June 25th 2013 Caylie Gynra presented on "Allying with Aboriginal Communities" This was part of Urban Systems Vibrant Communities Speaker Series in Edmonton. How can we engage with indigenous individuals in our communities? Caylie Gnyra is passionate about language and its impact on healthy, vibrant communities. While pursuing a Native Studies degree at the University of Alberta, she was inspired by a class assignment to write a series of Cree language children’s books. The Little Cree Books are written using Alberta Education’s Cree Language curricular guidelines, and are a response to the limited availability of levelled books suitable for early Cree readers. Caylie’s experience writing these books and her subsequent projects have led her to reflect on the ways that both indigenous and non-indigenous people can foster healthy relationships with First Nations communities. Drawing on academic theory as well as her own successes and failures working with indigenous communities and organizations, she will present sixteen actions that professionals can take to ally with Aboriginal community members.

1. Creating Vibrant Communities
Allying with Aboriginal Communities
Caylie Gnyra
June 25, 2013

2. Spirit in Service for Vibrant
Communities

3. Caylie Gnyra
Allying with Aboriginal
Communities

4. 
How to be a GoodAlly:
Working Non-colonially and Non-patronizingly with Aboriginal Communities
Creating Vibrant Communities: 2013 Summer Speaker Series
Caylie Gnyra
June 25, 2013
Yellowhead Brewery, Edmonton, Alberta

5. A bit on where I’m coming from
Sucker Creek First Nation (Cree), and Eden Valley First Nation (Stoney), AB:
Alberta’s Future Leaders (summer of 2005)
Edmonton, AB: Hope Mission Winter Emergency Shelter and Youth Shelter
(2005-2006)
Grouard, AB: Native Cultural Arts Museum (summers of 2006 and 2007)
Macushi Territory, North Rupununi Region, Guyana, South America: Ghost
River Rediscovery, Youth Leadership Program (winter of 2006-2007)
Grouard, AB: Native Cultural Arts Museum (summer of 2007)
Edmonton, AB: B.A. in Native Studies (University of Alberta, 2007-2010); tutored
Cree
Washington, DC: National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian
Institution (autumn of 2009)
Edmonton, AB: B.A. in Native Studies (University of Alberta, 2007-2010); tutored
Cree
Washington, DC: Indigenous oral language assessment for the Bureau of Indian
Education (summer of 2010)
Victoria, BC and Toronto, ON: Master of Museum Studies (2010-2012);
Canadian Language Museum (2011-present)
Edmonton, AB: Little Cree Books (2009-present); family language nights (2013-
present); Engage North planning committee (2013-present); Change It Up Trades
(Hobbema, 2013-present)

6. What I’m working on now: Language, learning, economic
development, and industry relationships
“The results reported demonstrate that... youth suicide rates effectively dropped to zero in those few
communities in which at least half the band members reported a conversational knowledge of their own “Native”
language.”
“Altogether these results demonstrate that indigenous language use, as a marker of cultural persistence, is a
strong predictor of health and wellbeing” in Canada’s Aboriginal communities.
-Hallett, Darcy, Chandler, Michael J., and Lalonde, Christopher E. 2007. “Aboriginal language knowledge and youth suicide.” Cognitive Development 22 (2007): 392-399.

7. What I’m working on now: Language, learning, economic
development, and industry relationships
Interested in the Trades?
njoy fixing things and working with your hands?
Motivated to become a Journeyman?

8. What is an ally?
 “An ally is a member of the advantaged social group
who takes a stand against social injustice directed at
targeted groups. An ally works to be an agent of
social change rather than an agent of oppression.”
(Adams, Bell, and Griffin 2007)

9. Remember that every community is different.
The terms Aboriginal and Indigenous
“lump First Nations, Métis, and Inuit
together into one category as though
their political, linguistic, economic,
governance, etc. issues were the same”
(Atkinson 2010, 19).
There are both major and nuanced
differences between various First
Nations, Métis, and Inuit nations and
communities.
The protocols, work, and methods that
are useful in one nation, band, or
organization may not be appropriate fits
for others.
What this might look like:
● Ask the Aboriginal people you are
working with about the names they
use to refer to their own
communities and nations.
● If you are working with a band or
other Aboriginal organization,
inquire about their organizational
structure. Do not assume that
because one nation or one band
within a nation has an elected chief
and council or an elders’ advisory
board that other nations or bands
have the same.

