BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Demco Software//Event Management System//EN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20210126T182257Z DTSTAMP:20210126T182257Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210419T133356Z DESCRIPTION:A YouTube link to view this event will be available on April 21st at 7:00pm \;HEREFeaturing Crystal DawnJoin this storytelling event to celebrate Indigenous culture and learn about the importance of land\, and spirituality to First Nations\, Inuit and Metis Peoples. This is an opportunity to understand more about the stewards of this land\, their cultural beliefs\, history\, customs\, rituals and ways of life.This one hour program will take place virtually. Alanah Jewell will introduce Crystal Dawn. This will be followed by the storytelling. This event is pre-recorded. \; \;Alanah Astehtsi Otsistohkwa (Morningstar) Jewell \;is Bear Clan from Oneida Nation of the Thames. She is an Indigenous artist\, community organizer\, and Parks Engagement Associate for the City of Kitchener. She works to connect Indigenous people to culture\, the land and to each other within urban spaces. \;Crystal Dawn is half plains Cree from Saskatchewan and half\nJamaican. She was born in Toronto and grew up in foster care within the\nCatholic Aid’s society. \; She was\napprehended 27 times from birth until the age of 3 then put into permanent\nfoster care. She was adopted at the age of 4 and half. She grew up with her\nadoptive family in the Ottawa Valley.Although she grew up in a loving secure home she struggled with\nher identity. She was bullied as a youth\, experienced isolation and a disconnect\nfrom her community\, struggling with a low self-esteem. She reconnected with her\nIndigenous community in the greater Kitchener Waterloo Region while in her\nfirst year of college ten years ago and has since been on a quest to recover\nand reclaim her identity as a First Nations woman\, a woman of colour with a\nrich intercultural identity.As an Indigenous woman who has both professional and lived\nexperience growing up in foster care and being adopted she has worked her way\nthrough barriers and as a result has gained a bachelor’s degree in counselling\nstudies\, two diplomas in social work and over 10 years in front line social services\nwork and dedicating the last five years of her career to her urban Indigenous\nyouth community.Her focus has been to coach\, mentor\, and empower her clients to\nacquire the necessary life skills to move forward with their lives\, using\nstrength based approaches while providing on-going advocacy\, community outreach\nand related cultural initiatives and opportunities for urban indigenous youth\nand their families to thrive. \; She\nbelieves in order to move forward with Truth and Reconciliation\, as a community\nwe must build strong community collaborations so all people no matter where\nthey are at on their journey feel connected and loved in the spaces they call\nhome.  \; \;\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \;\nImage URL: https://s3.amazonaws.com/static.evanced.info/Customer/kplca/HNA_BUMPERS_CRYSTALDAWN_SMALL_1ABD6BAE.JPG X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:
A YouTube link to view this event will be available on April 21st at 7:00pm \;HERE
Featuring Crystal Dawn
Join this storytelling event to celebrate Indigenous culture and learn about the importance of land\, and spirituality to First Nations\, Inuit and Metis Peoples. This is an opportunity to understand more about the stewards of this land\, their cultural beliefs\, history\, customs\, rituals and ways of life.
This one hour program will take place virtually. Alanah Jewell will introduce Crystal Dawn. This will be followed by the storytelling. This event is pre-recorded.
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 \;
Alanah Astehtsi Otsistohkwa (Morningstar) Jewell \;is Bear Clan from Oneida Nation of the Thames. She is an Indigenous artist\, community organizer\, and Parks Engagement Associate for the City of Kitchener. She works to connect Indigenous people to culture\, the land and to each other within urban spaces.
 \;
Crystal Dawn is half plains Cree from Saskatchewan and half\nJamaican. She was born in Toronto and grew up in foster care within the\nCatholic Aid’s society. \; She was\napprehended 27 times from birth until the age of 3 then put into permanent\nfoster care. She was adopted at the age of 4 and half. She grew up with her\nadoptive family in the Ottawa Valley.
Although she grew up in a loving secure home she struggled with\nher identity. She was bullied as a youth\, experienced isolation and a disconnect\nfrom her community\, struggling with a low self-esteem. She reconnected with her\nIndigenous community in the greater Kitchener Waterloo Region while in her\nfirst year of college ten years ago and has since been on a quest to recover\nand reclaim her identity as a First Nations woman\, a woman of colour with a\nrich intercultural identity.
As an Indigenous woman who has both professional and lived\nexperience growing up in foster care and being adopted she has worked her way\nthrough barriers and as a result has gained a bachelor’s degree in counselling\nstudies\, two diplomas in social work and over 10 years in front line social services\nwork and dedicating the last five years of her career to her urban Indigenous\nyouth community.
Her focus has been to coach\, mentor\, and empower her clients to\nacquire the necessary life skills to move forward with their lives\, using\nstrength based approaches while providing on-going advocacy\, community outreach\nand related cultural initiatives and opportunities for urban indigenous youth\nand their families to thrive. \; She\nbelieves in order to move forward with Truth and Reconciliation\, as a community\nwe must build strong community collaborations so all people no matter where\nthey are at on their journey feel connected and loved in the spaces they call\nhome.
 \;
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