Calgary Urban Aboriginal Initiative (CUAI)
About CUAI
Note: In July 2015, CUAI announced that due to a lack of operational funding beyond 2016, the organization would be ceasing operations as of December 31, 2015.
The Calgary Urban Aboriginal Initiative (CUAI) grew out of Removing Barriers: A Listening Circle, a multi-phase, qualitative, community-based research initiative that took place in Calgary in 1999. Removing Barriers: A Listening Circle engaged Aboriginal Calgarians in identifying barriers to service and systems access in Calgary, and, together with other stakeholders, vision solutions and recommendations.
The organization’s eight Domain groups are:
- Education
- Housing
- Employment
- Human Rights
- Funding
- Justice
- Health
- Services
CUAI was not a service delivery agency, a government department, a funding body, or a not-for-profit. CUAI was a true collaborative, and its potential is a function of the degree to which it engages community members, stakeholders and government around common goals.