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What the U-ACT team did
We supported youth to hold WEEKLY YAC Council Meetings, always providing FOOD, FOOD and more FOOD (especially cultural foods!).
We fostered an environment where the youth determined the activities.
We supported youth to hold drop-
ins EVERY Monday from 4:00 – 7:00 pm ensuring that they were never cancelled and that medicines, cultural supports and other teachers were there.
We involved youth in all levels of the project – e.g. hired youth staff, supported youth as mentors and participants in decision-making and planning.
We set cultural programing in motion by supporting the youth to meet and speak with Elders and Grandmothers.
We partnered with local artists, mentors and other resources to offer workshops in art, photography, storytelling, etc.
What the youth did
The youth ran the YAC Council Meetings (with a chair, vice chair, secretary), discussing and planning events such as powwows and other cultural activities to be held at the Friendship Centre, in their schools, and on their reserves. They focussed on the importance of their roles, using their voices, and nurturing youth participation.
The youth organized Idle No More Roadblocks for raising awareness and advocacy, went on spiritual walks, held powwows, went on a medicine walk, asked seniors, Elders and Grandmothers for a “gentle sweat for first-timers”
and for full moon ceremonies for girls and women, etc., all geared to increasing cultural knowledge and practices, self- awareness and strength.
On average, 75-98 youth attended events each month.
Because the drop-in was always there for them, the
youth felt comfortable and safe enough to use it for what they wanted and needed: help with homework, seeing
the mental health worker, meeting with a Grandmother, drumming, art, talking together over dinner. Some youth brought friends and families who needed help. The youth knew that anyone could come—“no one was checking for a status card at the door.”
The youth staff and mentors served as bridges between older and younger participants, staff and youth. They offered support, guidance, skill development, and modelling around culture, identity and health. One youth represented the project at a conference; another went on to become a board member of the Friendship Centre.
The youth asked the Elders and Grandmothers to hold ceremonies such as birthing of the drum, women’s sharing circles, monthly community feasts.
The youth, mentors, seniors and Elders shared cultural knowledge and life skills across generations when they participated in the Shadow project. The project involved the youth recording Elders telling stories and sharing teachings based on photos. It also involved the youth learning how
to make moose meat pie, paint and take photos; all while learning how to interact with Elders in respectful ways.
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