MINWAADIZI INITIATIVE
The Minwaadizi Initiative takes a strengths and assets based approach to working with individuals and families. This approach directly reflects the belief that each participant arrives in this world possessing gifts and talents that need to be identified and enhanced. From the moment of our conception, we have been acquiring information, experience, insight, and skills that are added to our initial gifts and talents. From this understanding we see each participant arriving to take part in the Initiative already possessing strengths and assets –what lies before us is the challenge of:
- Understanding the factors that contributed to the current development of the participant before us.
- What beliefs has the participant developed about themselves, their family, their people, and their Way of Life?
- What is the current state of their Essential Being?
- What assistance do they need to See, Understand, Decide and Reconcile?
4 Ojibwe Development Priniciples
Biimaadiziiwin
Our Way of Life (Promote cultural/ethnic identity)
Gakina-awiiya
We are all related (Facilitate personal development)
Gikinoo’amaadiwin
The Way to Continue Knowledge (Improve academic development)
Gwayakochigewin
Doing the right thing, do the thing right (Improve
resilience/resistance)
Aims
Facilitate personal cultural development
Strengthen and empower the participant’s sense of – Identity, Self Confidence, Pride and Future.
Improve resiliency and resistance
Provide the personnel of our partner organizations with training and experience
that strengthens and empowers their cultural foundations.
Promote cultural identity
Facilitate, inspire and assist participants in achieving personal and collective
healing and growth;
Foundational Teachings
Da-wii-nun-gii-miikana
(Clearing One’s Path of Obstacles)
Jichaag
(The Spirit Within)
Our understanding of “Fire” or “Spirit” sees each person possessing eight logs that make up the initial fuel we need in life. The first four logs are active and never ending throughout our life, these are: Consciousness, Curiosity, Creativity, and Concatenation. The second set of logs are conditional meaning that they are added to our Fire based on certain conditions that we have learned to regulate, these are: Loving, Caring, Sharing, and Kindness.
O-gii-chi-tii-bako-nii-gay-win
(The way in which all Life is bound together)
Paazagayowin
(Actualizing Our Gifts and Potential)
Wii-zoke-a-tat-ti-win
(The way to seek what is cherished, but hidden)
Achieving healing and wellness is a process. When we are able to clearly see ourselves and our life this triggers awareness and struggle. We begin to seek out and acquire knowledge and as we do this, we will find there are times when we struggle with the information or learning we’ve acquired. The goal of this stage is to begin to bring about the necessary changes we need to make.