News from Honouring Indigenous People for August 2026

Posted by Bill Empey - Honouring Indigenous People, Rotary District 7070 Coordinator

Here is the latest Honouring Indigenous People Rotary News and Events, projects, blogs, photos, films, and resources. There are many major initiatives and resources available to you and your Rotary club. Your Club can help.  Our District 7070 Action Committee's Areas of Focus Coordinator is Bill Empey from the Rotary Club of Toronto   If you have a good news story, or want to help starting a project, please contact Bill. Here are some news highlights .........

To our Rotary District 7070 Family,
 
Over the past five years HIP has reached out to Rotary Clubs in District 7070 seeking support for our initiatives and the Youth 2 Youth program.  The District has responded enthusiastically and fifteen youth "alumni" from the program are active in our communities working on Truth and Reconciliation.  You have met these young leaders in my updates, at club meetings and the District Conference.  Y2Y is a proven concept and will carry on in Alberta in 2027.  More on that later.
 
Now is the time for HIP to move to the next phase — building new capacity and fully engaging our young leaders.   There are 250 HIP Y2Y youth alumni across Canada.  The Y2Y experience is often the beginning of a young person's journey, not the end. Many alumni return home with ambitious ideas for advancing reconciliation, environmental stewardship, community engagement, and cultural understanding. They are active developing their own Truth and Reconciliation projects and preparing for their roles as future leaders. Too often they lack the financial resources and other support needed to turn those ideas into reality.
 
Building capacity will support the Y2Y Alumni by;
  • adding accredited recognition of their participation,
  • creating Youth Leadership Bursaries -- financial support to Indigenous and non-Indigenous Y2Y alumni pursuing education, training, leadership development, and community-building opportunities,
  • providing Youth-Initiated Project Funding -- seed funding and mentorship for youth-led reconciliation and environmental initiatives that create measurable impact in communities, and
  • empowering youth to take on full leadership of the Y2Y program.
 
By investing directly in young leaders, we can multiply the impact of every Y2Y participant and empower them to become catalysts for change within their own communities building their own community based projects.  We are calling this next step "One Fire Canada" and I am attaching a very important message from John Currie inviting your participation.
 
I will be following up with more details on Y2Y 2027 and "One Fire Canada".
 

Honouring Indigenous People, District Coordinator, Rotary District 7070

https://honouringindigenouspeoples.com/

Indigenous Partnership Committee, Rotary Club of Toronto

https://www.rotarytoronto.com/

(416) 482-4880

empey@prismeconomics.com

 

 

What is your club doing to Honour Indigenous People?

Please email Julie Dunaiskis (julie@eccgroup.ca) with a brief summary so we can post on the HIP website and provide an update in upcoming newsletters. This will help other clubs and provide a sense of how we are involved. We do not know the precise number of clubs across Canada who are involved in educational and awareness activities, however, our guess is we are close to 175 and growing. Some clubs were involved well before HIP, many on their own and some because of our encouragement and leadership.

Regards,

Julie Dunaiskis

Administrator, HIP (Honouring Indigenous Peoples)

Request a Speaker - Would your club like to have a Speaker at an upcoming meeting?  http://honouringindigenouspeoples.com/hip-talk/book-a-hip-talk/

BE INSPIRED BY HIP STORIES!  Read all HIP stories by visiting https://honouringindigenouspeoples.com

Recommended Education: 

Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) that explores Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada. From an Indigenous perspective, this course explores key issues facing Indigenous peoples today from a historical and critical perspective highlighting national and local Indigenous-settler relations. Topics for the 12 lessons include the fur trade and other exchange relationships, land claims and environmental impacts, legal systems and rights, political conflicts and alliances, Indigenous political activism, and contemporary Indigenous life, art and its expressions. 

Click here to learn about Indigenous Canada

 

Events and Activities: 

Click here to see the full list of events and activities.

 

About HIP: Our Story, Our Logo, Our Mission and Vision: click here

LEARN & SHARE:  Click here: 

VIDEOS: Watch an assorted list of education, cultural & event videos

BOOKS: HIP has compiled a list of recommended reading

PODCASTS: Listen to leaders sharing thought-provoking conversations

TERMINOLOGY: Learn appropriate terms that show respect.

HIP BLOG: Sharing information and news from people just like you.

 

HIP Talk: MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER : click here

HIP continues to research, listen and learn. By visiting many Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, we seek to understand shared purpose and values. We thank the Knowledge Keepers, Rotarians, Elders, Teachers, Leaders, Allies, Stakeholders, Partners, Sponsors and other subject matter experts who have supported our journey and provided wisdom and guidance.  HIP is happy to share our knowledge and resources to inspire, engage, educate and enable Indigenous and non-Indigenous relationship building.  If you do not find what you are looking for, please contact us

BECOME A HIP SPEAKER: Are you an Elder, Rotarian, Youth Leader, Knowledge Keeper or other subject matter expert? Join our roster of speakers!

CONNECT : Click here