Visiting Aunties and Uncles Program
Mirroring Indigenous familial roles (i.e. Aunties and Uncles) to foster community, share knowledge and promote holistic wellness among students.
Project Lead: Office of Indigenous Initiatives
Project Status: Complete
The financial support provided by the Parr Centre facilitated the Indigenous Student Centre in delivering essential supports and opportunities to first-year Indigenous students at Western University. This initiative provided culturally relevant supports to Indigenous students, such as story telling and workshops, facilitated by “Aunties” and “Uncles” from the local Indigenous communities, and from other Indigenous communities to enrich the overall learning experience.
To optimize outreach to Indigenous students, we strategically utilized the Indigenous Student Centre newsletter and various social media platforms, and as a result, positive relationships between the Office of Indigenous Initiatives and community partners and organizations were strengthened.
The funding from the Parr Centre empowered the Visiting Auntie and Uncle's program to coordinate continuous weekly and monthly groups, complemented by monthly cultural workshops and storytelling/teachings. The primary goal of this initiative was to positively contribute to the holistic well-being of Indigenous students and therein help to advance their propensity for social and academic successes beyond the boundaries of Western University.
In summary...
- Hired 2 Aunties in November 2022 to coordinate programming and support on an ongoing basis.
- Monthly Wampum Teachings with Auntie ran from December 2022 to April 2023 as a drop-in opportunity.
- Weekly Beading circles with both Aunties ran from December 2022 to April 2023 as a drop-in opportunity that provided all supplies and one on one opportunities for new leaders to learn.
- Monthly cooking classes in partnership with SOAHAC with a class of 10 registered students.
- Students voiced positive outcomes and were willing and wanting to come to more of the sessions to further develop and strengthen the skills they were learning.
