Progress Report

Skookum Lab Progress Report 2018/19

Skookum means strong, powerful, and brave. With the support of strong leadership, powerful methodologies, and a brave community, Skookum Lab is developing new ways to address Indigenous child and youth poverty in Surrey, BC.

Convened by the Surrey Urban Indigenous Leadership Committee (SUILC), Skookum Lab puts Indigenous wisdom at the centre of its activities. Skookum uses a social innovation approach to tackle this complex issue in BC’s largest urban Indigenous community. It’s a methodology Indigenous Peoples have used since time immemorial. This report shows that it’s working.

Located on the territory of the Semiahmoo, Kwantlen, Katzie, Kwikwitlem, Qayqayt and Tsawwassen First Nations, Skookum Lab is proud to be one of very few Indigenous social innovation initiatives on Turtle Island (North America).

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All Our Relations: Honouring the Host Nations

Surrey Urban Indigenous Leadership Committee's work takes place on the traditional territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the Katize, Kwantlen, and Semiahmoo First Nations. We recognize their connection to this land and acknowledge that we are newcomers to Surrey like everyone else. Our group, the Surrey Urban Indigenous Leadership Committee does not represent these land-based First Nations and we are careful not to speak on their behalf. Instead, we represent urban Indigenous people that have moved here from all over BC and Canada to make Surrey their home. Our focus is making Surrey a great place for Indigenous people living in the city — regardless of where they come from, their legal status, or their particular culture heritage. As we do this, we endeavour to live in a good way with the land-based First Nations that have called this land their home since time immemorial.