Partnership will bring Aboriginal youth, Indigenous knowledge and science together

OFIFC and the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada partner to bring  together Aboriginal Youth, Indigenous Knowledge and Science    

 Toronto, ON, September 15, 2014 –   The Jane Goodall Institute of Canada (JGI) has partnered with the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC) to engage Aboriginal youth in JGI’s Roots and Shoots program.

The Roots and Shoots program supports educators and youth program facilitators in cultivating a better understanding of the interconnectedness between people, animals and the environment through student-led projects that create sustainable community change.

Working directly with the OFIFC Aboriginal Youth Council, nine Friendship Centres in Ontario will identify and implement individual water projects that will create an awareness campaign around sustaining and protecting water sources in each community.   Dryden, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, Barrie, Toronto, London, Peel and Windsor will host awareness campaigns on water teachings in the following months.

Incorporating Indigenous knowledge on water from Elders with the science of water and leadership development exercises, OFIFC and JGI will provide a workshop for nine  youth who will gain knowledge on the sacredness of water and the importance and best methods of protecting water in their community.  The youth will then share this knowledge in their communities and host special events to educate and bring awareness to the vitality and need to sustain water sources. A final report of all projects will be announced on March 22, 2015, World Water Day.

“We are excited to be working the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada on such an important issue,” says Sheila McMahon, President, OFIFC. “Today’s Aboriginal youth are the first generation who are eager and able to incorporate traditional knowledge with modern science to bring a new and holistic perspective on the need to protect our natural environments.”

Andria Teather, CEO of JGI, applauds the partnership.  “Our founder, Dr. Goodall, believes that youth represent our hope for the future – that is why we are very pleased to be embarking on this initiative with OFIFC.  Aboriginal youth will take a leadership role in sharing traditional knowledge and protecting water in their communities and we look forward to supporting them in this,” says Teather.

The Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC) is a not-for-profit provincial Aboriginal organization representing the collective interests of the 28 member Friendship Centres located in towns and cities across Ontario.   Since 1971, the OFIFC has developed culturally driven policy, numerous training initiatives and front line services, accessible to the urban Aboriginal population in Ontario, who currently represent 83% of all Aboriginal peoples in the province.

Both The Jane Goodall Institute of Canada and the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres would like to thank the RBC Blue Water Project for its contribution.  Without it, this initiative would not be possible.