Dilico Anishinabek Family Care celebrates 40 years of Anishinaabe knowledge, culture, and community

By Rick Garrick

THUNDER BAY — Dilico Anishinabek Family Care’s 40th Anniversary Gala featured music by Classic Roots, Natasha Fisher, and Sara Kae with a keynote by Andrew Judge (Mkomose) on September 25 at the Superior Inn in Thunder Bay. Judge highlighted how he spent 11 years studying in university about the Anishinabek people and their knowledge and culture during his presentation on Manidookewinan, Eshkakamikwe, Aanikoobijiganag, minawaaa Noojimo’iwewin (Ceremony, Mother Earth, Ancestors, and Healing): Utilizing Anishinaabe cultural knowledge to better serve Indigenous peoples.

“Now I design landscapes, I’m working with 25 different organizations right now to design food forests on their properties,” Judge says. “I’m working with school boards to develop curriculum that honours our teachings, that tells a different story about history. It tells the story of how we discovered the Europeans on our lands, and we said, ‘Biindige, Welcome.’ A lot of people don’t know that story because the story they told is so primitive, but for 250 years the French learned our language, they paid rent to us.”

Judge adds that Thunder Bay is located on Anishinabek land.

“This is Anishinabek land, Anemki Wajiw,” Judge says. “We’ve never let it go, we’ll never let it go, and we are going to continue, some of us, to fight, we are going to continue to ensure that those who are on our lands understand that this is our culture and our knowledge and it’s beautiful — we have songs and teachings, welcome, come in, learn, it’s beautiful.”

Fisher, a musician from Long Lake #58 First Nation, says it was a full circle moment to come back to Thunder Bay and support the community that has supported her from the beginning of her career.

“I think it’s important to always uplift our own community members, and wherever people can seek help and safety is really important to acknowledge,” Fisher says. “This is a stop off for me, I’m on tour with Stella Standingbear right now on a cross-Canada tour. Thankfully my schedule worked out, and I was able to come home, we just did Winnipeg last night, so we’re playing a lot of the songs that are on my last couple of EPs.”

Classic Roots, a DJ from Long Lake #58 First Nation, says he was playing his house music, including his originals, during the gala.

“We’re going to have a good jam session. I’m going to really enjoy it, plus I’m going to be dancing to my beat, so I’m going to get the energy going and keep it a safe space,” Classic Roots says, noting that he received counselling at Dilico Anishinabek Family Care when he was younger. “[I was] learning about decolonizing and just learning about myself, my own identity.”

Classic Roots adds that he was just accepted for a three-week Indigenous music residency at Banff.

“I’m looking forward to gaining some more experience and opportunities and of course collaborating with Indigenous artists in that program,” Classic Roots says. “I’m looking forward to bring out some good music.”

Natalie Paavola, CEO at Dilico Anishinabek Family Care, says they held the gala to celebrate their achievements and the communities’ knowledge and input over the past 40 years.

“The journey itself hasn’t been one without challenges but every challenge we have been faced with has made us better at what we do,” Paavola says. “The theme of our anniversary is Gikandowsiwin, and what that means is our knowledge, our ways of knowing. At Dilico [Anishinabek Family Care], the way we do business is very much rooted in our communities, in the way their culture is, the way they share their cultures because every community is different, and we respect that uniqueness.”

Paavola says the original intent for the gala was to fundraise for cultural programming and cultural services at Dilico Anishinabek Family Care.

“But we shifted when we had to postpone this gala,” Paavola says, noting how the gala was postponed when forest fires impacted communities across northwestern Ontario this past summer, including the devastation of her own community, Namaygoosisagagun First Nation. “We thought, let’s do what we can for the communities impacted by the wildfires.”

Fort William First Nation Chief Michele Solomon, a member of the board of directors at Dilico Anishinabek Family Care, says it was great to celebrate and acknowledge Dilico Anishinabek Family Care’s 40 years of work.

“I worked at Dilico [Anishinabek Family Care] for about 12 years in their mental health and addiction department, [I] worked in their residential treatment program,” Chief Solomon says. “The programs and services they provide are so vital to helping our people find recovery in some cases, and in other cases, it’s counselling and mental health services for children and adults.”