10. Use the term “community” with care.
Over the past five years, it seems that
the catch-all answer to issues is “involve
the community!” or “community
consultation!”
That said…
“Communities” are shifting and
dynamic, and are not easily bounded or
defined. Those chosen to represent the
“community”—whether by outsiders or
insiders—do not necessarily represent
the views of everyone involved.
What this might look like:
● Know, and do not take for granted,
exactly who you include, privilege,
and exclude in your definition of
“community,” and have an answer
for why those decisions have been
made.
● Use more specific terms to denote
the group of people you are working
with (e.g., “the elders’ council of the
__________ band.”)

11. Beware of marked terminology.
Markedness indicates asymmetry
between concepts:
dominant term = unmarked = “neutral”
(e.g., “American”)
non-dominant term = marked = named
and viewed in relation to the dominant
term
(e.g., “African American”)
What this might look like:
• Consider how referring to the
community members who serve on
your project as “Aboriginal experts”
strengthens or weakens their
identities in those roles.
• Consider how attempting to mark
formerly unmarked terms—e.g.,
“Irish-Ukrainian-Canadian
curator”—exposes the fact that
unmarked terms that set the
“norm” do not actually accurately
represent the diversity of the group
of people they are meant to.

12. Replace words like “help,” “improve,” and “solve”
with words like “learn.”
Well-meaning volunteers,
philanthropists, and professionals
frequently speak of their intentions to
“help” other groups of people, or to
“improve” or “solve” situations.
While these objectives are admirable,
the vocabulary conveys a kind of
salvage paradigm, in which non-
Aboriginal people can serve as saviours
because they allegedly know what to do
and have the capacity to do it better
than Aboriginal people themselves.
Foster equality by identifying why it is in
your own interest to be an ally.
What this might look like:
● When describing the work you do to
friends and family members, use
phrases that highlight what you, or
society at large, may get out of it.
● Put this vocabulary into practice:
base your work on the assumption
that you are learning, not that you
are “solving” or “improving”
anything.

13. Seek generalized reciprocity in your giving and receiving.
“Generalized reciprocity”: an exchange in
which a gift is given and a return similar
in value but not form is expected, but is
not immediate.
“Balanced reciprocity”: an exchange in
which a gift is given and an equal return
is expected immediately.
Reciprocity should not end once protocol
requirements have been fulfilled.
Value and reciprocate the information,
hospitality, energy, and patience that has
been extended to you on both personal
and professional levels.
What this might look like:
● Teach individuals or groups a skill
that you have.
● Write letters in support of
Aboriginal partners’ grant
applications, even if these do not
overlap with your own work;
forward emails about relevant
conferences; and co-author papers.
● Reciprocate stories and information
with careful listening, patience,
attentiveness, and, where
appropriate, action.

14. Cultivate ongoing relationships.
Maintaining relationships with
geographically distant communities can
be difficult to maintain ongoing
relationships, especially after the work
is complete.
Cultivating continuing relationships
demonstrates that the interest an ally
has in a community is not simply for his
or her own professional gain.
Have a presence in the community—
don’t just be there for your work.
Invite your friends and collaborators
from the community to your own social
and cultural gatherings.
What this might look like:
● If you live close to the community you
have been working with, see if you can
play on one of the band’s recreational
sports teams.
● Write letters, send cards on holidays,
“friend” people on Facebook, visit on
your personal time, and/or phone the
people you have developed
relationships with through your work.
● Have tea! Try “country food”!
● If appropriate, attend social gatherings
and ceremonies, or sit on committees.

