Ogijiita Pimatiswin Kinamatwin

Ogijita Pimatiswin Kinamatwin (OPK) is a North End, community-based program that works with Aboriginal street gang members. They support and nurture their families. They learn construction skills on the job in the course of renovating North End houses. The men who work with OPK are proud of what they do. They get up each morning happy to be going to work. They feel a sense of pride and dignity when they see what they can accomplish. They feel good about themselves, and they feel good that they are giving back.

The eagle stands for life and sits in the eastern doorway of the medicine wheel. The eagle takes our thoughts and prayers to the creator.

The lightening represents the thunderbird who sits in the western doorway of the medicine wheel. The thunderbird comes to us in the spring and renews mother earth.

The crying person also sits in the western doorway of the medicine wheel. And the eagle carries this person’s tears to the spirit world.

The sun is our father providing light, warmth, strength, and protection. The lines radiating from the sun are called life lines. They connect everything to everything else and keep all things in balance. Each of us is connected to the land, the sky, to each other, and to all living things.

Look closely at the green. You will see a woman who is our mother, the earth. She gives life and we must learn to understand this gift and support her. And you will see the turtle, which represents our land.

If You Want to Change Violence in the ‘Hood, You Have to Change the ‘Hood: Violence and Street Gangs in Winnipeg’s Inner City

There is growing concern about the level of violence in Winnipeg’s North End. The media regularly feature headline reports about gun violence, and street gang activity has become a focus of attention in the effort to “get tough on crime.”

Against this backdrop, the authors met with six members of a North End street gang, who wanted to convey their experiences of living in the North End, their thoughts on the recent events that have occurred there, and their insights into what it will take to make meaningful change.

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