Ta7talíya Nahanee is a leader in Cultural Safety training. Further, she is decolonizing everyday protocols by sharing her Indigenous knowledge.
Spotlight: Ta7talíya Nahanee of Nahanee Creative
Meet Ta7talíya Michelle Nahanee, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh. She is the self-described “punk Urban Indigenous” founder and CEO of Nahanee Creative. “Urban Indigenous” refers to Indigenous people who live away from their Ancestral territories due to colonialism, including legislated disconnection, in diaspora. “Punk” roots? Well, you’ll have to ask her!
These days, Ta7talíya is a decolonial facilitator, creative, and strategist. She is a catalyst of social change transforming colonial narratives. Moreover, her work focusses on the intersection of class, culture, and creativity. Her approach achieves impactful, social change through communications and deep engagement. As a result, Ta7talíya’s collaborations have influenced opinions, changed behaviours, and mobilized community action. Furthermore, she designed a life-size decolonizing board game called Sínulhkay and Ladders.
Her workshops answer the question “what now” in this era of Truth & Reconciliation. Ultimately, her unique approach earned the 2019 City of Vancouver Award of Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion. In addition, Ta7talíya is a 2020 Dialogue Associate with the Simon Fraser University Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue.
Decolonizing Workbooks
In the last two years, Ta7talíya authored two decolonizing workbooks. Her first book was “Decolonize First.” It features 14 letter-size pages of processes, prompts, and resources for your decolonizing journey. Importantly, it guides readers through personal and systemic framings to shift out of colonial defaults and into critical consciousness.
Recently, she launched her second title, “Decolonize…, a recalibrating guide & workbook.” This offering dives into everyday cultural norms to recalibrate expectations. This is attained using critical awareness and decolonizing practices. For example, language, relations, identity, and work-life balance are among the critical topics addressed.
Currently, Ta7talíya is writing a full-length, non-fiction book. It’s theme is about her decolonizing journey. We can hardly wait for its release!
Cultural Safety Training Partnership with Shop First Nations
As Indigenous innovators, Nahanee Creative and Shop First Nations believe strongly in creating culturally safe spaces. This is especially important in the technology sector where Indigenous peoples are under-represented. As partners, we will provide training on empathy, Indigenous protocols, and cultural safety & humility. In addition, we will share our insights and perspectives on technology.
Notably, such training is a positive action corporations can take in response to the Truth & Reconciliation Commission Call to Action No. 92 (parts II and III):
- Ensure that Aboriginal peoples have equitable access to jobs, training, and education opportunities in the corporate sector, and that Aboriginal communities gain long-term sustainable benefits from economic development projects.
- Provide education for management and staff on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal-Crown relations. This will require skills based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.
Introducing Cultural Safety Mini-Courses
Nahanee Creative and Shop First Nations Cultural Safety training program includes:
- Cultural Protocols – an interactive introduction with Ta7talíya Michelle Nahanee. This online mini-course takes less than an hour to watch and capture your reflections in our Cultural Protocols worksheet.
- Cultural Empathy – an interactive introduction with Ta7talíya Paisley Eva Nahanee. This mini-course takes less than an hour. It is designed to inspire you to further learnings with definitions and examples of Cultural Empathy and Fluidity.
- Cultural Safety – an interactive introduction with Ta7talíya Michelle Nahanee. This mini-course takes less than an hour to watch and capture your reflections in our Cultural Safety reflections worksheet. In addition, a Cultural Safety Planning template is included.
- Review Session – an online, interactive session facilitated by Shop First Nations. We review key concepts, discuss worksheet responses, and answer your questions. Finally, we share our perspectives on Indigenous opportunities and experiences in the technology sector.
For more information on Cultural Safety training offered through our partnership, please Contact Us.
