How Pulling Together Sparked Something Beautiful
by Jada-Gabrielle Pape, wu’Was’welam
Just after the TRC report was released a decade ago, we began Drawing Wisdom. More recently, we went through the process of becoming a non-profit society with the goal of making ourselves more eligible for funding and partnerships, while staying true to our form. We made a beautiful connection with Chuffed – a crowdfunding platform that came about through the need for an activist and pro-Palestine space, designed for organizers like us.
When we decided to launch our Chuffed fundraiser in late October, we reached out to SFU’s Radius Refugee Livelihood Lab to ask whether they had capacity to support our fundraising efforts with an in-person launch event. They met our request with a resounding “yes”! This blog post is in part a love letter to solidarity and collaboration; it’s also an expression of deep gratitude.
As a Drawing Wisdom cohort, we’ve always worked with a model that wasn’t totally sustainable. We are often run ragged, working harder than we can earn a living from, yet we’ve always remained deeply committed to uplifting the stories of Indigenous peoples. The work has always felt more important than the money. And we’ve always remained committed to the process – it must feel safe for all those we invite in.
Radius is the first cohort we’ve ever asked to help us with launching any project. Finding such skilled and tender-hearted people to do this work with felt like a daily gift. Whether it was the ability to gather in a Zoom room and lay out our broken hearts for the shared grief of our people, or to be able to honour another part of ourselves and say, “I’m mindful of the time, can we get back on track?” This collaboration was built on shared core values and a commitment to accountability.
And on November 27th, we came together in a beautiful, moving in-person launch. What an incredible day it was! With 150 people attending and raising $7,000, the energy in the room was electric. But the numbers only tell part of the story.
The real magic was in the connections made and the conversations sparked. We received feedback that warmed our hearts:
“What a powerful event. It made me cry several times.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing the whole film. It’s so important.”
“That was really profound. I mean that in ways that I don’t even understand yet.”
The panel topic on the urgency to galvanize the movement in the face of the neutralization effects of the ceasefire resonated strongly with the audience. We explored how the “ceasefire” in Palestine and “reconciliation” and land acknowledgements in Canada both normalize colonization and are designed to stagnate movement building. This honest, critical conversation is exactly what we hoped to create.
Organizing with people with whom we not only share core values, but also share an adherence to accountability, has been transformative. Each person took on the tasks that matched their role and skill sets, leading us to move forward together. We say, in our Coast Salish canoe families, “if you’re not pulling together, you’re pulling alone.”
I loved being able to experience pulling together in this cohort. From our Drawing Wisdom family to our dear Palestinian and racialized kin at Radius, a huge, humble Hych’qua Siem (thank you, Respected People).
Since that launch day, the momentum continues. We’ve had offers from comrades who want to screen the film and fundraise for us, and connections from someone with ties to both APTN and the Latin film festival to help us reach wider audiences. We’re actively pursuing a matching donation campaign, hoping to put together a coalition of organizations for a $10,000 “pot” to match another $10,000 in donations.
This journey has reminded us that when we pull together, when we share our burdens and our dreams, when we create spaces that feel safe and authentic, we can achieve so much more than we ever could alone. The work continues, and we’re so grateful to be doing it alongside such incredible partners.
Hych’qua Siem to everyone who made this possible, and to everyone who continues to stand in solidarity with us. We’re just getting started.
Event Photos by Justinne Ramirez
Our next event is an online Livestream | December 16th. RSVP for free!
THANK YOU To Yara and Nada at Radius for their incredible help pulling together this event.
A shout out to all the volunteers and the wonderful food donated by Mr. Shawarma!
Let’s keep in touch
Drawing Wisdom Instagram | Join the email list
RADIUS Instagram the website |Join the email list
Panelists
Faith Sparrow-Crawford (Musqueam), Jada-Gabrielle Pape (Snuneymuxw & Saanich) Rawan Hassan, Rawan Ramini, Yara Younis, Nada El Masry
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