Indigenous Perspectives Society: Centre of Excellence in Community Education (IPS) is a charitable and not-for-profit social enterprise that offers specialized training and consulting services to help foster a deeper understanding of Indigenous perspectives, cultural differences, and the need for self-determination.

Supporting Indigenous children, families, and communities is at the heart of IPS and has been since it began over 30 years ago as the Caring for First Nations Children Society. IPS has demonstrated knowledge and expertise in B.C.’s Indigenous child and family welfare legislation, practice, and policy, for more than 25 years. IPS is skilled and experienced at delivering professional excellence in areas of Indigenous Cultural Perspectives, Indigenous Child and Family Services and Indigenous Child Permanency. IPS is proud to be delivering training, research and policy support to Indigenous Child and Family Serving Agencies, Provincial and Federal Governments.

IPS delivers Indigenous Child and Family Services (ICFS) Training, on behalf of the B.C. Government Ministry of Child & Family Development for Indigenous Child and Family Serving Agencies throughout B.C. For more information about the ICFS Training program, please visit the ICFS Training page. The Society continually monitors current research, best practice approaches, new developments, and innovations and regularly updates all training curriculums related to Indigenous child and family services.

Our Logo

The programs and initiatives IPS hosts continue to reflect the Society’s ongoing commitment to serving Indigenous children, youth and families. Indigenous Caregivers B.C. provides supports for Indigenous children in care and their caregivers. This program offers training, information referral, and counseling support for members of foster caregiving communities throughout B.C. 

Our Values

Our way of being as an Indigenous organization is defined and enriched by the diverse cultures of all self-identifying Indigenous, Métis and Inuit peoples and our relations. In all that we do we will:

  1. Honour the right to self-determination of all Indigenous peoples.
  2. Demonstrate courage through innovative and sustainable growth that is culturally grounded.
  3. Honour the wisdom and contribution of each person and organization with whom we interact.
  4. Continually challenge ourselves to the highest level of learning and performance.
  5. Demonstrate accountability, transparency and respect.

Action Through Education

In recent years, IPS has diversified and developed a range of training programs to bring our knowledge and perspectives to a wider audience, expand our networks, and have a greater impact by working with more organizations across different sectors. IPS is practiced at customizing training for specific client needs. IPS also offers consulting services strongly grounded in Indigenous worldviews, to private and public entities. 

All IPS training and consulting services help foster a deeper understanding of Indigenous perspectives and cultural differences. The Society does not teach to a specific Indigenous culture; we create training courses that seamlessly weave the threads of cultural congruency. By recognizing diversity, IPS encourages training participants to respect all cultures as separate and distinct.

IPS offers public and private training workshops and courses, both online and in person for all audiences in:

Our team invites and encourages you to explore what IPS has to offer and to hear what others have to say about us and our work. Please follow one of the links above to learn more about our trainings. If you know which training you wish to attend then feel free to visit our registration page or view our training calendar page to learn more. Please feel free to contact us directly should you have any questions or want to discuss working together.

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide culturally relevant training, research, and policy that advances and strengthens the lives of Indigenous peoples.

Accessibility at IPS

Indigenous Perspectives Society: Centre of Excellence in Community Education is dedicated to providing an inclusive and accessible environment for all individuals, including those with diverse-abilities. We are pleased to confirm that our classrooms and washrooms are wheelchair accessible, and we also prioritize the well-being of individuals with scent sensitivities by maintaining a scent-free facility.

Onsite Accessibility:

·       Wheelchair accessible 67” double door entrance to training room on ground floor

·       One private wheelchair accessible all gender washroom on ground floor with 35” doorway. The washroom is down a hallway that also has a 35” doorway to go through

·       One gender-assigned washroom with a 36.5” doorway and stalls on ground floor for females and femme-identifying individuals

·       Two private all gender washrooms on second floor

·       One wheelchair accessible private office on ground floor

·       Flexible seating arrangements in training room are implemented to meet diverse needs, including those related to wheelchair use

·       Diverse lighting available to accommodate light sensitivities

·       Scent-free zone

·       Medicine room with a 35” doorway on ground level for decompressing, resting, and practicing self-care

·       One accessible parking spot near entrance

·       One Elder-reserved parking spot near entrance

·       Air vents to allow air circulation throughout building

·       The building is located on major bus routes and within walking distance to many restaurants

·       Bike rack onsite for individuals biking to the office

Thank you for choosing Indigenous Perspectives Society: Centre of Excellence in Community Education. We strive to promote accessibility, inclusivity, and a scent-free environment, ensuring that all individuals, regardless of ability or sensitivity, feel welcome and supporteddiverse-abilities