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What are Domain Groups?
In the Fall of 1999, an in-depth, multi-phase community consultation entitled “Removing Barriers: A Listening Circle” was initiated in the city of Calgary. Partners included the City of Calgary Community & Social Development, the Calgary Homeless Foundation, Treaty 7 Economic Development Corporation, the Métis Nation of Alberta, Human Resources Development Canada, and Justice Canada’s National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention. The purpose was to identify barriers that urban Aboriginal people face in Calgary. As a result of the process, a report entitled “Removing Barriers: A Listening Circle” was produced. Eight key issue areas emerged from the Listening Circle process: Education, Employment, Funding, Health, Housing, Human Rights, Justice and Services. When the work initiated through “Removing Barriers: A Listening Circle” evolved to become the Calgary Urban Aboriginal Initiative in 2000, these eight Domain areas became the foundation of the CUAI structure.
If you wish to participate on a Domain group, or simply want more information, please click here to get information on how to contact a CUAI Aboriginal Community Liaison.
The CUAI Health Domain provided a workshop on Traditional Healing to over 30 health professionals. Keynote presentations were offered by: Alberta Mental Health Board Director of Aboriginal Health, Elsie Bastien, and Elder Leonard Bastien. Overall the workshop provided basic knowledge on traditional healing practices from a Blackfoot perspective.
More recently the Domain has partnered with the Canadian Diabetes Association to offer a “Living well with Diabetes” workshop. The workshop had an Aboriginal focus. The Education Domain hosted an open house that showcased a variety of different existing mentorship programs. The programs presented opportunities for the urban Aboriginal community and connected students from Bull Head Adult Learning Centre, as well as students from Personal Support Development Network (PSDN).
The Services Domain has undergone some transition and has been making efforts to build a strong core group of community members with an interested in the areas of services being provided to the urban Aboriginal population of Calgary. The Services Domain held an open house where feed back was gathered from community participants on how we can successfully address the priorities of the Domain. The Domain will be meeting to plan ways on how to follow through with the suggestions gathered at the open house.
The Employment Domain hosted a panel of local resources in the community, including the city of Calgary's Youth Employment Centre, Calgary Health Region, Prospect, and Calgary Board of Education's Career Pathway's program. In June of 2007, a Women's panel was held to speak to workplace barriers. The focus of the March 2008 Quarterly was Hiring and Retention which highlighted a few fantastic initiatives that are occurring in Calgary.
Over the last year, the Human Rights Domain has been working on the development of a Human Rights skit with Charlene Hellson. The Domain has developed a one page resource sheet that includes information on: housing, employment, food bank services, and local recreation sites. Finally, the Human Rights domain hosted a one day Human Rights open house for the community to learn about the various services in Calgary regarding a person’s basic rights.
The Justice Domain has been working hard in coordinating a blessing ceremony for the new Aboriginal/Multipurpose room at the new Calgary Courts Centre. The Justice Domain hosted a Career Pathing event at Mount Royal College in the Spring of 2008. This event brought students and Justice practitioners from a wide variety of services together.
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The eight CUAI Domain groups are the heart of the Calgary Urban Aboriginal Initiative. It is through these groups that CUAI maintains its connection with the Aboriginal community, and engages the participation of experts in areas of critical concern for Aboriginal Calgarians. Domain groups are comprised of a broad base of stakeholders including community members, agency staff, industry experts and government and institutional representatives. Participation in a Domain group is open to all, with the exception of the Funders Domain which restricts membership to funders with an interest in urban Aboriginal program support. 