GSS Indigenous Support Highlight!

Accepting and supporting people where they are at comes through clearly from Calista Boateng, the new Cultural Indigenous Helper at GSS. Calista joined Spady this summer and hit the ground running with a calendar of Indigenous activities through to October. The calendar came with a friendly invitation to reach out for any supplies, teachings or information.

Connection and support are part of Calista’s path to GSS. She comes to us with a 4-year degree in Kinesiology and a 2 year post graduate degree in Aboriginal Recreation and Leisure. Sounds smooth, right? But that wasn’t the case.  

Calista is from the Kehewin Cree Nation, north of Bonnyville. In this small community of about 2100 people, university wasn’t part of the typical life plan—a basic goal, she says, was to not to die by the age of 18. The Aboriginal Coordinator at Calista’s school applied on her behalf so there she was on the first day in a Statistics class of 424 people, in the biggest auditorium on campus, with what she suspected was a grade 6 education. Understandably, she says, “That first year, I was really scared.”

Support made all the difference. She found the First People’s House (FPH) on campus. There, Elders understood and supported her. FPH tutors helped Calista with her academic and study skills so she could stay and succeed. Recreation and leisure studies was a good fit given the sports she enjoyed growing up. Then, post-graduate studies helped her incorporate the culture she loved into the programming work she enjoyed.

After graduating, Calista started as a social worker but, having been in the foster system herself, found it traumatizing.  Instead, she went to the Bissel Centre as an Aboriginal Support Worker to share cultural knowledge with staff and clients. When that contract ended, the opportunity at GSS appeared–perfect timing.

Plans at GSS are moving forward including sharing circles at MSD site, bead wrapping at Westmount, and morning smudges at the Whyte Avenue site. Calista welcomes all questions and regularly goes back to her elders for information. She will provide individual teachings as well as guidance for groups and plans to do Indigenous awareness training sessions for all staff in person or via Zoom.

Calista works from a nonjudgement model. She will support individuals who are using with smudges but respects a choice not to smudge if using. Her approach is inclusive: “Religion has divided us for way too long. I have friends who are Muslim. I pray with them, and they smudge with me. It’s not a religion it’s spirituality. The key is a safe place and that’s a good way to create community.” Welcome to the GSS community, Calista!