15. Be willing to do things that you might initially think are
“below” you.
Work that might initially seem below
your station, such as cleaning, stuffing
envelopes, photocopying, or driving
people from one place to another, can
nevertheless contribute to developing
and maintaining healthy relationships
and successful projects.
What this might look like:
● If you are in a community for a
professional or personal visit, help
out by assisting with the preparation
of a meal for an event, taking the
garbage out, or cleaning.
● If you are stuck with a task that you’d
rather grumble about, try to think
about how that work contributes to
your own personal goals/work and
those of the community or
individuals you are working with.

16. Be willing to relinquish control.
Train Aboriginal individuals in your
professional methods and practices if
they are interested, or support the
beginning of a project that no
Aboriginal individual or group has the
means to, but be willing and prepared
to hand over control of the project—in
part or in whole—to an Aboriginal
community if and when it expresses its
readiness to take on the work.
At the same time, do not expect that
Aboriginal communities want to take on
the projects you have started.
What this might look like:
● Arrange for ‘professional exchanges’
so employees of your organization
learn in the community and an
employee from the community
comes and works in your
institution—a skills exchange.
● Be willing to incorporate not just
Aboriginal people, but Aboriginal
values, into your workplace.

17. Extend your professional commitment to becoming an
ally into your personal life.
Acknowledge and take responsibility for
the day-to-day actions we take that
contribute to inequality between non-
Aboriginal and Aboriginal people.
“I did not see myself as part of the problem. The
problem rested solely with ‘the government’ or
‘other racist white people,’ and racism was largely
viewed as something left in the past, the remnants
of which we were left to deal with now. I did not
want to think about the negative stereotypes of
Aboriginal peoples that still occasionally visited the
fringes of my consciousness. I did not think about
where the land came from upon which we were
now building a cabin. In short I did not see that I
had my own work to do on unlearning racism
before I could proceed to work cross-culturally with
Aboriginal peoples. My focus was on ‘them,’
learning about ‘their culture,’ ‘their languages,’ and
my own assumptions went largely unquestioned.” –
Karen Max, non-Aboriginal educator and ally
What this might look like:
● Reflect and make a list of how your
day-to-day activities affect the lives
of Aboriginal Canadians, e.g., do the
movies your kids watch portray
Indigenous people inaccurately or
stereotypically? Make changes to
your activities if you feel led to.
● In your spare time, take a craft or
language class at a local Native
friendship centre. Take your
instructor and classmates out for
coffee afterwards, or let your
instructor or a classmate take you
out for coffee afterwards.

18. Acknowledge your privilege and be aware of how non-
Aboriginal allies benefit from the continued oppression of
Aboriginal people.
Non-Aboriginal Canadians continue to
benefit from the position of Aboriginal
people in our nation.
At this point in history, Aboriginal issues
are a hot topic; therefore, many
researchers and professionals have an
opportunity to make a name and career
by reflecting on and researching these
issues, thereby garnering more privilege
for themselves.
What this might look like:
● Thoughtfully examine the ways you
are benefitting from the historical
and present positions of Aboriginal
peoples.
● Get in the habit of identifying for
yourself the specific ways that
privilege comes into play in your day-
to-day life.
● Include funding that benefits
Aboriginal partners and/or hires
Aboriginal research assistants into
your grant proposals.

19. Value your own identity and heritage.
Too often, when a sharing circle or
similar gathering opens with
introductions, Aboriginal participants
will identify themselves by name,
nation, and kin, while non-Aboriginal
individuals are not always sure how to
situate themselves.
Our ability to serve as partners with
Aboriginal communities will be greatly
increased if we understand our own
struggles for heritage language
maintenance, community-building, and
pride in our cultures, rather than if we
simply try to take on the language,
culture, struggles, and triumphs of
Aboriginal communities.
What this might look like:
● Acknowledge your heritage, family,
and/or home community when you
introduce yourself.
● Learn or actively practice your own
heritage language and/or customs.

