Seven Values/Tenets of Interrelated Process within INITC

Everything is done by agreement
Every voice has a right to be heard
Every voice has a commitment/responsibility to listen
We help Co-define and Co-create Cultural Safety
We help Establish agreements for what comprises Decolonizing Conversations
We help Define and develop Inter-Cultural and Inter-Faith Relationships
We help Engender Well -Being / Wellness (Emotional, Mental, Physical, Spiritual)

With this in mind we can begin to consider how these understandings, processes and agreements guide the structure, the manner and the method of our Gatherings. An essential understanding is the recognition of a process by which we become available to consider if it is possible that it might be less important what we think, but rather how, that it is important not just what we do, but how we go about doing it.

Further, INITC is a First Nations shared platform for allowing cultural perspectives to be heard. It is in itself is not a goal based - entity. The above considerations are part of a process. These processes are the foundation for how we learn to share and work together in what we describe as transformative collaboration. This means that we acknowledge and honor that we change through the process. Where there are many outcomes that arise, the primary purpose is not to achieve a predetermined one.

Along with this comes another important consideration. That we both take and make the time, as well as the space necessary where these things can happen. When we carefully consider our shared values, we can realize that these are not just notions to be given but a cursory glance for our agreement or approval. They are representative of both an individual and a collective process, one that requires deep listening and reflection in our own selves, creating what we choose together. Time is our friend, our ally, our relative, not our enemy. How easy is it in the ‘modern world’ to see time as a restraint or an obstacle? Do we have the time that it may take to create genuine trans-formative collaboration?

These few tenets of INITC help us both to learn and acknowledge that we come from many Nations. The diverse experiences and knowledge of these Nations working together are what give us the opportunity to deepen our collective idea of what it means to be a human being – with each other and with our environment. We accept and celebrate that there are diverse knowledge systems and methods that pre-date the colonial paradigm. The inclusion of First Nations Peoples’ knowledge and experience, along with that of non-First Nations relatives, gives rise to a unique opportunity for co-creating the space for genuine transformation.