NORDIK Institute

Supporting Community Engaged Arts

Amy Boyer — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 17:37:31 +0000

SAULT STE MARIE/ALGOMA, ON- January 13, 2026

Community-engaged artists and organizations are one step closer to having a provincial organization dedicated to supporting their professional development and capacity. Such an organization would strengthen their ability to assist communities to build social capital, nurture resiliency, share stories, revitalize cultural traditions, promote active citizenship and tackle big ideas or challenges. Community-Engaged Arts (CEA) is an inclusive practice and unique creative form whereby professional artists collaborate with community members to co-create new artistic works.

The research, which aims to identify an organizational structure that would best support CEAs, considered emerging governance models and the feasibility and sustainability of launching a new organization. In an effort to meet the province’s various geographical and cultural realities, particularly those of Northern Ontario, research participants recommend a flexible structure with opportunities to work from physical and/or hybrid locations. This would enable CEAs to support community development, healing and co-creation over a longer period of time. Study participants also express a need for a clear mandate to: define the practice of CEA; convene opportunities for community exchange, knowledge generation and sharing; facilitate partnership and synergies; and increase understanding of the many positive individual and collective benefits that are sparked by CEA practice.

This research is timely. Miranda Bouchard, Thinking Rock Community Arts Artistic Director, notes, “While we clearly see the positive impacts our work is having on communities, we are facing increasing challenges to its sustainability. An organization dedicated to supporting CEAs would enable practitioners and organizations to maximize their limited resources in nourishing their communities while contributing meaningfully to their field of artistic practice.”

The research was led by Thinking Rock Community Arts in partnership with NORDIK Institute and funded by the Ontario Arts Council’s Strategic Collaborations Fund and the City of Sault Ste. Marie’s Arts and Culture Assistance Program.

The report, In Service of our Stories: Co-Designing a Community-Engaged Arts Service Organization, is available on the Thinking Rock Community Arts and NORDIK Institute websites. The next steps in the process of establishing a dedicated organization are to identify funding and investment opportunities, and to develop an operational plan.

For more information, please contact:

Amy Boyer, Communications Manager NORDIK Institute, 705-949-2301, ext. 4812, or email amy.boyer@algomau.ca

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NORDIK Institute’s Annual Meeting 2025

Amy Boyer — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 10:19:12 +0000

NORDIK Institute Annual Meeting 2025

NORDIK Institute is pleased to announce its upcoming Annual Meeting, taking place on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm at The Grand Gardens North in Sault Ste. Marie, with the option to attend online.

This year’s theme, Broadening Horizons, reflects NORDIK’s ongoing commitment to advancing community-based research, strengthening partnerships, and fostering innovation that addresses the evolving needs of Northern Ontario and beyond.

The Annual Meeting provides an opportunity to:

Highlight and celebrate the achievements of the past year

Share insights from ongoing and upcoming research initiatives

Engage with community partners, researchers, and stakeholders on future directions

NORDIK Institute invites community members, partners, and collaborators to join us for an evening of reflection, dialogue, and forward-looking conversations. The full agenda for the meeting can be found here.

Date: September 24, 2025

Time: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Location: The Grand Gardens North & Online

For more information, please contact Amy Boyer at amy.boyer@algomau.ca

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Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association (CSAA) Wellness Summit October 15th-17th, 2024

Amy Boyer — Sat, 07 Sep 2024 17:02:32 +0000

We are pleased to announce the upcoming Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association (CSAA) Wellness Summit, taking place from Tuesday, October 15th to Thursday, October 17th, 2024, at Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig, Centre of Excellence in Anishinaabe Education in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

Hosted by our Community Support Team, the summit will focus on wellness, healing, and community-building for former students of the Shingwauk and Wawanosh Indian Residential Schools, their families, and their communities. This event offers a meaningful opportunity to reflect, heal, and connect with others in a supportive environment.

