After 10 years of projects under the Drawing Wisdom banner, we took the step to become a non profit this year. Now we are “Drawing Wisdom Decolonizing Society” and on Monday we welcomed our new (and inaugural) board with a feast!
Here are some of the highlights from our meeting November 10 2025.
It was so beautiful to come together with our newly formed board. The food was a beautiful spread of sockeye salmon, roast beef, hummus and olives, a myriad of vegetables, and hibiscus carbonated drinks. The conversation was as rich and delicious as the spread.
The room was full of energy, insights, and shared solidarity. We did a round of introductions as most of the board members were meeting each other for the first time. It was striking that each individual came from such different lived experiences, while overlapping in their core values, and love of our people. The approaches that each takes to living their life is diverse, making coming together is a form of resistance to the way dominant culture homogenizes the idea of “Indigenous”.
Inevitably the conversation moved towards colonization. How could it not? The room was full of beautiful Indigenous leaders. At one point, Norm, with a twinkle in his eye, referred to the deliberate nature of colonialism as “diabolically genius”. And part of the genius of this particular group of people is that even throughout these dark times, and these dark conversations, none of us feel defeated. Rather, we lean into the teachings of our ancestors and find great hope and connection.
There was a remarkable amount of trust in the room. This is striking and noteworthy because as Indigenous people why should we trust the world? But we continue to, and not in a naïve way, but rather as a stance of resistance – so inspiring and heartwarming! We spoke and shared freely and were able to show up as our full selves. What an honour and a privilege to be in a room with such bad ass, tender hearts.
We passionately strategized how to restore some of the balance that colonialism has not only interrupted, but continues to violently erode. Before colonialism, “we didn’t have domain over fuck all. We had responsibility”, again from Norm’s “sermon” as Faith named it! Such awareness, such dignity and such balance consistently comes forward in conversations with these leaders. We’re humbled to have expanded our Drawing Wisdom family.
This blog post is going up in November around the time of colonial Remembrance Day. May we remember all of the victims of war and all of the martyrs of genocide. May we interrupt the colonial war machine and may all the fascists and Zionists get eaten by bears. We welcome our board and we look forward to Drawing Wisdom for years to come.
OUR BOARD
Read about our newly formed board here: https://drawingwisdom.ca/about/team/
Shane Pointe (Musqueam), President
Faith Sparrow-Crawford (Musqueam), Vice President
Allan Thomas Lindley (Syilx, Nlaka’pamux and Mistawsis Cree First Nations)
Veronica Martisius (Kanien’kehà:ka)
Norm Leech (T’it’q’et, St’at’imc Nation)
