The BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres (BCAAFC) is the provincial umbrella organization for 25 Friendship Centres across British Columbia – community-rooted spaces grounded in Indigenous values and culture supporting Indigenous peoples living in urban areas and away from home.
When BCAAFC first reached out, they expressed the desire to honour and integrate voices of experience and knowledge into a consistent, transparent, and values-aligned election process that could endure over time.
BCAAFC asked me to co-develop an Election Guide that would align with their Bylaws and meet requirements under the Societies Act while also reflecting the cultural values and governance practices of the Friendship Centre movement. They also invited me to serve as Electoral Officer over multiple years so we could learn and adapt the process together.
To design the guide, we formed a cross-representative Advisory Group composed of Elders, Youth, Board members, and staff. Over six months, we co-created the process in a way that emphasized listening and collective wisdom. My role was to support, not direct, offering meeting structure, preparing materials in advance, facilitating conversations, and ensuring the work remained grounded in the perspectives of those around the table.
When the guide was ready, I supported its implementation across the network. I presented the new process at membership meetings, facilitated Q&A sessions, and remained in regular contact with the Executive Director and the Board. Each election cycle became an opportunity for learning, trust-building, and refinement.
Following each cycle, I offered recommended updates to strengthen the guide, always with the goal of eventually transferring the process back to the organization. But the invitation to return – three years in a row – speaks to the strong relationships and confidence that have grown alongside the process.
This project reaffirmed the power of designing systems that live beyond any single person. Co-creating something that balances legal structure with cultural alignment – something practical, respectful, and built through dialogue – felt deeply meaningful.