Event Details:
Dates: Tuesday, October 15th – Thursday, October 17th, 2024
Location: Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Recommended Travel Dates: Monday, October 14th, and Friday, October 18th, 2024
We invite three delegates from each of our partner First Nations and organizations to attend: one Youth, a Support Worker, and a Survivor or Elder.

Please register by September 12th, 2024, to save your space and ensure your accommodations, which are covered by the event, are secured. Registration is limited, so please act fast!

For any questions about the event or registration, please contact the event support team at events@ingaged.ca.

We look forward to welcoming you to this important event and continuing our collective journey toward wellness and healing.

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NORDIK Institute’s Annual Meeting 2024

Amy Boyer — Sat, 07 Sep 2024 00:53:12 +0000

NORDIK Institute’s Annual Meeting 2024: Resilience and Renewal

Save the date!

NORDIK Institutes extends a warm invitation to you to attend our upcoming 2024 Annual Meeting. The theme of this event is Resilience and Renewal, with details as follows:

Date: Tuesday October 8, 2024

Location: Sault Museum, (Durham Gallery, 690 Queen St. E, Sault Ste. Marie, ON) and online

Time: 5:00pm-8:00pm

Cost: Free

The evening will highlight projects that have taken place throughout the 2023-2024 year, showcasing exemplary community-based initiatives through dialogue, discussion, and our relationships with our community partners. Come out and make a connection!

Agenda (Please find a link to detailed agenda here.)

5:00 pm Doors open

5:30 pm Dinner is served

6:00 pm Business meeting

6:45 pm Panel discussion

7:15 pm Poster presentations and networking social

8:00 pm Event ends

To attend this free event, please RSVP by October 1, 2024, here.

For more information, please contact Amy Boyer at amy.boyer@algomau.ca

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NORDIK Institute’s Annual Meeting 2023

Amy Boyer — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 17:39:07 +0000

NORDIK Institute invites you to join us for our 2023 Annual Meeting, Building Bridges: Emphasizing the importance of collaboration and partnerships in addressing complex challenges and fostering unity.

This year, we are excited to gather in person at the Art Gallery of Algoma (Sault Ste. Marie, ON). For those located outside the Sault, a virtual attendance option is available. Get ready for an evening filled with inspiring discussions, innovative ideas, and meaningful connections. Our meeting will bring together researchers and community members from various research projects to share knowledge, experiences, and a hot meal. Don’t miss this opportunity to collaborate and network with like-minded individuals. Mark your calendars!

Location: Art Gallery of Algoma (10 East Street, Sault Ste. Marie, ON) & online

Date: Thursday November 2, 2023

Agenda

5:30pm -Dinner will be served
6:00pm – Business Meeting
6:45pm -Guest Speakers: Building Bridges
7:30pm- Poster Presentations

RSVP to attend the Annual Meeting here.

To become a member of NORDIK Institute, please take 2 minutes to fill out our brief form, here.

For more information please contact: Amy Boyer at amy.boyer@algomau.ca

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Investing in Women Entreprenuers

Amy Boyer — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 17:12:19 +0000

The Women Entrepreneurial Strategy (WES) has provided important investment in women who have business aspirations. The recent WES-funded report, The State of Women Entrepreneurship in Canada indicates that overall, many of the current offerings do not meet the needs of women, in general, and diverse women in particular. They also note that the majority of ‘mainstream’ business organizations’ offerings that are targeting equity-seeking founders are of limited utility as these organizations have not embraced policies and processes in overcoming systemic barriers within their operations.

The Women of Ontario Social Enterprise Network’s (WOSEN) answered the call for the development of effective women’s entrepreneurial supports by redesigning the ecosystem’s approach to creating and delivering programming and services while supporting organizations in moving towards centring equity. The project’s final report, Investing in Women Entrepreneurs: A case study for co-creating effective supports provides the sector with evidence-informed processes on ‘how to’ develop an equity-centric social entrepreneurship ecosystem. The initiative is contextualized within systems change and community economic development principles, offering a critical analysis of ways of effectively building, enhancing and expanding equity, and ‘how well’ strategies work — the impact and responses in addressing systemic barriers diverse women entrepreneurs encounter.

