 The Saskatchewan Indigenous Social Work Program is what it's called and I teach on the average about three classes per semester and they run from September to December and then from January to April and then April to August and then. The age groups are in the social work program, the average anywhere is from 19 to I've had some students in their fifties and late fifties in that so and yeah and they're they're they're my audience and that's about doing that. The programs that I teach include the cultural component and that means you know like say for instance if I if I do the ISW 200 social work program I add in tales teaching them the importance of using the elders and ceremonies and First Nations perspective I guess in the social work field. I know that many of our students do go out and they need to really understand their own cultures and that their target would be the young mothers and that that would be involved with young mothers young dads and that's well in the social work field again when they first come to us here they it's it's very hard for them to to grasp their even their own cultures where they've come from and that so when we when they come to us here they pretty well we give them a we give them access to the two elders and access to elders and you know the ceremonies that are that we include here at the at the university that being the pipe ceremonies the smudging the circles the teachings and the feasts feasts are very important as well to you know to to include in the curriculum that we that we use because at some point in time if they're going to be social workers they're going to have to pass that knowledge on to their to those that don't know to those that will be asking the students once they're out there how do i do how do i begin the ceremony and i think i'll be asked those questions i mean when i go when i uh when i step back into my own my own uh when i first started uh taking classes at this university here these were some of the questions that i asked like what am i going to do when i'm when i do have my degree and that how am i going to present myself in that again when i'm working with our people that was my main goal is to to come to university in that and eventually go back home and uh and assist in uh and all the program that's out there and that we know that uh a lot of the programs just do not work at all and then some of the some of the issues that they had 20 years ago they're still they're still there like you know so we have to find different ways and teach our students to think outside the box and that and that's you know uh going back to their own histories and that to their own uh to their own culture and so like i said just stepping back into my time when i went when in my undergrad like coming like what were my objectives and that coming to to why why was i coming to university and that again i absolutely i wanted to get my education in that and know the mainstream the mainstream policies that are out there and that and i'm trying to understand them because like i said we've never first nation people have never had a say in policy at all throughout history and um and for me i guess you know i had to try and understand like you already came from in that and uh how can i make change in that you know we know that policy and you know you know they're going to be hard to change in that for our people and so again uh just making them making them aware of you know you have to work with the system in that and uh get into their uh get into the boards and that's the way i did it was when i uh when i when i did my when i completed my master's in that i went to work for the health field and that my uh they had to be taught as a survivor as well too i guess like many of our people are are descendants or survivors of the residential schools in that and i'm finding now that you know going out into the field many of the uh many of the uh different agencies that i uh sit with in that do not understand what uh residential schools and what they did to our people in that and uh so that's one part of my education what me educating is educating the mainstream as well too i've done many uh teachings with the uh with the doctors the nurses researchers on how the uh how these residential schools and the 60 groups really affected our people so so these are things that i uh when i teach my class when i teach my students in that i bring that to light in that so the importance of uh of understanding the past and going back there and and really uh hearing you know the uh the stories and not from the survivors and so that in itself you know when i when i uh when i do present i ask my audience many i've had over 200 well over 100 my audiences i ask them two things i ask has anybody here taken residential school history in their in their curriculum while they went to while they went to university and through the high school rarely hand goes up so there's that teaching that we have to do yet to teaching the uh i know i like i said i've taught it to many i've done my my uh story in that life as a teaching to many doctors in that and after hearing the story many of them say we didn't realize this is what happened to people for them to understand really understand i guess you know and again they don't you know i've i've been in mainstream i've i've taught my story at the uh i've told my story at the university's catch one that many uh many of the different agencies like the doctors the new doctors the uh like i said researchers and um for them to to come to me after the fact like after i've told my story and tell me like Gilbert now i understand now i can understand why why are people the way things are out there in uh society and why you know people are still you know while we're while we're still in the background we're the poorest people in this country and and nothing is going to change until you know we we educate mainstream and say look you know we want to part we want to be a part of change and for them to to come to me saying you know Gilbert you know telling your story and and uh now i understand so maybe that you know that that's a start to at least having you know information sessions or or just just meeting with them and that having