OS In Vancouver on Friday

[Esther Ewing]

Chris:

How wonderful for you and for the participants. I love the aspect of you
reassuring the "leadership"/conference organizers so that they are en-couraged
to stay open in the process and how people self-organize (yet again) and the
organizers learn lessons they would never otherwise have the opportunity to
learn. Great coaching and faith on your part - also great modelling - well done
and congratulations.

And a big "virtual" hug to all who discovered their own natural leadership -
how exhilarating.

Regards
Esther Ewing
The Change Alliance
165 University Avenue, Suite 703
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 3B9

telephone: 416-350-5857
fax: 416-360-6135

At 01:09 AM 1/23/00 -0800, you wrote:
>Amazing OS in Vancouver on Friday.  The theme was "Making lives better
>for urban Aboriginal People...Let's stop talking about it...let's start
>doing it!"
>
>175 people in attendance, including a federal cabinet minister, two
>deputy ministers, two cheifs, many leaders from throughout the
>Aboriginal community and dozens of community members, program staff,
>private sector representatives, and clients.
>
>Opened with a a prayer and a song sung by Leonard George a local chief
>and son of the great actor Chief Dan George.  My opening stressed that
>traditional nature of the technology, how this was how we always met to
>solve our community's problems.  Stressed passion, responsibility AND
>self-management, which equates to self-government, a very important
>value in our communities.  The particpants were charged up and by the
>time I had finished the opening, there was a stampede...five people
>jumped out of their seats.  I had to call for more markers!
>
>It took us twenty minutes to set 45 agenda items,most of them proposed
>by strong young women.  Very few of the agenda items were proposed by
>the leadership that was present.  Instead they found themselves actively
>involved in a meeting where the agenda had been set by people who never
>get a chance to set an agenda.
>
>My notes remind me that the groups were very large and intially quite
>close together.  The location was the Vancouver Friendship Centre
>gymnasium, an Aboriginal community centre, chosen for it's locality and
>the realized possibility of lots of drop ins.  In my experience, there
>is nothing you can do to encourage Aboriginal people to meet in smaller
>groups.  Has anybody else found this?  First Nations people seem to like
>crowds...
>
>This made the organizers a little nervous...shouldn't they be further
>apart?  Shouldn't the groups be smaller?  Over the day of course, the
>participants managed to spread themselves out nicely, and a nice
>self-ordering came out of it.
>
>In the vein of "trust the process" comes this story...We didn't break
>for lunch, with the result that the whole crowd lined up for chow at
>12:00 and didn't get into the 12:00 sessions by about 12:40.  The
>organizers were going nuts..."make an announcement!"  I refused.  By
>2:00, the meeting was running only 15 minutes behind, and by 4:00 ON THE
>DOT we were back in the circle and beginning the closing, right on
>schedule.  I asked the organizers if they had ever seen a conference
>that was running late bring itself back on time and not drop anything.
>They were amazed.  I was amazed too.  175 people, with no leadership or
>influence, ran 40 minutes late and brought themselves back on time.
>Remarkable.
>
>Closing was very powerful.  We were lucky to have many traditional
>people in attendance so many prayers were offered.  This kind of thing
>wouldn't make it in the business community, but as a facilitator working
>in the Aboriginal community, I am luckey to have built in openings and
>closing at my disposal.  Sharing ranged from a woman who was a recovered
>drug user/alcoholic/prostitute making a committment to action as a
>result of the day to a man who lightened us up by coming into the
>circle, giving his name and occupation and stating that he was looking
>for a wife.  Someone called out "how many horses have you got?"
>Laughter...his response: "None.  They ran away and we were too lazy to
>brand them!"  I LOVE the way we laugh at ourselves!
>
>This was a remarkable event and very important in the life of the
>impoverished urban aboriginal community of Vancouver.  Open Space has
>opened a tremendous set of opportunities for people.  A whole new
>leadership came forward, and a fresh momentum was established.  And
>equally importantly, this may become known as the event during which
>Open Space took hold in the Aboriginal community in British Columbia.
>Everybody is now talking about using it.  First Nations people recognize
>this technology, as I've said before, and meeting this way is a very
>profound process of rediscovery and is very imiportant to unleashing the
>cultural models that have colonized us for hundreds of years.  There is
>a HUGE appetite for this now...I can't state it enough.
>
>So thanks for all of you who wished me well.  This was easily the most
>important facilitation I've ever done.  Your support was invaluable.
>
>I'd also like to thank Harrison, on behalf of the many people who
>thanked me yesterday for the technology.  You have given us a great
>gift, even if it was only by holding a mirror up to ourselves.  Open
>Space represents a beautifully natural and indigenous technology that is
>reawakening a power among a great many First Nations people in this
>area.  It's very exciting to be a part of that.
>
>Chi meegwetch.  Sorry for my overstated ebulence.  I'm thrilled...
>
>Chris
>
>--
>CHRIS CORRIGAN
>108-1035 Pacific Street
>Vancouver BC
>V6E 4G7
>
>Phone: 604.683.3080
>Fax: 604.683-3036
>
>
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