Dr. Jude Ortiz, NORDIK Institute’s Research Coordinator who led the Developmental Evaluation component of the project states, “WOSEN was intentionally grounded in a framework of equity-centred collaboration, principles-focused evaluation and social impact measurement. It engaged founders and ecosystem supporters in dynamic, collaborative and co-creative approaches that shifted mindsets, and built trust and capacity for investing in effective supports for women founders.”

WOSEN’s work reveals the significant role collaborative and co-creative processes contribute to building trust, shifting mindsets and identifying innovative equity-centred pathways forward. It illustrates ‘how to’:

Collaborate to surface what founders needed to participate and prosper in business;
Build an ecosystem of trust to co-create effective programing;
Assess the progress and impact of this work; and,
Increase the effectiveness of investment in women’s entrepreneurship.

WOSEN partners consider their collaborative and responsive approach a case study of a successful model for investing in women and creating the entrepreneurial infrastructure for them to prosper. They suggest that this model could be scaled to support others in advancing equity by building new paradigm capacity such as co-leadership, co-creation and emergent, reflective and participatory practices in developing resources, networks and pathways forward.

The collaborative supported 1,175 participants, residing in over 142 urban, rural and First Nation communities across Ontario and assisted women founders in unlocking $8.8 million dollars. WOSEN focused on women who have business solutions that put people and the planet first (i.e. social enterprises), and specifically those who were Indigenous, living in rural or remote regions, racialized, immigrants and/or living with disabilities. ‘Women’ includes genderqueer, two spirited, women-identifying individuals, and non-binary and gender non-conforming people. The terms ‘founders’ and ‘entrepreneurs’ included women who own or operate a small-medium sized business (SME) and those who are self-employed.

The report provides an overview of the key elements of each of the three catalyzing strategies for co-creating effective supports for diverse women entrepreneurs. Ten recommendations are presented for increasing investments in women founders through equity-centred collaboratives, partnerships and advocacy, and program diversity, flexibility and duration, to name a few.

WOSEN was a province-wide collaborative composed of five social innovation and system change organizations led by Pillar Nonprofit Network in partnership with NORDIK Institute, Social Innovation Canada, Social Venture Connexion and Flourishing Startups. WOSEN was funded in part by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).

Investing in Women Entrepreneurs is WOSEN’s third publication capturing the initiative’s collaborative learnings and impact. The first report, Outstanding By Standing Together, the Interim Report is available here, and the second report Centring Equity: Catalyzing system change through a collaborative, cogenerating knowledge network is available here.

To learn more about WOSEN, please visit https://wosen.pillarnonprofit.ca/.

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Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association 2023 Gathering, Celebrating Our Footsteps: Our Journey

Amy Boyer — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 11:58:14 +0000

The Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association (CSAA) is preparing for its Annual Gathering from August 4th – 7th, 2023. This year’s theme is Celebrating Our Footsteps: Our Journey. It will be a celebration of the milestones of the CSAA and Survivors, and sharing a vision for the future.

An open mic night is included, so feel welcome to bring your guitar, drum, favourite song to sing, or another special gift with our guests!

Travel reimbursement is available for alumni and family, as well as accommodation and meals provided throughout the Gathering.

Would you like to attend the event? Please register here.

Would you like to lend your time? To volunteer at this year’s Gathering, please contact Amy at amy.boyer@algomau.ca.

Would you like to sponsor or donate to the event? To offer your support, please contact Elaine at elaine.hotassone@algomau.ca.

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Aki Kikinomakaywin program is back for a second year, offering hands-on, land-based STEAM learning opportunities for Indigenous Youth in Northern Ontario

Amy Boyer — Tue, 23 May 2023 17:18:22 +0000

NORDIK Institute is pleased to announce its program Aki Kikinomakaywin (Learning on the Land) is returning for a second year.

