(I was not able to access Out on Main Street, so I decided to do a response to the Vancouver Dialogues project. I hope this is ok!)

The Vancouver Dialogues project is an extremely interesting piece of work, and an extremely necessary one at that. The First Nations, urban aboriginal and immigrant communities shared their stories with one another in dialogue circles, with an aim at strengthening community connections and to grow a sense of understanding between the communities. It provided an opportunity for people to connect and share in an environment where judgement is set aside. It also worked to break down any stereotypes and misconceptions the communities may have had of one another. This project reminded me of the TEDx talk by Chimamanda Adichie, and her discussion of the tendency for one story to be dangerously blanketed over any certain group of people, and the tendency for misunderstandings and misconceptions stemming from the one story. The Canadian immigrants did not know much about the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, besides the one story which was full of misconceptions and stereotypes. This project provided an avenue to break down the one story history that is told of Canadian First nations and Aboriginal groups, and to help Canadian immigrants understand hear the true stories that had been silenced. The theme of self-definition is also present, as the participants sought to define themselves and free themselves from those definitions imposed on them. People told stories of the abuse, cultural silencing and loss of language that they experienced as Aboriginal people living in Canada. Youth dialogue circles added a different voice into the conversations; voices looking to reconnect with their culture, to learn about and be proud of who they are, and to overcome the obstacles passed down from generations of government exploitation. With the large immigrant and Aboriginal population in Vancouver, this dialogue was more than necessary, and it will continue to be necessary as the importance of community building and cultural connection will never waver. As much as we like to think that our community is very welcoming, accepting and diverse, the reality is that there are still many barriers and many obstacles that Aboriginals and immigrants face in our city and our country. Vancouver is very much a diverse community, but what weight does that hold when communities in Vancouver tend to keep to themselves, and don’t do enough to interact with each other and to learn and connect.