Going Further Together, an opportunity to learn and grow professionally and personally
By Rick Garrick
TIMMINS — The Indigenous Men’s Alliance is planning a Going Further Together Personal and Professional Development Men’s Conference from June 4-6 at Northern College in Timmins.
“During my Master’s degree research, I found there needs to be more spaces for Indigenous men in our communities, more conferences, more events, more gatherings so that men can empower one another,” says Kris Morrison, leader of the Indigenous Men’s Alliance. “There are a lot of men in our communities that have a lot of knowledge, have a lot of wisdom that they can pass on to other men in their community and they just need a place to get together, conjure and share that knowledge. A lot of the men said, ‘Just get us together in a space, then we’ll start talking amongst ourselves, we’ll start sharing what we know.’”
The conference is aimed at providing an opportunity for men to gather, share experiences, and engage in discussions on topics related to personal and professional development, health and wellness, cultural identity, and community empowerment.
“Our goal is to have a goose dinner that first evening, the second evening we’re going to have a fish dinner,” Morrison says. “The men said, ‘Just feed us, once we start to have some good food then we’ll start telling our good stories.’ The idea came from my research, I was thinking where do I go to learn to be a better man, better father, better husband? And I was thinking there’s not a lot of spaces for us men to [do] those types of things.”
Morrison says he will deliver his Values for Success presentation during the conference.
“It took me two-and-a-half years to figure out the Values for Success,” Morrison says. “It’s a values-based model that is based on the Seven Grandfather Teachings where men can use these values to make value-based decisions for them to be successful. I structure it like a teepee, the three foundational poles represent the inner values, truth, respect, and wisdom. And then, you display these outer values of honesty, love, and humility amidst the value of courage that ties all those values together from the inside of you to the outside of you.”
The conference will also feature workshops, seminars, and networking opportunities designed to inspire and empower the participants.
“We have speakers coming from Waskaganish, there’s local ones from Timmins,” Morrison says. “We have men coming from all over the place, there’s going to be men coming from Thunder Bay, Toronto, Ottawa, all the way up north from Wemindji. There’s some from Manitoulin Island, all across northeastern Ontario, my hometown of Moose Factory.”
Morrison says being a leader and provider is one of the main topics that will be discussed during the conference.
“As men, we need to know how to become better leaders within our communities, better leaders within our nations,” Morrison says. “The outcome for the conference is that men become even better men, they become better in all their roles as a father, as a community member, uncle, even nephews, youth, and grandpas. That is one of the greatest things we can do for our community, even if it’s one per cent better than we were yesterday. The growth mindset is a major thing within our conferences.”
Morrison says they will also have a big drum at the conference.
“That’s one of the main workshops,” Morrison says. “Men will be able to sit at the big drum.”
Morrison says they can be contacted for more information about the conference at: imamoosecree@gmail.com or 705-465-5314.