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NOVEMBER 2024

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CHRISTMAS SPOTLIGHT!

Supporting cultural awareness for children in care involves offering opportunities to explore and engage with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultures in meaningful ways.

Many children in the foster care system come from diverse backgrounds and may be disconnected from their heritage and cultural traditions. For First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children and youth, this disconnection can be especially profound, especially during the holiday season.


Fostering cultural awareness helps these children reconnect with their roots and strengthens their sense of identity. To support this effort, ALIGN puts together an annual online Indigenous Advent Calendar that is fun for the whole family!

Mark your calendar for December 1!

Listen to Christmas stories and songs in traditional languages, learn how to make Christmas crafts and ornaments using traditional supplies provided by Mother Nature, and so much more! Find a cultural Christmas surprise behind every door from Dec 1 - 25!

Incorporate ALIGN's Online Indigenous Advent Calendar in your holiday season traditions to help ensure that Indigenous children and youth in your care are given the opportunity to engage with and take pride in their cultural heritage.

Visit the Indigenous Online Advent Calendar

Indigenous Gift Giving Traditions

Traditionally, Indigenous people didn’t celebrate Christmas, but they did gather for feasts, ceremonies, and celebrations like Winter Solstice over the winter months and continue to do so today.


Giving gifts is an opportunity to share much-needed resources with others, a gift to the earth and creator, a way to express gratitude for the knowledge shared by elders and wisdom keepers, a celebration of family and friendship, a means to build partnerships and agreements and a way to strengthen connections and relationships with others.


Gifts were not traditionally wrapped; they were simply given.

EXAMPLES OF TRADITIONAL GIFTS 

  • Whale, Caribou, Salmon Meat
  • Hides and Furs
  • Stone Carvings
  • Tobacco
  • Medicines made from plants
  • Clothing made from furs and skins
  • Woven Baskets made from cedar or reeds
  • Feathers

T'is The Season!

Christmas is only a month away!

A great way to honour and acknowledge the children and youth in your care is to consider purchasing them a Christmas gift that celebrates their cultural identity.

ONLINE Indigenous Gift Ideas for Children & Youth!

7 Teaching Animals Finger Puppet Set


Diamond Art Kit: Jackie Traverse - Bringing Good Medicine


Make sure to check out the wonderful Indigenous websites with gifts for children and youth this Christmas!

Visit an Indigenous Christmas Market! Free admission, everyone welcome!


A Very Indigenous Holiday Market 2024, Edmonton, December 6 - 8, 2024


Tsuut’ina Nation Christmas at the Nation, Calgary, December 11 - 12, 2024


Make sure to visit local Indigenous Christmas markets in your area. Kids and adults alike can learn more about culture through the stories of the gifts that are made and the artisans that make them.

Empowering Futures A Gathering for Indigenous Child Welfare Sovereignty

Empowering Futures: A Gathering for Indigenous Child Welfare Sovereignty February 27, 2025, Grey Eagle Resort in Calgary.

 Be part of a transformative day focused on the future of Indigenous child welfare. Your presence and participation are warmly invited.

Join ALIGN for an impactful gathering designed to empower our communities in the journey towards assuming jurisdiction under the Act Respecting First Nation, Metis, Inuit Children, Youth, and Families. This event will facilitate vital conversations, provide valuable insights, and honour our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation. This is the second gathering being held across Alberta. The day will run from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with a Networking and Smudging Ceremony beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Date: February 27, 2025, at the Grey Eagle Resort in Calgary.

Price: $103.95 – Includes lunch. GST included. Service Fee added at checkout.

Learn More & Register Here

CULTURAL SOLUTIONS 101

Cultural Solutions 101 VIRTUAL April 23 - 25, 2025

This training is intended to provide professionals interested in expanding their knowledge on working with Indigenous peoples through an educational and experiential opportunity. Over three days (3.0), participants will gain a deeper understanding and personal experience of Indigenous history and perspectives through various traditional teachings and protocols and how these relate to the delivery of human services with Indigenous service use. REGISTER.

SUBMISSIONS

Please send resource and events subscriptions to starrd@alignab.ca Subscribe Here

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