Skills Development Bermiller K F15
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Transcript of Skills Development Bermiller K F15
Skills Development Reflection
Katherine Bermiller, F15
I attended the 2015 Joint Gathering from November 16-18th as a professional
development event during my co-op placement at Indigenous Affairs and Northern
Affairs Canada (INAC). The Joint Gathering is designed to be a space for ongoing
dialogue between the Government of Canada, BC First Nations, and the BC First
Nations Leadership Council. This year there was a designated topic for each day:
Housing, Child and Family Services, and on the last day, Economic Development.
For me, this professional development event was very much about learning
and listening to the speakers and forums. I found it a very valuable and unique
experience given my own position in my studies and in this co-op placement.
First, this was an opportunity to hear directly from prominent First Nations
leaders about their opinions of INAC. After a couple of months in my position, I had
felt a good sense of what my coworkers saw as their impact on First Nations
communities. This understanding has been very enlightening, especially in
comparison and contrast with my academic, theoretical understanding of the federal
government’s interaction with Indigenous peoples in Canada. But attending the Joint
Gathering added another level of depth to this interpretation because I heard first
hand what Indigenous peoples perceived to be Canada’s impact on their
communities. Hearing their heart wrenching words and struggles was a bit of a
reality check for me. I felt reconnected with why I am passionate about Indigenous
relations in Canada, and outraged at the current state of affairs. But this was
confused by my first hand experience at INAC where I witnessed really well
intentioned people trying to make a positive impact within the system that they
found themselves in. How do those two really honest and well-intentioned positions
interact and/or correlate? I will definitely take these insights back to my classes at
UBC in January.
Second, I was told that there was a different energy at the Joint Gathering this
year because of the recent change in government. This was enlightening to my
international relations studies, as I saw real hope for the potential change from a
government that explicitly made aboriginal relations a priority in their platform. I
witnessed the newly appointed Minister of INAC responding to pointed and difficult
questions from First Nations leaders, who asked Canada to live up to the promises
that it has made. Although there is much to improve, there was an air of deep
respect and care from the federal government’s presenters. This made me think of
my political science classes, and I wondered if this type of hopeful and exciting air
follows all changes in government or not. I think there is, unfortunately, the
potential for lots of time and attention to be spent on certain issues during the first
period of a new government, but then eventually be forgotten. First Nations
presenters touched on this as well, highlighting that the promises are very positive
and good, but it really is actions that matter. This particular insight was very unique
because the change in government that had just been confirmed the previous
month.
I will take the lessons I learned at the Joint Gathering with me particularly in
my studies in international relations and in my future career goals. Many of the
aboriginal speakers touched on the different ways that the federal government
could or should approach aboriginal affairs in Canada, and I agreed with many of
their insights. I think that what I learned at the Joint Gathering was very insightful to
my own processing of my understanding of the role of INAC currently is and
potentially could be. I will definitely search out this conference and other similar
ones in the future.