Seven Guiding Principles
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At the inaugural Light Fires community gathering in November 2022, participants co-created the project's strategic direction. Through the arts-based method of collage, combined with an established process for consensus decision-making, we came up with a set of 7 principles to guide the project and its priorities. These principles provide a connective framework for all of the projects and initiatives within Light Fires.
A note on language: As a prairie-centered project (Alberta and Saskatchewan) many of our project members are nehiyawak (Cree peoples). The inclusion of nehiyaw concepts and language are a reflection of this. We recognize the importance of including the cultural perspectives/languages of other Indigenous peoples specific to this place, and our shared histories. As the project grows and may be informed by other Indigenous peoples, we will add to and layer the project narrative with these experiences, perspectives, and languages.
1. Being in your authentic energy: Being in your authentic energy means centering Indigenous spirituality and spiritual practices in our work. In the nehiyawewin (Cree language) word “miyo pimatisiwin” (the good life), the root word, “pim,” refers to being in flow with an ancestral energy that values choosing your own life path of beauty.
2. wichitowin: wichitowin is a nehiyaw (Cree) word loosely translated as helping each other or being in good relationship. It signifies an interdependent relationship rooted in love and respect, and creating circles of care and partnership within our community.
3. Follow Through: We are intentional about our work, and we follow through with action. This requires humility and compassion. Following up and following through with relationships and commitments has been likened to the role of a firekeeper: carrying the fire, feeding it, and managing it.
4. Unsettle the Prison: Unsettling the prison refers to disrupting the oppressive conditions of the prison, including unjust policies or practices that can often go unchallenged. To unsettle the prison is to question prison norms and work towards making changes.
5. akemaymohk: akemaymohk is a nehiyaw (Cree) word meaning to persevere or to keep going, even when it is a struggle.
6. The Good Stuff: The good stuff refers to laughter, love and play. Despite the heaviness in prison spaces, a deliberate infusion of the things that bring joy, celebration, and humour to our community are essential to how we create together. Love is our greatest medicine.
7. Imagining An Indigenous World: Imagining an Indigenous world can be likened to “building a new lodge,” where we embrace alternative ways of caring for our relatives outside the prison system. Building a new lodge allows us to be in our authentic energy (pim) and subsequently in better relations with each other.
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