Change at top gives Siloam chance at reconciliation

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/02/2021 (1862 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Siloam Mission CEO Jim Bell has resigned, and the downtown not-for-profit that cares for our city’s homeless population, has installed a new board chairman, in the wake of a simmering controversy over Indigenous programming.

It started last November, after nearly a dozen current and former employees of Siloam wrote a letter to the board of directors, accusing Bell of creating “a hostile and divisive working environment” while maintaining a “reluctance, refusal, and often outright denial” of “culturally appropriate programming.”

They pointed out that while Siloam accepted funding for Indigenous programming, and had signed onto the City of Winnipeg Indigenous Accord, Bell limited and denied Indigenous practises such as smudging and drumming, and he had refused to allow Indigenous speakers to share knowledge with clients or staff.

The letter also demanded Bell fulfil his promises to hire Indigenous staff and establish an Indigenous advisory council.

The letter was sent months after employees had raised the issues in meetings and emails.

While the vast majority of Siloam clients are Indigenous, there was a deep problem in the way Indigenous culture was treated. In a private email to the board obtained by the Free Press, former Siloam Indigenous spiritual care worker Delvina Kejick wrote that Bell’s “evangelical Christian(ity) and his misinterpretation of traditional ways was a huge roadblock to true reconciliation.”

Employees who spoke out were labeled “troublemakers,” fired, or conveniently laid off.

To protect themselves and their careers, staff felt they had no choice but to write the letter to the board. Two months later, they contact the media. They formed “Not My Siloam” and spoke up on social media and in interviews. They promised to “hold Siloam accountable to reconciliation, in order to better support Indigenous people experiencing homelessness.”

They also began to circulate a letter calling for Bell’s resignation. They also contacted Indigenous leaders who quietly offered to assist Siloam.

After a brief meeting, Bell issued a news release saying Siloam had “accepted an invitation to begin a collaborative conversation in an effort to walk a path together toward resolution on these important matters.” He did not ask the Indigenous leaders if they had consented to him sharing their offer of help.

In essence, Bell used their discreetly offered goodwill to shield himself from growing public criticism: it was a betrayal.

Still, the group agreed to meet again with Bell in early February, and even developed an eight-point plan for Siloam to forge relationships with the Indigenous community.

The recommendations included fulfilling promises while developing an Indigenous strategy, hiring an Indigenous consultant and engaging with Indigenous organizations that work to end homelessness.

The meeting failed and Indigenous leaders began to circulate the letter that called for Bell’s resignation.

By this week, it was clear Siloam was not going to change its approach to Indigenous staffing and programming, Bell had lost much of the staff, and the problems in the organization included Bell and the direction taken by the board.

The Indigenous leadership group, however, didn’t give up. They just began to work with others.

On Thursday, Siloam installed a new chairman, Garth Manness, and accepted Bell’s resignation.

In the news release to announce the changes, Manness announced plans to develop and launch a comprehensive Indigenous relations strategy, led by Crystal Laborero of Laborero Consulting.

Laborero is from Sapotaweyak Cree Nation and is chairwoman of the board of directors of Assiniboine Credit Union. She also sits on the board of End Homelessness Winnipeg, as do many of the Indigenous leaders who first offered to help Siloam.

In terms of the Indigenous relations strategy, Manness presented an eight-point plan – virtually identical to the one proposed by the Indigenous leadership group.

Some at Siloam, it appears, were listening.

In his opening address to Siloam staff Thursday, Manness said: “We are making a statement today to say that we are committed to reconciliation, we are committed to learning and understanding what that means… Providing services to Indigenous patrons and being a Christian organization are not exclusive issues, they are complementary issues.”

Now, the real work at Siloam begins.

Since more than 70 per cent of Winnipeg’s homeless community is Indigenous, adopting principles based on Indigenous inclusion, cultural revitalization and reconciliation is not optional.

The argument that it is a Christian-based organization with a right to proselytize, ignore Indigenous content, and focus only on the basics of feeding and clothing people is preposterous.

If this were the case, Siloam would simply be another residential school, the last kind of “charity” Indigenous people need, want or deserve.

Due to the work of many Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, Not My Siloam now has an opportunity to become a Siloam of reconciliation.

niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca