Debwewin: Three City Anti-Racism Initiative

Website Content and Research
By Bob Goulais and Don Curry

June 2005

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Despite the significant efforts toward community education and participation across Northeastern Ontario, many insist there is no racism here.

The Debwewin Three-City Anti-Racism Initiative phase one project in 2004 studied racism and discrimination in North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie and Timmins. It also studied the coverage of aboriginal people and issues in the local and national media. Those research reports are available by clicking on Studies and Resources on this web site.

The Debwewin Three-City Anti-Racism project is a collaborative partnership project including an anti-racism committee and its member organizations, Unity and Diversity Sault Ste. Marie and its member organizations, and RACE (Race and Cultural Education) the Timmins collaborative and its member organizations.

The lead nonprofit agency is Young People's Press of North Bay, with project staff assistance from the Union of Ontario Indians of Nipissing First Nation and Blue Sky Economic Growth Corporation of North Bay. The Department of Canadian Heritage funded the 2004 project and a 2005 follow-up project now in progress. The follow-up project is working on implementation of the eight recommendations in each city from the first project.

Debwewin is the eastern Ojibwe word for "truth," but literally means "to speak from the heart."