The program is proudly Indigenous-led and is grounded in Anishinaabe teachings, stories, and ceremony. Through weaving Indigenous and Western ways of knowing, Aki Kikinomakaywin offers hands-on and land-based science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) training for Indigenous youth.

In 2022, Aki Kikinomakaywin brought together 30 youth from 14 First Nation communities across Northwestern and Northeastern Ontario. Organizers are excited to offer programming again this summer thanks to the continued support from our partners and funders like NSERC PromoScience and Laidlaw Indigenous Youth and Community Futures Fund Grant.

Aki Kikinomakaywin will run for one week from July 16-22 at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay. It is free to Indigenous youth from across Northwestern and Northeastern Ontario ages 14-16 and covers all costs for accommodation, transportation, and food. The goal for future years is to run programs in both Thunder Bay and Sault Ste Marie, Ontario.

Youth participating in the program engage with local Elders and Knowledge Keepers to learn about a wide variety of topics while connecting to land, water, spirit, and self. Water teachings and governance will be a major focus of the week, including conducting an Indigenous stream assessment led by partners from Water First and participating in a water walk ceremony led by local Water Walkers. The fun-filled and educational week will be rooted in cultural teachings, camaraderie and confidence building in university and college settings.

“We all come from water, we are made of water! Water is Life! Without water, there is no life! Our original instructions are to protect and care for both the water and our Mother Earth for this generation and future generations to come,” said Sheila DeCorte, Elder Advisor, Water Walker, and member of Fort William First Nation.

This program is developed and led by Lydia Johnson, the Project Lead; Clifford Mushquash, the Mental Wellness Lead; and Haley MacLeod, the Project Supervisor, alongside Elder Advisors and Knowledge Keepers Sheila DeCorte (Fort William First Nation) and Sharon Manitowabi (Wikwemikong First Nation).

Aki Kikinomakaywin is also supported by an Indigenous Advisory Group led by Marnie Yourchuk, Education Program Manager at Mamaweswen, The North Shore Tribal Council; Lisa Harris, Coordinator of the Niijii Indigenous Mentorship program at Lakehead University; Mary Wabano-McKay, Vice-President Nyaagaaniid, Anishinabe Initiatives, Equity and Student Success at Algoma University; Carolyn Hepburn, Dean of Indigenous Studies and Academic Upgrading at Sault College; and Amanda Misnakoshkang, Geomatics Intern at Four Rivers Matawa Environmental Services Group.

Dr. Gayle Broad, Professor Emerita at Algoma University and Research Associate at NORDIK Institute, has had an integral role in developing the program.

Aki Kikinomakaywin is also fortunate to be partnering with Water First and Let’s Talk Science to provide engaging water-focused and hands-on Western science activities.

“I feel honoured to get to play a part in the Aki Kikinomakaywin Program. As a young person, opportunities to learn about how Indigenous and Western ways of knowing could be used together were not accessible to me. Being able to help provide that opportunity for Indigenous youth in Northern Ontario is very special,” said Lydia Johnson, Project Lead.

“What I really enjoy about the camp is the opportunity to learn science from both Western and Indigenous ways of knowing by doing. Having spent a lot of time in academia while (re)learning and (re)discovering my Indigenous identity and the knowledge our culture has to offer, I see this opportunity as invaluable for those who participate. That we can offer such an experience to our youth to learn about themselves and science, and motivate them to consider their future learning pathways is incredibly exciting,” said Clifford Mushquash, Mental Wellness Lead.

Applications and additional information are available on the program’s website at www.akikikinomakaywin.com.

NORDIK Institute is excited to support Aki Kikinomakaywin. The program will benefit Indigenous youth in northern Ontario by providing them with unique learning opportunities and a model for future land-based learning in the region.

