The Circle Way provides grants for new initiatives and projects as a demonstration of our commitment to grow a diverse inter-generational community of circle practitioners, to promote racial, gender, ethnic, economic and environmental justice in our organizations and communities. Below is the story from one of this year’s recipients, the Innovative Young Indigenous Leaders Symposium*, Canada.

Innovative Young Indigenous Leaders Symposium: Supported and Framed by The Circle Way

Who We Are

We are the Innovative Young Indigenous Leaders Symposium directors, and with the support of Circle Way Foundation, we hosted our biennial symposium on Snuneymuxw territory at Vancouver Island University for approximately 50 young Indigenous leaders from across the province. This is the second symposium with the first held on Musqueam territory at the University of British Columbia in 2017.

Our work centers around creating a network of young Indigenous leaders who are doing innovative work in their communities and who will support one another in making meaningful change towards thriving futures for Indigenous peoples. As young Indigenous people ourselves, our work extends beyond the biennial symposiums in efforts to make every space a culturally safe space for our peers. Through embodied workshops we have been educating groups within the public service sector and universities on the history of colonization in Canada. Since the conception of our vision, we have utilized The Circle Way agreements to guide our work and ensure a safe space for everyone involved.

The Symposium and The Circle Way

The Innovative Young Indigenous Leaders Symposium was a four-day gathering for Indigenous peoples between the ages of 19 and their 30s to connect, share culture and resources, and take care of their spirits. In other words, while the symposium seeks to create connections that the participants can rely on for their formal and informal leadership roles in the future, we also seek to create space for over-worked young leaders to replenish themselves. Together the participants attended an Indigenous plant workshop; received teachings from Elders; attended a performance by Indigenous musicians; attended an Indigenous law lecture; heard from an Indigenous language revitalization panel; were offered a range of educational workshops; shared their own talents; participated in networking circles; and, enjoyed leisure connection time with one another.

There was no question leading into our second symposium that The Circle Way would play an enormous role. We utilized The Circle Way framework to ensure that each participant feels safe and respected. The most important thing for creating a safe space between peoples from various walks of life is ensuring that our language is accessible. The Circle Way allows us to set explicit expectations for respectful engagement without creating a hierarchy through language or tone. As a group, we constantly challenge ourselves to be more inclusive and responsive to the diverse needs of participants.

Following the symposium, participants offered feedback via a survey. As noted, a key objective of our work is to ensure that every participant felt safe and respected throughout the event. In response to the survey question “Did you feel safe and supported throughout the weekend?”, every respondent responded enthusiastically “YES”. We believe that this felt sense of safety was the result of having designed the symposium proceedings using The Circle Way framework.

We utilized The Circle Way in the following ways:

1. Even before any symposium proceedings begin, we introduced Circle agreements as a way of conducting ourselves in the space.

2. At each critical interval, we reintroduced the Circle agreements to remind and support ourselves and each other of our intention to create a safe and respectful space for all.

3. We used the role of the guardian to ensure that our agreements were upheld. This also served as a reminder to the group that agreements must be upheld in all spaces and were not “just for show.”

4. We closed the event with a reflection, check out circle. The circle had become increasingly safe the longer The Circle Way agreements were sustained resulting in a deeply honest and cathartic close to the symposium.

The agreements, of course, only work when the group is willing to accept them. As this group of young Indigenous leaders operates in a non-hierarchical and respectful manner in their everyday lives, adapting to The Circle Way agreements was no task for them. In fact, participants often offered their own additions to ensure that their peers felt safe and respected.

Alignment and Empowerment

In conclusion, The Circle Way grant and framework were meaningful to us because we believe deeply in the work of The Circle Way. It is rare to find support that so closely aligns with our vision. As a result, we found ourselves empowered by the strengthening of our connection through the grant.

*IYILS is a project on Tides Canada’s shared platform, which supports on-the-ground efforts to create uncommon solutions for the common good. Tides Canada is a national Canadian charity dedicated to a healthy environment, social equity, and economic prosperity.

Nicole Neidhardt is a co-director of the Innovative Young Indigenous Leaders Symposium. She is Diné (Navajo), originally from New Mexico. Nicole is a full-time artist and is a Master of Fine Arts student.  

Gina Mowatt is a co-director of the Innovative Young Indigenous Leaders Symposium. She is a member of the Gitxsan nation. Gina a PhD student in Child and Youth care and creates Indian Residential School survivor-centered curriculum for her nation.

Morgan Mowatt was the symposium’s 2017 and 2019 participant coordinator and is now a newly appointed co-director of the Innovative Young Indigenous Leaders Symposium. A member of the Gitxsan nation, Morgan is a PhD student in Political Science and Indigenous Nationhood.