Deshkan Ziibi four years strong and growing

September 4, 2015
Deshkan Ziibi membership and executive: Danielle Alcock, Wilma Snake, Jill Green, Jasmine Van Every, Mary Ann Kechego, Debra Kennedy, Reta Van Every, Dianne Kittanay, Dr. Gloria Alvernez-Mulcahey.
Deshkan Ziibi membership and executive: Danielle Alcock, Wilma Snake, Jill Green, Jasmine Van Every, Mary Ann Kechego, Debra Kennedy, Reta Van Every, Dianne Kittanay, Dr. Gloria Alvernez-Mulcahey.

By Shirley Honyust/ Yenatli:yo

LONDON  – Deshkan Ziibi is a local Native Women’s Organization working towards advancing the collective causes of improving the status of Indigenous women in the urban and on-reserve populations as well as taking an active role to personalize the goals of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada.

Membership in this collective has been rising, through individual recruitment and corporate collaboration and sponsorship, and is continuing to grow at a significant rate.

Opening prayer was done by Marlene Green, Traditional Elder and Guest Speaker of the Fourth Annual General Meeting of Deshkan Ziibi.  Green’s teaching was on The Role of Women in the Family and Community. She has learned through the teachings and through her life.

“The role of the mother goes on forever,” says Green.  She is a mother, grandmother, great grandmother and Clan Mother with the Oneida Longhouse, and has served as a traditional elder for students at Fanshawe College in London. All of these roles Green, along with Dr. Gloria Alvernaz-Mulcahy, past president of Deshkan Ziibi, was honoured with cards and gifts from the Executive Committee of Deshkan Ziibi for their roles with the organization as well as the commitments they keep in the larger community.

Fundraising ideas were shared in regards to upcoming activities, including prizes for raffles, taking part in the upcoming Moraviantown Pow-Wow on Labour Day weekend, and by ongoing social media, using the IT skills of current members to update and expand the online profile, and highlighting participation in community activities. To learn more about this group contact:www./facebook.com/pages/Deshkan-Ziibi-Native-Womens-Association.