually marginalized ONP knowledge, Cultural and Spiritual Practice.
INITC proposes transformation through the recognition of emotional, mental, physical and spiritual change, critical to genuine collaboration. As a shared ONP format and process for sharing cultural perspectives and practice, an underlying notion is the recognition that we come from many Nations. The product of our collective and collaborative efforts may be described as InterNātional.
INITC works to create spaces of possibility where a process for transformative collaboration can be carefully and compassionately engendered.
INITC is a 501(c)3 organization