Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud named new CEO of Winnipeg's Siloam Mission
Previous CEO left after facing criticism for not meeting spiritual needs of Indigenous community
A familiar name among Winnipeg's humanitarian organizations is stepping into the role as the new CEO of Siloam Mission.
Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud will begin work with the shelter on Nov. 15, moving from 1JustCity, a charity that runs community drop-ins, an emergency shelter and various programs for Winnipeg's most vulnerable.
"I'm very excited for the future of Siloam Mission and … the sector in general," Blaikie Whitecloud said Thursday.
She said she's looking forward to working with "amazing agencies," including 1JustCity, "to continue to support people that are experiencing vulnerabilities … food insecurity and homelessness."
"We're as a sector going into the hardest time of year for our relatives on the street, so [I'm] really looking to continue to rely on all of the team here at Siloam, donors, volunteers [and] the amazing staff I've met so far to really make sure that we can respond to those needs."
Board chair Garth Manness said in a news release Thursday that Siloam is excited to welcome Whitecloud into the role.
"We have been listening to our community and are committed to doing better in the future — and we know Tessa is going to be part of that. Her expertise, experience and love for those we serve will position her well to help move our organization forward," said Manness.
Former Siloam CEO Jim Bell stepped down in February after the organization was criticized for not meeting the spiritual needs of Indigenous community members, such as providing adequate support for practices such as smudging, drum ceremonies and sweat lodges.
Indigenous people make up as much as 75 to 80 per cent of the community to which Siloam offers services and care. The organization, which has received millions of dollars of community and government support over the years, is also a signatory to Winnipeg's Indigenous Accord.
Before Bell's resignation, a group called Not My Siloam, which included former staff members who said they could no longer work with him in charge, started a social media campaign to press the organization for changes.
Shortly after Bell left, the organization hired an independent external consultant to work on initiatives such as developing a formal statement of reconciliation based on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's work, moving to fulfil Siloam's commitments to the Indigenous Accord and starting Indigenous training and development.
Need to ensure services open to all: new CEO
The consultant's report found that among Indigenous staff and clients, none felt discriminated against, but many did see a need for more culturally informed Indigenous programming, Siloam's news release on Thursday said.
The report also made a number of recommendations, including adding Indigenous representation to the board of directors and developing stronger partnerships with the Indigenous community.
"We need to make sure that our services are open to everybody and … there isn't discrimination," said Blaikie Whitecloud.
"But we also need to make sure that beyond that we're making sure that those client-centred pieces are available so people can access them as part of their healing journey here at Siloam, or be supported to do so at other agencies in the city that are already doing amazing work in that way."
Siloam said it has committed to implementing all of the recommendations in the report and continues to work on fulfilling its commitments to the Winnipeg Indigenous Accord.
Delvina Kejick worked as the Indigenous spiritual care worker at Siloam Mission for a year and a half, but parted ways with the organization last year.
In January, she told CBC News one of the reasons she left was that she felt Siloam wasn't meeting the needs of many Indigenous people in the homeless community it's supposed to support.
Kejick said Thursday that during her time at Siloam, she was bothered by the fact there weren't more Indigenous people in decision-making roles.
While she's glad to see the CEO position at Siloam has been filled, she said it's frustrating the CEO is not Indigenous.
"My thoughts right away were …why can they not hire Indigenous people?" said Kejick.
"I just think there's so many of my people around, and why are my people not being hired more … in a place like this, when there's 70 to 80 per cent of participants are Indigenous people."
Siloam says it will be hiring a director of Indigenous relations and is seeking to add Indigenous representation to its board.
Kejick hopes the organization will listen to the Indigenous people it serves and build relationships.
"There can be good strategies and everything and we can all make good steps towards things, but in between those steps there's also things that need to happen," said Kejick.
"It's really based on relationships … and hearing the voices of all the stakeholders and the primary stakeholders, [who] in this case would be the grassroots people."
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With files from Peggy Lam and Sean Kavanagh