By Teena Monteleone and Tyler Marr

Newcomers and Indigenous community find ‘Common Ground’

Aug 3, 2017 | 5:00 PM

Through an eclectic mix of food, dance and history, the country’s first peoples and country’s newest met to form a ‘common ground.’ 

Indigenous children from Prince Albert and region spent the day with newcomers to the city from countries like Syria, Republic of the Congo and Eritrea.

“It is a cultural sharing,” Kayla Koivisto said, a settlement worker with the YWCA. “It helps answer a lot of questions people develop when they come here. It helps break down barriers and build trust.”

The event is part of an ongoing project called ‘Common Ground.’ It stems from a pilot project between the Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan, Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Association of Immigration Settlement and Integration Agencies (SAISIA).

“Research identified that new immigrants coming in were already told what to think of First Nations people…and it wasn’t the good stuff,” Karen Cay said, Common Ground Project Coordinator. “On the other hand, there was a lot of fear among the Indigenous community about Syrians, for example. There were misconceptions that immigrants were coming to take away money and jobs.”

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Cay said the goal of Common Ground is to bring people together and turn “they and those people” into “us.”

She added,” We are just bringing people together to just play…but with issues like colonization and depending on where immigrants are from…they all may actually see some common ground.”

Participants spent the day enjoying traditional food, drumming and dance. Adding to the cultural sharing was Victor Thunderchild, an educator and traditional dancer, who made a presentation on Indigenous history for newcomers.

“It is really important that we all learn our historical background,” he said. “We are teaching others about Aboriginal people but also helping our own children identify who they are and where they came from.”

teena.monteleone@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TeenaMonteleone