On this week’s episode, we sat down with long-time Indigenous-rights advocate Scott Clark of the Coast Salish S'Klallam nation, and discussed creating systems of change from the ground up that produce positive and evidence based results. Diving into his work with ALIVE, or Aboriginal Life in Vancouver Enhancement Society, Scott talks about his hope regarding youth-led movements while critiquing how settler governments continue to fail Indigenous people.

Having decades of experience working with urban Indigenous people in the Downtown Eastside, Scott explains his misgivings around nonprofits and how, due to funding sources, they can become extensions of a colonial government at the neighbourhood level. He instead proposes Indigenous self-government and the development of more inclusive and fair policy documents.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/154-scott-clark.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/154-scott-clark.html

Resources:
Aboriginal Live in Vancouver Enhancement Society (ALIVE): https://alivesociety.ca/
ALIVE Report: Our Place, Our Home, Our Vision: Youth Voices of East Vancouver: https://alivesociety.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/alive-youth-policy-report-V02.pdf

Bio:
Scott has 30 years plus of advocacy, from Canada’s most impoverished/oppressed postal code, the downtown east side of Vancouver through to municipal, provincial, federal and international levels. He currently is the executive director and founding director of Aboriginal Life In Vancouver Enhancement (ALIVE) society

Cite this episode:
Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “ALIVE: Creating Systems of Change — with Scott Clark” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, January 11, 2022. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/154-scott-clark.html