Description
In Their Own Voices: Building Urban Aboriginal Communities is the result of a study conducted with Aboriginal People living in Winnipeg's inner-city. The authors examine the innovative methods used by Aboriginal People to proceed with community development and adult education. The authors find that solutions to chronic poverty and despair are most often undertaken by Aboriginal women. The authors also examine the implications for mainstream political involvement such as voting by Aboriginal People residing in Winnipeg. The book really focuses on solutions and limits it coverage. In this way other issues such as street gangs, the criminal justice system and social service system are not considered. The authors conducted interviews with 26 Aboriginal community development workers and their voices clearly indicate that Aboriginal People can create their own strategies for community development solutions. Their approach is holistic and based firmly within Aboriginal Peoples cultural and healing traditions. Despite the problems associated with the large population of First Nations and Metis people in the inner-city of Winnipeg, the book suggests that urban Aboriginal People are capable of developing solutions to urban inner-city concerns. This book has implications for all urban areas that have a population of Aboriginal People. The authors include Jim Silver (politics professor at University of Winnipeg), Joan Hay, Peter Gorzen, Darlene Klyne, Freeman Simard, Cyril Keeper, Michael McKenzie, and Parvin Ghorayshi.