Success happens when we walk with our young people says Dokis
By Marci Becking
NORTH BAY – Advisor the North Bay Indian Friendship Centre Urban Aboriginal Strategy, Doug Dokis, says that when we walk with our youth they are less likely to access the system later on in life.
“I look at the young men around the drum here and think about how five years ago they were boys,” says Dokis at the launch of the Urban Aboriginal Strategy. “I’m honoured to have been a part of their lives. If we walk with these young men now, they will not be in the criminal justice system or be in the health care system that much – they will be good fathers.”
He says that moving forward; the Urban Aboriginal Strategy team will continue to engage with the service providers in monthly information exchanges.
Dokis points out that the findings of the report entitled “Walking the Red Road – Our community’s journey to help each person live a good life” includes the aboriginal worldviews.
The report highlights eight key findings, including the fact that an Aboriginal worldview influences how community members experience services and that those services need to be more responsive. Community members describe the pivotal role that Aboriginal culture plays in strengthening mental health and offer suggestions for better integrating Aboriginal culture into education, businesses and social services in North Bay.
“You are telling me how I should be and me telling you how you should be, just doesn’t work,” says Dokis who says we are all aspiring to be good people – people who share, are honest, kind, respectful and caring. “That’s the commonality we have. I think the real work begins now – the various sectors of our community walking with our young people.
North Bay’s Urban Aboriginal Strategy received a total of $460,000 in funding to strengthen Aboriginal social and economic opportunities.
Grants of $360,000 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and $100,000 from the Ontario Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs will lay the foundation for strengthening social and economic participation of Aboriginal people in North Bay.
The North Bay Indian Friendship Centre aims to improve the quality of life for First Nation, Metis, and Inuit people in the urban environment of North Bay by supporting self-determined activities which encourage equal access and participation in society and which respects Aboriginal cultural distinctiveness.