THUNDER BAY, Ont. – A committee established to help city police move forward with organizational change has taken a less conventional, yet more traditional, approach to naming a soon-to-be-revamped unit.
Among the goals of the Shaping Our Future organizational change committee is a mandate to modernize the Thunder Bay Police Service’s Aboriginal Liaison Unit. A new unit needs a new name.
On Monday current and past members of the Aboriginal Liaison Unit, members of the organizational change committee, and other TBPS officers participated in a traditional naming ceremony at a rural Thunder Bay location near the shores of Lake Superior.
Led by First Nation elder, participants helped build a traditional ceremonial fire before taking part in a sweat lodge.
“This was important to better understand people, their perspective and where they come from,” said TBPS Insp. Derek West, one of the four police members of the Shaping Our Future committee.
The sweat lodge and feast that followed did not lead to a new name for the unit. Baxter told the group this could be the case; the name may not reveal itself immediately but could help the group come to an eventual consensus.
For Insp. West, finding a name wasn’t the sole purpose of the ceremony. Also important to the Inspector was having a chance for him and others to develop a deeper appreciation and understanding of “the history and cultural significance of the ceremonies and how that might impact us in how we develop the name.
“This is not something we’re trying to just get done for the sake of getting a task done,” Insp. West added. “We want to make sure we’re honest in our approach to this and do everything we can to bring all these perspectives together.”
A/Chief Sylvie Hauth also participated. Despite her role in the ceremony Monday, the Acting Chief said the Shaping Our Future committee is not police chief led. Instead, the group was given a mandate from the Police Chief and operates with autonomy to work toward achieving it.
From A/Chief Hauth’s perspective, the naming ceremony was a valuable experience for her and the committee.
“We weren’t sure if we were getting a name at the end of the day (Monday) or if it would give us some food for thought,” A/Chief Hauth said.
“A lot of the common themes that came out … could at least form the basis of our new mandate, our new terms of reference, our ideals of what’s important for the unit.”
The next step for the Shaping Our Future committee will be to regroup and eventually move forward with a series of community consultations.
To learn more about the Thunder Bay Police Service’s organizational change project visit this webpage.
Scott Pardis,
TBPS Media