20. Talk with other non-Aboriginal individuals who have
committed themselves to becoming allies.
Many allies are bewildered and
extremely hurt when they have spent
time, effort, emotional and mental
energy, and even money to serve as a
better ally, but then experience anger
directed at them by an Aboriginal
person.
Avoid getting defensive when Aboriginal
individuals make angry comments
about “White” culture or privilege. In
these situations, it might be best to
listen, resist becoming defensive, and
then talk about the situation later with
others who have had the same
experience.
What this might look like:
● Set aside some time each week with
your colleagues to talk specifically
about the emotions and thoughts
you are each encountering. Take as
much time as necessary.
● Share your experiences with non-
Aboriginal individuals who have
recently discovered their own desire
to work as an ally—your personal
experiences can be inspirational and
help others deal with disheartening
situations. Allies need allies!

21. Use qualifiers to identify the sources of your knowledge.
As in academia, many Indigenous
languages and oral history traditions
use attributions that mark the source(s)
of information (“evidentiality”).
These markers can indicate whether
information is derived from direct visual
or auditory experience, inferred
probability, general cultural knowledge,
or hearsay. Use similar indicators in
English to identify your sources of
information.
Be especially mindful about
acknowledging Aboriginal ideas and
concepts as knowledge that is not your
own.
What this might look like:
● Preface the information you are
sharing with an indication of how
you have come to understand it. For
example, you could say, “From what
I have come to understand through
my time working on this project…”
or, “I read in a book by __________
that…” or “I was told that…” or “As
far as I know…” or “I feel that….”
● Before saying, “I know that…” when
you are talking about Aboriginal
objects, practices, or issues,
reconsider your degree of certainty
on that subject and locale.

22. Be equally wary of both sweeping positive
generalizations and sweeping negative generalizations.
Positive generalizations may be
attempts to deal with the collective
guilt of historical colonial actions, but
they tend to essentialize and
romanticize the experiences of
Aboriginal people, without
acknowledging that, like all groups,
some really ugly issues plague
Aboriginal communities. No group of
people has ever been, or ever will be,
infallible, and it is ridiculous to assume
that Aboriginal cultures have only ever
had problems because of colonization.
What this might look like:
● Acknowledge both the good and the
bad: recognize achievements,
inspirational practices, and visions
and plans for the future, but do not
ignore social, economic, and health
problems. Do not let all the “bad
things” that haunt Aboriginal
communities and individuals simply
be attributed to “colonialism.”
● If someone makes a sweeping
generalization—either positive or
negative—press them for further
reflection on why they have said
what they have said.

23. Beware of taking on a burden that is not yours to bear.
Be careful not to take on the burden of
oppression and the anger that
accompanies it, at least not as someone
who is being oppressed.
Do not over-personalize past actions
that have led to oppression, but
instead, examine the current “structural
framework… where systemic oppression
and marginalization are produced and
maintained” (Cowie 2010, 49).
What this might look like:
● Support those who are dealing with
loss or anger by listening, but do not
try to make the burden yours if it is
not.
● Rather than becoming debilitated by
feeling guilty for past injustices in
which you played no part, reflect on
the ways that Aboriginal people
experience oppression today as a
result of your position of privilege.

24. Remember that becoming an ally is a process, not a destination,
and that you are accountable to the people you are allying with.
Becoming an ally is ongoing process,
one in which we are continually
learning, making mistakes, and
reflecting. There is not a fixed point
where we can sit back and say, “I am
now an ally,” and cease that critical
reflection and growth.
Similarly, the ethical considerations
related to your professional work as an
ally are processual. They are not limited
to signed consent forms, and do not
have an end date. If the work you do is
considered ethically acceptable at the
time it is accomplished, you still remain
accountable to it years down the road.
What this might look like:
● Continually try to find innovative
ways to serve as an ally. Reflect on
those methods, and share your
successful ideas with others.
● Acknowledge to yourself that, even
after years of working as an ally, you
will still make mistakes—and that’s
okay!

