We will commemorate 20 years in Canada with a celebration hosted on the beautiful land of the Musqueam people in Vancouver, BC on the evening of October 21, 2020!
This year we will celebrate extraordinary women, each one of whom has a unique experience of triumph over obstacles. Taking place at the conclusion of our 2020 conference, the celebration will include a rare opportunity to enter Musqueam’s sacred house of learning where guests will witness a blanketing ceremony that will honour 20 mothers for their work across this country.
A dinner reception will follow, where we will hear from Marion Buller who served as the Chief Commissioner for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, as well as two mothers who have excelled in our HIPPY programs, Shinda Shi and Meade Manson.
The dinner reception will include a seated, customary Indigenous feast with plenty of opportunity for our distinguished guests to exchange ideas and share best practices as they imagine the next 20 years of growth for the Mothers Matter Centre. It is sure to be a memorable and inspiring evening!
The Mothers Matter Centre is proud that we were able to change the lives of 16,000 isolated families in Canada over the past 20 years. We are committed to recognizing the courageous women who have overcome unique educational, linguistic and cultural barriers. We remain dedicated to celebrating their stories of resilience and their power to transform their families and communities.
About Our Honourees:
Marion Buller
Marion Buller was appointed the first woman First Nations judge in British Columbia in 1994 and served as the Chief Commissioner for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. A member of the Mistawasis First Nation, she was the first First Nations woman to be appointed to the Provincial Court of British Columbia in 1994, and presided in courts throughout B.C. She established the First Nations Courts of British Columbia in 2006 and provided the foundation for the Aboriginal Family Healing Court in 2016.
Shinda Shi
Shinda Shi is a mother of two lovely boys, now ages ten and seven. An experienced Parenting Facilitator and Early Childhood Educator, Shinda participated in the HIPPY program as a mother before graduating and being hired and trained as a HIPPY Home Visitor. The HIPPY program has helped Shinda evolve and grow as a caring, open-minded, and passionate community worker with valuable experience of supporting newcomers to access to resources and community services to help them integrate into the society. Shinda has been working with HIPPY since 2013, and regularly volunteers in Early Childhood Education and Parenting fields.
Meade Manson
Meade Manson is the daughter of Gary Xulsi’malt Manson (Snuneymuxw) and Serena George (Tsleil-Waututh). Mother to two special daughters who are her everything, Mia Sumiya, now 15, and Summer Eemiya, now 11, are both graduates of the Indigenous HIPPY program. For the last ten years, Meade has been the HIPPY Coordinator and Home Visitor for the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation in North Vancouver. Prior to working for HIPPY, Meade was a mother in the program and has seen the effects of HIPPY firsthand. She is proud of the work she performs to help in the community and can only hope it gets stronger. Meade is active in her family life, spending her personal time playing soccer with her kids, nieces, and nephews, as soccer is an important sport to her family, which includes her great-grandfather Harry Manson who has been inducted into numerous halls of fame for his incredible soccer talent and barrier-breaking success.
Interested in joining the Celebration? Register HERE.
Please note, the celebration and conference are separate ticketed events.