input having our input and making change when i uh do the program here in that play again i the class is teaching in here i bring in i bring in elders i bring in alumni those that are currently out there in that and what they're uh how they're uh working with with mainstream agencies and that having them explain to my students this is what you're going to encounter when you're out there so with that i asked what i tell my students and what are you going to do and i and i put them in groups i have them do a presentation what are you going to do to to change like say homelessness for one thing what are you going to do with reconciliation you know how are you going to approach uh your your supervisors once once you're out in the field we know that you know all um different agencies are run by by by policy that so what can you do to change policy in that in in a positively not to point fingers but to do to to do it respectfully in that and by using using your own uh knowledge having heard from the elders having sat with sat with them and asked them because again we cannot forget the the knowledge of the elders they they have just as much knowledge as as those that have those the mainstream universities in that and that is why you know that is why this is happening now today and that you know like they want to know that information in that and maybe that's why this is happening to me that that was asked again and you know i'm i'm up there now i'm my grandfather and i'm i've taught many students and that and now for me being a survivor of the residential schools in the 60s scoop and that and looking looking at you know the way our people are still living in that when i um the way i look at it is reconciliation well there like i said i do my presentation and in that presentation i tell them i i i ask you know very questions where they feel uncomfortable but i do have to ask them but i take the respectful way and to me like i said reconciliation is that like asking the tough questions because if you don't you know they'll take it as you know things are still okay in that you know and uh governments will say you know nothing is you know nothing is wrong if if it's not being said or bought up or done you know or just continue with the status quo so to me like it's a reconciliation the next 10 years having having gone out there already in that and teaching my students in that and uh and seeing them succeed seeing them uh bring out the issues like i said changing policy and bring out issues and that that are currently that are currently uh really um still affecting our people in the negative way having them you know sitting on boards and that changing things and that and including our our culture and our elders and agencies out there in that and uh having their input into into uh the agency that they're involved in and for reconciliation like i said i won't be around you know to see it to see it fully implemented at least now we're talking about it yes we've taken some some blows like you know in instance you know the court cases that are out there uh the murder and missing women that are out you know and all those you know like oh if you're going to attain reconciliation how are you how are you going to you know bring that to the forefront in that and they're doing that now so in 10 years my hope is that you know with with my grandchildren you know i know some of them and some of them have started post-secondary already in that it's for them to take this on forward and say look you know uh we've we've uh uh we've come from a dark place in canada's history uh residential and uh the scoop now we're talking about it reconciliation we're talking about it now but now let's go to the next level and find those solutions have us have us involved because quite frankly i'm i too i watched the news i watched the news and i i see different people coming to canada you know i was from uh from dark places where they're fleeing from countries where they're where they're being uh persecuted and uh but where does that where does that put the first nations people in that way so you know we want to be a part of solutions we want to see you know have give us a see as to what you know what's currently happening out there so i i fear for my my grandchildren but i want to make them aware that this is currently these are the things that are happening you have to be aware of that and and try and make things you know try and make life better than that for for everybody in that i've started this process already the reconciliation i i work with the city of saskatoon i sit with their survivors uh they have uh survivors that uh that they call in and i'm one of them the otc is is starting to on them they want a board of of survivors and that to bring up issues like i just talked about to not to be aware of in that so i've been asked to do that i also sit in the um a reconciliation committee that just started in the in the city of warman martinsville oesler delmony uh and these are rural communities in that they call the saskatoon and uh one hour first nation in that for me to come there and talk about you know my my uh my involvement in reconciliation what what do i what can i see change in that so being involved being involved having a saying that if we if if you really want to make change in that you want to hear our voices and that didn't for me to to do that on behalf of of my people we also started one in the northeast portion of uh saskatchewan they haven't started there yet but uh the alcohol invited the town of calington rose valley porcupine and uh local rms to come in and sit and talk about reconciliation so having that involvement and taking it forward having them under really understand now you know this is we're not uh tax grabbers that you say we are you know what i mean like make them understand like this is how we get our monies and that and you know we pay taxes just like anybody in that to get that uh to get that message out there in that day so so if i had if i had resources in that you know if i could for me to because many times i go on my own to these places in that day but i do it i do it for the sake of making change good positive change with the involvement of our people