Inside OCOW 2025: Community in Action
It was an absolute honour to attend and present at the 2025 Our Children, Our Way National Conference, held November 2–5 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. This year’s gathering brought together over a thousand people across Turtle Island — all dedicated to improving the well-being of Indigenous children, families, and communities.
Remarkable Communications team members, myself and Project Manager Eli, were grateful to return for a second year, and even more grateful to connect with so many familiar faces and new friends along the way. We saw clients from NIȽ TU,O, Tsartlip, and SIIA, shared stories with colleagues, and even squeezed twelve people into a dinner booth for a spontaneous, laughter-filled meal with our friends from the Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation.
Our Presentation
Our session, titled How to Skyrocket Community Engagement Using Today’s Cutting-Edge Technology, built on the success of last year’s talk — updated and expanded for 2025 with an important new conversation: how to implement AI ethically.
Despite our early 8:45 a.m. time slot on the third day of the conference, the room was full — and we are so thankful to everyone who made the effort to show up bright and early to learn and share.
We covered four key areas:
Managing harmful rumours and turning even the harshest critics into advocates.
Boosting community engagement — including which tech tools actually matter, and which ones you can safely skip.
Addressing lateral violence and protecting staff wellbeing.
Navigating AI in Indigenous communications, with practical tips for ethical implementation.
Everyone who attended was offered our special OCOW resource pack that includes:
Four downloadable worksheets (Rumours, Engagement, Lateral Violence, and AI)
A copy of the presentation deck
A bonus swipe file for immediate use
Plus, a short series of emails that include actionable steps to help build or strengthen your communications and engagement strategy
Highlights from the Conference
It was incredible to witness the spirit of generosity and collaboration that was everywhere during the conference. So many child and family organizations shared their work revitalizing culture and language, and their efforts integrating Indigenous laws and worldviews into present day colonial systems.
We saw organizations openly share policies, resources, and even copies of their own community laws — we were blown away by this powerful example of collective growth in action.
There were also thoughtful spaces for rest and reflection, i.e. wellness rooms, where participants could smudge or be brushed off with cedar. Child and Family Services work can take a real toll on the people working day in and day out to improve the lives of Indigenous families. A safe space with culturally meaningful resources goes a long way to support people as they are dealing with emotionally heavy topics in a conference setting.
And a personal highlight for me was hearing from Wednesday’s keynote speaker Cindy Blackstock, PhD. She is just legendary: someone who has fought and won monumental victories for Indigenous children and continues to give back with humility and humour. Watching her auction off her Burberry jacket to raise funds for children’s programming was unforgettable.
Looking Ahead
Eli and I left the conference inspired by the commitment and compassion of everyone working on the frontlines — especially the social workers and family support staff who carry this work every day. It was powerful to be surrounded by so many people who share the same vision: building a stronger, healthier, and more culturally grounded future for Indigenous children.
We’re grateful to the Our Children, Our Way organizers for welcoming us and creating a wonderful space to connect, learn, and grow together.
I can’t wait to go again next year!
— Laurel Anne Stark