Doreen Spence

Doreen Spence (born 1937)[1] is a Canadian indigenous rights activist. She founded several indigenous rights organisations in Alberta and advises international organisations in indigenous rights issues.[2]

Life

Spence was born in the Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Alberta and was raised by her grandparents. At the age of 18, she moved to Calgary to attend a Christian college. She was among the first indigenous women to receive a Practical Nursing Certificate, when she finished her education in 1959, leading to a career as a nurse that lasted over 40 years. As a nurse in the 1950s, she stood up against the compulsory sterilization of an indigenous girl.[1][3]

She was involved in indigenous rights issues both in Canada all over the world. In Calgary, she founded the Calgary Urban Aboriginal Initiative in order to advise the city in indigenous rights issues. She founded the Plains Indian Cultural Survival School in Calgary in 1980, which was the first school run by and for indigenous people in an urban area in Canada. She was its president until 1993. She held several positions within municipal and regional advisory boards in Alberta; among others she was active from 1991 to 1993 in the Alberta Civil Liberties Association and from 1981 to 1993 the Committee Against Racism. She founded and directed the Canadian Indigenous Women's Resource Institute (CIWRI), which raises awareness non-natives about native issues and educates natives in traditional knowledge. For the United Nations, she was the Canadian representative in the Working Group on Indigenous Populations since July 1994. Together with others, she created the draft of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which was eventually adopted in 2007. In 2002, she advised the Slovak government in their relationship to Romani people in Slovakia.[3][4][2][5]

Spence regularly speaks at international conferences. She is renowned for her speeches, which often include songs, traditional knowledge and encouragement for the audience to participate.[4][2]

NOTE: She did not found the Plains Indians Cultural Survival School in Calgary Alberta. Howard Green did, along with Jerry Arshinoff. Doreen came along after Judith Seaton stepped down as President of the PICSS Society to become Cultural Director in 1982.

Awards

Among others, Spence received:[2]

gollark: Ah, so we should just throw away CPU cycles because WinDoWs GoOd?
gollark: Yes, you linked it, it is apparently a mildly less bad version of Windows.
gollark: Windows BAD Linux REASONABLY GOOD especially on lowspec systems.
gollark: <@151391317740486657> Why are you trying to recommend WinDOS to them?
gollark: of some sort.

References
  1. "Doreen Spence". talking radical. Historical & temporary voices from social movements in Canada. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  2. "UN NGO :: Doreen Spence". www.ngonetworks.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  3. "Indspire | Doreen Spence". indspire.ca. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  4. "Doreen Spence". PeaceWomen Across the Globe. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  5. "World People's Blog » Blog Archive » Doreen Spence – Canada". word.world-citizenship.org. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
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