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NORDIK and ONWAA host First Nations discussion about long term and continuing care

Amy Boyer — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 11:37:00 +0000

On February 22-23, 2023, the Ontario Native Welfare Administrators’ Association (ONWAA) and NORDIK Institute co-hosted a national workshop on behalf of Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) to engage First Nations persons from across the country in discussions about long term and continuing care in their communities. The event was hosted at Algoma University’s Sault Ste. Marie campus.

Existing federal government program funding models create challenges within First Nations and Inuit communities to comprehensively address long term and continuing care needs in their communities. Canada’s 2019 budget provided $8.5M for ISC to begin filling these noticeable gaps by working with First Nations and Inuit partners to develop a new and more holistic long-term and continuing care framework. This funding was used to support roughly 35 Indigenous partners in regional engagement activities, which brought forward perspectives from more than 300 nations across Canada. ONWAA and NORDIK Institute collaboratively synthesized the reports from these engagement activities, highlighting key themes and recommendations.

The February 2023 event was a validation exercise to collect feedback on the synthesis report. The draft synthesis report was provided to participants ahead of the validation event. Feedback was collected throughout the event and in the two weeks after. Some of the comments of participants reflected a need for urgent action to correct existing systems, rather than wait for longer term policy outcomes to be implemented, while others considered the broader impacts that engagements like this one can support:

This work “is about serving the most vulnerable and leaving no one behind…Canada is obligated to take on this work. I think it is really fundamental that we find a place to root and serve First Nations. The ultimate question is, what is it going to take to build full self governance?”

The synthesis report, being finalized for submission to Indigenous Services Canada by the end of March 2023, will inform options for a new and more holistic long-term and continuing care framework that will be co-developed with partners over the next few months. The validation workshop and report synthesis were funded by ISC.

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NORDIK Institute’s Annual General Meeting 2022

Amy Boyer — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 19:24:53 +0000

Annual General Meeting 2022

NORDIK Institute’s Annual General Meeting is taking place on Wednesday November 2, 2022 at Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig. Starting with a student & young scholar’s panel at 4pm followed by the business meeting at 5:30pm. The panel will feature three of NORDIK’s summer students and interns – Laura Howson, Katja Karhi, and Samantha Recollet – reflecting on their experiences working in applied research and how it shapes their educational journey.

Location: Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gaming (Circle Classroom & Gathering Place), 1491 Queen St. E. & online

Date: Wednesday November 2, 2022

Agenda

4:00 p.m.: Student Panel

5:30 p.m.: Business Meeting

Welcome & Affirmation of our commitment to Indigenous people, treaty relationships, land and communities
Approval of the Agenda
Approval of Minutes from 2020-2021 AGM
Auditor’s Report
Appointment of Auditors
Approval of Executive Actions in 2020-21
By-Law amendments:
1. Section 5: Membership & Section 9.A & E: Board composition
Election of Directors:
1. Farewell: Stephanie Boyer
2. Re Election: Lauren Doxtater, William Hollingshead, Mitch Case
3. New candidate: Dr. Michele Piercey Normore
Director’s Report
Adjourn

NOTICE OF MOTION

WHEREAS the terms of the new Memorandum of Agreement with Algoma University stipulate new terms for the appointment of representatives to the Board of Directors of NORDIK Institute; and

WHEREAS acceptable and conventional terminology has changed since the initial drafting of the By-Laws; and

WHEREAS practical divisions of labour and executive positions have changed within both Algoma University and NORDIK since the initial drafting of the By-Laws.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the following changes to the By-Laws of NORDIK Institute be adopted and come into force:

Note: Proposed changes are underlined.

Change from:

5. MEMBERSHIP:

Membership in the Corporation is open to any individual over the age of sixteen (16) years and a resident in Ontario, who supports the Purpose and Mission Statement of the organization as outlined in No. 4 above. Membership application forms may be obtained directly from the Secretary of the organization at any time, or at the Annual General Meeting.

