<p style="text-align:center"><em><span style="font-size:12px">Valdine engaged with the team in&nbsp; a photography session with Leigh Mitchell Anyon</span></em></p>

<p>Valdine Flaming a Metis woman from Thompson, Northern Manitoba was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship (QES), through a Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) programme. Through the scholarship, she was able to take up a three-month postgraduate student placement with Whakauae finishing in August 2017.</p>

<p>Whakauae hosted Valdine as part of a commitment to building indigenous research capacity and supporting international collaborations. As members of the Partners for Engagement and Knowledge Exchange (PEKES) programme in Manitoba we were invited to become a mentor organisation for the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship (QES) scholarship programme. Valdine was our first student placement.</p>

<p>During her three-month placement, Valdine primarily worked with the Whakauae team on their HRC-funded research project, Preventing Chronic Conditions (PCC): Learnings from Participatory Research with M&#257;ori. Her role included examining Indigenous chronic disease prevention practices in both Canada and New Zealand, updating the literature review already conducted by the research team and conducting a review of recent Canadian literature around Indigenous models of chronic condition prevention.</p>

<h4><span style="font-size:16px"><strong>In her last week with us we asked her to reflect on her time with us. The following are snippets from that conversation reproduced with her permission.</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;</span></h4>

<p style="margin-left:40px">My three months at Whakauae has flown by. Originally I intended to just learn more about how M&#257;ori prevent chronic conditions. As a Metis from northern Manitoba &ndash; poor health seems unavoidable for many of us. Blood quantum divides my extended family from each other while we survive poverty, intergenerational trauma and a legacy of shame. We survive our realities and chronic conditions are a side note.</p>

<p style="margin-left:40px">Coming to Aotearoa and my time with the team at Whakauae has made me feel safe and grounded in a way I have never felt at home. M&#257;ori are so friendly and welcoming and I learned a lot about being Metis by being with them and talking about my experiences at home in Canada. I have the teachings and stories inside of me, I just have to listen and accept myself. Thank you Whakauae wh&#257;nau for showing me that. Your acceptance and hospitality has changed my life.</p>

<p style="margin-left:40px"><strong>What did you learn from being part of the PCC project?</strong></p>

<p style="margin-left:40px">I learned about Wh&#257;nau Ora &ndash; which is something that I didn&rsquo;t know about before coming to Aotearoa. Before I joined Whakauae, I just thought &lsquo;wow those M&#257;ori really have it figured out. I wonder what they&rsquo;re doing right&rsquo; and now I understand that Metis and M&#257;ori face very similar issues but the historical contexts are different.</p>

<p style="margin-left:40px"><strong>What surprised you in Aotearoa?</strong></p>

<p style="margin-left:40px">I honestly thought Whakauae was much bigger.&nbsp; From the website and outputs, I thought the team was larger. I&rsquo;ve also been disappointed to learn and see how much racism is alive and well in New Zealand.&nbsp; On the other hand, the fact that the New Zealand government is engaging in treaty tribunals with M&#257;ori is something I struggled to comprehend when I first moved here. I&rsquo;ve never seen a settler government acknowledge a treaty in this way.</p>

<p style="margin-left:40px"><strong>What was a highlight of your visit?</strong></p>

<p style="margin-left:40px">I love the office environment, everyone is so accepting. I also really appreciated attending a Treaty tribunal hearing and especially being in Taup&#333; on the same weekend that Ng&#257;ti Tuwharetoa settled with the Crown.&nbsp; That&rsquo;s a huge deal to me.</p>

<p style="text-align:center"><img alt="Heather, Don, Lynley Stacy, Valdine and Amohia during Valdines Powhiri" src="/uploads/images/HG-Don-LC-SR-Valdine-%26-AFB-27-May-17.jpg" style="height:494px; width:650px" /><br />
<em><span style="font-size:12px">Heather, Don, Lynley Stacy, Valdine and Amohia during Valdines Powhiri</span></em></p>
