Kaitlyn Neveu will be advising and educating city staff in her new role as the first-ever Indigenous policy and process renewal advisor for the City of Sault Ste. Marie.
Also known as Anishnaabe E-Wiidookaaged (Anishinaabemowin for ‘one who helps’), Neveu’s work will be centred on providing expertise and guidance in developing and implementing municipal policies, programs and services to advance the city's commitments to reconciliation and the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Sitting outside of the Ronald A. Irwin Civic Centre today, Neveu — who previously worked as a front-line child welfare worker for First Nations — invited SooToday to engage in a smudge and make a tobacco offering before being interviewed.
“My husband actually brought it forward to me and said, ‘you know, I think you'd be great for this.’ I didn't see myself in such a political role,” said Neveu, who began working for the city in March.
“But you’ve got to try it and you have to see what your capabilities are. I'm always motivating my kids to push themselves and do their best — so that's something I definitely need to take to heart as well.”
The Sault Ste. Marie native is currently working on Anishinaabemowin words of the week that are going to be placed on the City of Sault Ste. Marie website, as part of the city’s ongoing efforts to incorporate more of the Anishinaabe language into city signage and other resources.
Neveu has also been working on cultural competency programming that is being used to educate city staff on the history and culture of Indigenous Peoples, which includes the significance of land, treaties and relationships in Baawaating (Anishinaabemowin for Sault Ste. Marie) and surrounding area.
“Everyone has been so wonderful here at the civic centre,” said Neveu, a member of Batchewana First Nation.
“They're so welcoming and encouraging, and they just want to know more and more.”
Another part of Neveu’s role will be answering some of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 Calls to Action as outlined in its final report, which was originally released in 2015.
“The City of Sault Ste. Marie wants to put in a plan of how I'm going to change things and what type of reconciliation calls to action I'm going to put into place,” she said.
“We want to be a part of that reconciliation for our First Nations people.”
Part of that work will see her speaking with as many people in the Indigenous community as possible to establish a network to help guide the city’s ongoing reconciliation efforts.
“I think it's important that I get to hear their voices. I have a lot of knowledge and opinions, but I really truly believe that this work will move forward with the knowledge and opinions of others,” she said.
“This is a position that I work from outside in. I want to hear from Garden River First Nation, Batchewana First Nation and the Indigenous Friendship Centre, the Métis Nation of Ontario, and I want to see where the barriers lie.”
Neveu lauded the city’s overall push for reconciliation in recent years.
“The municipality is now pushing for Indigenous people to be heard and for us to be equal,” she said. “Coming together in both worlds and creating a new tomorrow for our kids, it's going to take seven generations.
“Our elders say it's going to take seven generations for us to really overcome residential schools, ‘60s Scoop, day schools and Indian hospitals, the Indian Act — all of these things are going to take seven generations: Not seven years, seven generations, to actually push forward.
“I want to be a part of that push.”
Neveu can be reached by emailing the City of Sault Ste. Marie at info@cityssm.on.ca.