ŚW̱,ȻENEṈITEL
INDIGENOUS FOODS INITIATIVE
"DOING GOOD WORK TOGETHER"
THROUGH PLACE-BASED GRANTING, PROGRAMMING, RESEARCH AND COMMUNITY BUILDING
WHO WE ARE?
ŚW̱,ȻENEṈITEL is guided by local Indigenous peoples and land.
ŚW̱,ȻENEṈITEL is operated by Indigenous people informed by place based Indigenous worldviews and frameworks.
WHAT WE DO?
ŚW̱,ȻENEṈITEL serves and prioritizes work and local peoples and communities ancestral to the four local territories (W̱SÁNEĆ, Lekwungen, Tsuk, and Pacheedaht) living both on and off-reserves. The Initiative supports Indigenous peoples from other territories that are fulfilling their obligation to local protocols and lands. Through placed-based grants, programs, and resources, the Initiative is centred on building up relationships with the peoples in Indigenous communities and families in order to work together for the land.
"ŚW̱,ȻENEṈITEL implies that it is an action or a continuous motion, that represents constant transformation and growth."
OUR VISION
To have long-term impacts by sharing skills, creating local resources, and building and upholding leadership amongst ourselves as local peoples.
OUR MISSION
To foster and increase our communities’ collective work with local Indigenous food and knowledge systems.
OUR OBJECTIVE
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The work will affirm and support accountability processes that center Indigenous worldviews, experiences, and ways of being - based in the place we are working (i.e. “place based Indigenous protocol” which is an inherent responsibility of Indigenous law);
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The Initiative will facilitate permanent changes to granting models, programming and reporting, etc. by prioritizing land-based leadership;
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This priority embodies the ethos of local governance that is represented by teachings, experiences, and practices of sustenance and reciprocity;
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The foundation of practicing the values of responsibility to place are rooted in the Long House which reflect our value and economic systems, where wealth is in the form of abundance and the ability to give; and
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By building and maintaining relationships with communities and leaders, we intend to have a long-term impact by sharing skills, creating local resources, and building and upholding leadership amongst ourselves as local peoples.
OUR HISTORY
