Webinar - Foundational > Cultural Competency 100: Understanding Indigenous Historical Influences
This session will present and create a stronger understanding of historical influences that have shaped Indigenous people across this country. It will offer a different worldview that can affect how well programs and services can be designed and delivered to Indigenous clients. It will identify some tools and strategies that a non-Indigenous service provider can use to self-assess their awareness and possible biases that could conflict with Indigenous worldviews and historical experiences. This webinar goes a bit beyond simply telling about Residential Schools, etc., and ideally would be followed up with an in-person skills developing session afterwards.
Instructor: Kevin Barlow
Kevin Barlow is Mi’kmaq from Indian Island First Nation in New Brunswick. He now resides in Vancouver and is Chief Executive Officer of both the Metro Vancouver Aboriginal Executive Council (MVAEC) which is described as a Think and Lead Organization and the newly formed Metro Vancouver Indigenous Services Society (MVISS). MVAEC currently has 23 urban Indigenous member agencies which make up a majority of Indigenous groups serving an estimated 70,000 urban Indigenous population in Metro Vancouver.
Barlow has worked at the local, regional, national and international levels. A large portion of his career has been in the health sector and all of his career has been working for and with Indigenous people. He has also operated his own consulting firm for the last twenty-years supporting the Indigenous non-profit sector to build capacity. He has held over $3M in community-based research grants, delving into areas of residential schooling, sexual violence, HIV and Indigenous women; substance use in the Indigenous community; cultural competency, and more. He has developed policies and strategies in a broad range of areas. For over 16 years Kevin has held senior executive posts, including Chief Administrative Officer in his home community where he reduced the number of people on social assistance from about 40 to 11 in under four years through community economic development. One project he developed was an aquaculture (oyster) farm which now employs 6 full-time seasonal workers and generates over $100K a year for the First Nation.