Change to:

5. MEMBERSHIP:

Membership in the Corporation is open to any individual over the age of sixteen (16) years and a resident in Ontario, who supports the Purpose and Mission Statement of the organization as outlined in No. 4 above. Membership application forms may be obtained directly from the website or the Director of Operations of the organization at any time, or at the Annual General Meeting.

Change from:

9. BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

(a) The affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by a Board of Directors consisting of seven (7) members, each having one (1) vote. At least three (3) of these positions will be filled by people of Aboriginal ancestry.

(b) One must be a member of the Corporation for a minimum of thirty (30) days before applying for membership on the Board of Directors.

(d) Five (5) Directors shall be elected by a majority of the members present at the Annual General Meeting.

(e) Two (2) Directors shall be appointed by Algoma University. One Appointee shall be the Academic Dean or his/her designate, and one Appointee shall be a member of the Board of Governors.

(f) Subject to any interim provisions in this By-Law, the Directors shall serve for a term of two (2) years.

(g) Board membership shall be limited to three (3) consecutive terms. The terms of Directors shall commence following their election.

(h) The qualifications for a Director shall be that they are a member in good standing of the Corporation and not less than eighteen (18) years of age.

(i) The office of a Director shall automatically be vacated if:

by notice in writing to the Board of Directors, they resign their office; at any General Meeting, a two thirds (2/3) majority of the members present decide that they shall be removed from office; the Director fails to attend three (3) consecutive meetings without notifying the Directors; if the Directors determine that a Director has been excessively absent or has conducted themselves in a manner which is detrimental to the Corporation, provided that if any vacancies shall occur for any reason prior to an annual General Meeting, the Directors may, by resolution, fill the vacancy with any person who could qualify as a Director at an Annual General Meeting. The person so chosen shall hold office (subject to the aforementioned provisions) until the next Annual General Meeting. At that time, they may stand for election for the remainder of the vacated term. The completion of a vacated term constitutes a full term for the purposes of 9.(e) of this By-Law.

(j) No Director shall be an employee of the Corporation.

Change to:

9. BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

(b) One must be a member of the Corporation for a minimum of thirty (30) days before applying for membership on the Board of Directors.

(d) Four (4) Board Directors shall be elected by a majority of the members present at the Annual General Meeting.

(e) Three (3) Board Directors shall be appointed by Algoma University. One Appointee shall be the Vice-President Academic & Research or his/her designate, one appointee shall be the Vice-President Operations and Finance or her/his designate, and one Appointee shall be the President of the University or her/his designate.

(f) Subject to any interim provisions in this By-Law, the Board Directors shall serve for a term of two (2) years.

(g) Board membership shall be limited to three (3) consecutive terms. The terms of Board Directors shall commence following their election.

(h) The qualifications for a Board Director shall be that they are a member in good standing of the Corporation and not less than eighteen (18) years of age.

(i) The office of a Board Director shall automatically be vacated if:

by notice in writing to the Board of Directors, they resign their office; at any General Meeting, a two thirds (2/3) majority of the members present decide that they shall be removed from office; the Board Director fails to attend three (3) consecutive meetings without notifying the Board of Directors; if the Board of Directors determine that a Board Director has been excessively absent or has conducted themselves in a manner which is detrimental to the Corporation, provided that if any vacancies shall occur for any reason prior to an annual General Meeting, the Board of Directors may, by resolution, fill the vacancy with any person who could qualify as a Board Director at an Annual General Meeting. The person so chosen shall hold office (subject to the aforementioned provisions) until the next Annual General Meeting. At that time, they may stand for election for the remainder of the vacated term. The completion of a vacated term constitutes a full term for the purposes of 9.(e) of this By-Law.

(j) No Board Director shall be an employee of the Corporation.

For online participation register here .

For more information please contact: Amy Boyer at amy.boyer@algomau.ca

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