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Canada%u201d within the meaning of s.35 of the Constitution Act 1982.There is quote that I love by Terry St. Amant. He says, %u201c%u201cWe are M%u00e9tis, with roots and rights that extend 9,000 years into this continent. We are neither First Nations nor Inuit, nor are we European immigrants to this land. Instead, we are the middle-ground between camps; the compromise between differences and the dawn that separates night and day. We are not half-breeds, but the children born of a marriage between two very different worlds. To be M%u00e9tis is to be blessed with the best fruit of not one, but two family trees. We are not %u201chalf%u201d of anything, but doubled. Being twice blessed, we are likewise proud, strong and determined.%u201dPeacebuilding work and cultural mediation requires an %u201cand%u201d as well as %u201cboth%u201d and ability to see things as double, not half. Often we get stuck in a zero sum game of either/or and we forget that sometimes the way forward can be %u201cand%u201d and %u201cboth%u201d. What my culture has taught me is that there is a middle ground that that exists, %u201cthe dawn that separates the night and day%u201d and this is where %u201cand%u201d and %u201cboth%u201d live. It is quite exciting to approach mediation from this perspective. It is always beautiful to watch peoples%u2019 eyes light up when we move into an asset-based approach and focus on what they do have instead of using a deficit-based approach and what is lacking. This doesn%u2019t take away the need to analyze challenges and risks but it does move us boldly into a world of what is possible.Q: You%u2019ve worked on projects in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas%u2014what common challenges have you encountered in your global peace work?A. Globally, in my peace work, I see often the continued impacts of colonization, especially for Indigenous Peoples. I meet many people not who have not had the opportunity to connect to their cultures Exclusive InterviewMOST MAGAZINE - ISSUE 61 55