Speakers

Gina Smoke

Unifor Indigenous Liaison
Gina is Dakota, from Dakota Plains First Nation. She lives on Treaty 1 territory in Winnipeg.
She has worked in the media for 21 years, where most of her time was with CTV Winnipeg. She worked her way up in the local union; representing the workers by starting as the secretary of the local before becoming the President. In 2013, she started her new career as a National Representative with Unifor. In 2018, she began her new role as the Indigenous Liaison working on Reconciliation.  
As the Liaison, she works with Indigenous communities across Canada building and strengthening relationships with their union. One example of the work she does is building support for the families of MMIWG2S by bringing awareness to the issues.
She engages their membership and friends to support community groups such as the Mama Bear Clan. They do work with the unsheltered people by handing out supplies and food. They also check on the wellbeing of the people on the streets and work together with other community groups when there is a need for volunteers.
As part of Reconciliation, she works with Indigenous leaders and elders to educate their members on cultural awareness through education and involvement within communities across Canada. During this pandemic they are using webinars to continue the work. 

Sessions

The Labour Movement and Reconciliation