A fresh start...
Kia ora koutou! Nga mihi nui.
Well after several months hiatus I've restarted both a webpage and a blog on the topic of Indigenous disaster risk reduction. The 'time offline' came about through accepting a position at the University of Saskatchewan in the awesome Indigenous Studies department. I've also had to help my whanau settle in, lots of challenges but we're feeling more comfortable in what is a very different environment (as I look out our front window I see more snow fluttering out of the cold-grey Saskatchewan sky).
Anyway, done to business. This site is dedicated to projects that support Indigenous communities and their disaster risk reduction strategies. We know there is a huge amount of Indigenous Knowledge that contributes to Indigenous survival. The bigger challenge is to assert Indigenous voices in the political and economic debates in which our communities should be participating. There are many positive examples from around the world - and I'll highlight them as we go along - but there are too many instances where racism and ignorance act to silence and sideline our communities. Helping to dismantling that ignorance is one of the goals of this site.
No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa!
Simon