25. What I’d like to work with you on:
 Multi-generational Cree language-learning opportunities for
Edmontonians that can include industry staff, and funding opportunities
to help support programmers and fluent speakers… with one of the end
goals being stronger personal relationships between industry
representatives and individuals from Aboriginal communities. Visit
www.whereareyourkeys.org for more info.
 Programs that combine public speaking and leadership skills from 4-H
with Iwokrama’s Wildlife Clubs’ teachings on identifying and monitoring
local wildlife using various methods.
 Small businesses and strategic economic development opportunities,
particularly for urban Indigenous youth, and bike repair shops for smaller
communities.
 Paid training opportunities for youth and young adults in drainage
engineering and community planning, particularly for those from Siksika,
Eden Valley, and Morley (due to the recent floods).
To plan collaborative projects, share ideas, inquire about contacts, or ask for
perspective, please feel free to contact me at caylie@littlecreebooks.com.

26. Recommended Reading
 Paul Nadasdy’s Hunters and Bureaucrats: Power,
Knowledge, and Aboriginal-State Relations in the
Southwest Yukon
 Ellen Bielawski’s Rogue Diamonds
 Margaret Craven’s I Heard the Owl Call My Name

27. If you take nothing else away from this presentation,
remember to:
 Be good to each other.
 Extend yourself some grace.

28. Creating Vibrant Communities
Tuesday July 16
Gordon Howell
Solar Energy for Resilient Communities
www.urbansystems.ca/news/summer-speaker-series.htm

29. References
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York: Routledge.
 Ames, M. 1994. The politics of difference: Other voices in a not yet post-colonial world. Museum
Anthropology. 18 (3): 9–17.
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rown, eds., 171–180. London: Routledge.
 Andersen, H. 1989. Markedness—The First 150 Years. In Markedness in Synchrony and Diachrony.
Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin.
 Andrews, E. 1990. Markedness Theory: The Union of Asymmetry and Semiosis in Language. Duke
University Press: Durham, NC.
 The Angry Black Woman: Race, Politics, Gender, Sexuality, Anger. 2009. The Do’s and Don’ts of Being a
Good Ally. October 1. Accessed on March 19, 2011 from
http://theangryblackwoman.com/2009/10/01/the-dos-and-donts-of-being-a-good-ally/
 Archangeli, D. 1997. Optimality Theory: An Introduction to Linguistics in the 1990s. In Optimality
Theory: An Overview. Blackwell: Maiden, MA.

30. References
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Children, Families, and Communities. Master’s thesis, submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies,
School of Social Work, University of Victoria.
 Battistella, E. 1990. Markedness: The Evaluative Superstructure of Language. SUNY Press: Albany, NY.
 Bielawski, E. 2003. Rogue Diamonds: The Rush for Northern Riches on Dene Land. Vancouver: Douglas
and McIntyre.
 Birth and Bloom. 2010. How to be a good ally to queer families. Accessed on March 19, 2011 from
http://bloomingbirth.wordpress.com/2010/06/03/how-to-be-a-good-ally-to-queer-families/
 Bishop, Anne. 2002. Becoming an ally: Breaking the cycle of oppression in people (6th ed.). Halifax:
Fernwood.
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content/uploads/2008/03/disability%20ally%20flyer%20062508.pdf
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Social Work. 11 (1): 46–51.

31. References
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(170): 43–52.
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32. References
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from http://www.scn.org/friends/ally.html
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to the Graduate Department of Adult Education, Community Development and Counselling Psychology,
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 Nadasdy, P. 2003. Hunters and Bureaucrats: Power, Knowledge, and Aboriginal-State Relations in the
Southwest Yukon. Vancouver: UBC Press.
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33. References
 St. Denis, V. 2010. A Study of Aboriginal Teachers’ Professional Knowledge and Experience in Canadian
Schools. Canadian Teachers’ Federation, University of Saskatchewan.
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