Humans, On Rights

Darcy Ataman is a Canadian humanitarian, music producer, and the founder and CEO of Make Music Matter, an organization that uses music therapy to help survivors of conflict and trauma. He created the Healing in Harmony program, which integrates music therapy with psychological support to assist individuals in recovering from traumatic experiences, particularly survivors of sexual violence and conflict in countries like Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and others. His work focuses on empowering marginalized communities by allowing participants to express their emotions and stories through music, helping them heal emotionally and psychologically.

Ataman has collaborated with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege to expand this initiative, and Healing in Harmony has helped over 15,000 people across multiple countries. He has also worked on projects with Indigenous communities in Canada to address generational trauma. As a music producer, Ataman has collaborated with notable artists and earned several Juno nominations. His contributions to humanitarian causes have earned him multiple awards, including the Order of Manitoba and the Meritorious Service Cross from the Governor General of Canada.

Darcy’s latest creation is an art installation, made entirely from donated shoes, once belonging to and donated by displaced refugees, entitled Travel Safe. Travel Safe is a large-scale recreation of Turkish photojournalist Nilüfer’s photo of the body of two year old Alan Kurdi, who had drowned, along with his mother and brother, in the Mediterranean Sea while trying to reach Europe in September 2015.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_makemusicmatter_

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Diane Roussin is an Anishinaabe ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᒃ community leader passionately committed to the pursuit of mino bimaadiziwin(the good life) for all families and children. Her in-depth knowledge of Indigenous issues and solutions flow directly from her strong sense of identity and worldview. She is a proud member of Skownan First Nation in Agowidiiwinan Treaty 2 Territory.Diane is currently the Project Director of The Winnipeg Boldness Project, an ambitious social innovation initiative seeking to create large scale systems change for children and families in the Point Douglas neighbourhood.

Working tirelessly, primarily in Winnipeg’s inner city, for initiatives that promote Indigenous People’s values, world views and ways of knowing, being, doing and feeling, she has led many projects and organizations including as Executive Director of the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, as Co-Director of Community Education Development Association, and as Coordinator of The Centennial Neighbourhood Project. She is adept at leading collaborative processes that involve numerous cross-sector partners and stakeholders.Diane serves on the Board of Directors of Animikii Indigenous Technology, the Winnipeg Foundation and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. She is a member of the Indigenous Advisory Council at the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies and Chair of the Indigenous Innovation Initiative Council.Diane presented at TEDx Winnipeg in June 2018 on the topic of Indigenous social innovation and in January 2018, was awarded the Governor General’s Meritorious Service Medal for Outstanding Indigenous Leadership. She is a recipient of the Manitoba Women Trailblazers Award by the Nellie McClung Foundation.

Diane holds both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Social Work Degrees. Diane Roussin is an Anishinaabe ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᒃ community leader passionately committed to the pursuit of mino bimaadiziwin (the good life) for all families and children. Her in-depth knowledge of Indigenous issues and solutions flow directly from her strong sense of identity and worldview. She is a proud member of Skownan First Nation in Agowidiiwinan Treaty 2 Territory.

Diane is currently the Project Director of The Winnipeg Boldness Project, an ambitious social innovation initiative seeking to create large scale systems change for children and families in the Point Douglas neighbourhood. Working tirelessly, primarily in Winnipeg’s inner city, for initiatives that promote Indigenous People’s values, world views and ways of knowing, being, doing and feeling, she has led many projects and organizations including as Executive Director of the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, as Co-Director of Community Education Development Association, and as Coordinator of The Centennial Neighbourhood Project. She is adept at leading collaborative processes that involve numerous cross-sector partners and stakeholders.

Diane serves on the Board of Directors of Animikii Indigenous Technology, the Winnipeg Foundation and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. She is a member of the Indigenous Advisory Council at the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies and Chair of the Indigenous Innovation Initiative Council. Diane presented at TEDx Winnipeg in June 2018 on the topic of Indigenous social innovation and in January 2018, was awarded the Governor General’s Meritorious Service Medal for Outstanding Indigenous Leadership. She is a recipient of the Manitoba Women Trailblazers Award by the Nellie McClung Foundation. Diane holds both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Social Work Degrees.

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It has taken Lorraine Daniels, a second generation Indigenous Residential School survivor, over 60 years to accept her Ojibway culture. As a student at the Indigenous Residential School, we were taught that God was a punishing God, and she and other children were forever being punished and not loved. She recounts that Indigenous children were not allowed to converse with other family members, such as a brother or sister, or talk during meals and that pulling their hair and getting the strap were normal forms of punishment because the children were considered sinners.

Today Lorraine Daniels is the Executive Director of the National Indigenous Residential School Museum of Canada Inc. The National Indigenous Residential School Museum of Canada Inc. was established in 2018 for the Indigenous Residential School Survivors; to create a memorial for those who went through the experience and honour the survivors, their families and community. It was established as a place to heal, to understand and to move forward. And it was established as one of the 10 Principles of Reconciliation included in the 94 calls to action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions final report.

Lorraine Daniels shares that her work at the Museum has given her the opportunity to learn more about her Ojibway culture as it was forbidden in the Residential Schools she attended. She talks about how she was shamed of her culture and stripped of her language but has since learned how to balance her Christian faith and accept her Ojibway culture. “Forgiveness is essential to my healing journey and to be kind to others.”

A transcript of this episode is available here.

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Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair is an Anishinaabe writer, editor, and activist based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. And his credentials are very, very impressive when you consider Sinclair is also a public speaker and media commentator who was recently named to the “Power List” by Maclean’s magazine as one of the most influential individuals in Canada. He has helped organized Idle No More Winnipeg events and he frequently speaks on Indigenous issues on CTV, CBC and APTN. In 2018, he won Canadian columnist of the year at the National Newspaper Awards for his bi-weekly columns in The Winnipeg Free Press and is a featured member of the “Power Panel” on CBC’s Power & Politics. Sinclair won the 2019 Peace Educator of the Year from the Peace and Justice Studies Association based at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He was also previously named one of Monocle Magazine’s “Canada’s Top 20 Most Influential People.”

He is also one half of the very entertaining and informative podcast Niigaan and the Lone Ranger (Winnipeg Free Press reporter Dan Lett being the other half) and in this episode of Humans, on Rights we talked about how Canada Day should be viewed through the lense of reconciliation. And Niigaan confirmed that parts of Canada Day will still feature the old style maple surypy sweet experience.Twitter @Niigaanwewidam

Instagram niigaanwewidam

Facebook: Niigaan James Sinclair

Podcast: Niigaan And The Lone Ranger

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Millions of people are forced to leave their home country to find work. Each individual journey is filled with hope to rebuild and have a better life, but once they settle in their new home, the hardship doesn’t always stop there. Migrant workers face a much higher risk of vulnerability to exploitation in the workplace in large part because of their limited access to information and support networks, networks not just in social networks within governance framework, but networks that we take for granted like our relatives and friends.On this Humans, On Rights episode, Stuart meets with Diwa Marcelino. Diwa is a community organizer with Migrante Manitoba, a Canadian grassroots organization that advocates for the rights and welfare of migrant workers.

“We need to take a look at the unjust laws that allow migrant workers to come to Canada with a precarious status which leads to exploitation. The rights that we've had for hundreds of years, migrant workers still don't have many of them. And that's a travesty - that's a shame for a so-called democracy like Canada.” - Diwa Marcelino

A Transcription of the episode is available here.

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