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YOUTH CONFERENCE
2006
SUMMARY REPORT
First Nations Training
& Consulting Services organized the 4th Annual Aboriginal Youth, Violence
& Changing Times Training Conference: “Empowering Our Youth
Through Effective Decision Making”, held at the Best Western Richmond
Hotel and Convention Centre, 7551 Westminster Highway, Richmond (Vancouver)
BC from March 10 - 12, 2006. The conference was an overwhelming success
with almost 200 youth and adult delegates attending.
Delegates
Delegates:
Delegates came from across Canada, including BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan,
Ontario, Yukon, Nunavut and Northwest Territories. Delegates also registered
from the Puyallup Tribe of Tacoma, WA. Several large groups of 10 or more
delegates attended from BC, Yukon and Northwest Territories. The delegates
travelling the farthest came from Paulatuk, NWT and Iqaluit in Nunavut.
MCsMCs: Tessa Fraser and Niso Bradford were the MCs for the Opening Ceremonies,
daily Opening Exercises and Banquet and Entertainment Evening. Tessa is
a member of the Tuhoe tribe of New Zealand and is the youth coordinator
in BC. Niso Bradford is of the Odawa-Cree Nation, presently living in
Brantford ON. He has been a trainer for 15 years, specializing in Native
Youth Leadership and Adult Leadership Training.
Welcome Ceremony
Welcome: Delegates
were welcomed to the Conference by the Chinook Songcatchers, a family
group who performed Squamish and Nisga’a songs. Maurice Nahanee
of the Chinook Songcatchers told the delegates that he was “happy
in my heart “ to be at the Conference and he asked the ancestors
to witness the work of the Conference with the Greeting of the Day song.
Elders
Elders: Elders
Dorris Peters and Mr. Andrew McGuiness shared their wisdom with many of
the youth during the Conference. Following her Opening prayer, Ms. Peters
told the delegates that the youth are our tomorrow and urged them to recapture
their spirituality, culture and language “because that is our strength”.
Elder Andrew McGuiness urged the delegates to start to find their direction
by learning from the Elders.
Keynote Speakers
Keynote Speaker:
Dr. Richard Littlebear, President of Chief Dull Knife College, Lame Deer,
Montana began his powerful Keynote Speech on Gangs and Culture by welcoming
the delegates in his own Cheyenne language. He explained that in his language
to welcome someone is to invite them into a place of honour in the host’s
house. Dr. Littlebear said he is working toward revitalizing the Cheyenne
language and explained how language influences many aspects of knowledge
- respect, honour, how you think, how you act. He said that youth are looking
to urban gangs for their identity but “we have everything in our tribal
culture to give youth identity - distinctive colours, clothes, language,
music and heroes. We need to make young people see our cultures as viable
and valuable, as valuable as anything they see in movies and videos.”
Guest Speakers
Guest Speaker
the Hon. Tom Christensen, Minister of Aboriginal Rights and Reconciliation
for BC, said it was great to see so many youth at the Conference and to
see the leadership role that the Elders are taking. “The province
needs to support gatherings like this to show the challenges and successes
of youth”, he explained. Shawn
Atleo, Regional Vice Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, told delegates
that he believes there are major changes ahead for Aboriginal people but
“we still have our songs and dances and our powerful connection to
the land”. He urged the delegates to remember that “our relationships
with one another allowed us to survive and we need to continue to help one
another”. Plenary Sessions
Plenary Sessions:
The Crystal Meth and Aboriginal Youth Panel. Addressed the effects of crystal
meth from three different perspectives: of a former addict, of the parent
of an addict and from the treatment centre. Kevin Henry, a 21 year old former
crystal meth addict, shared his own story of addiction and recovery. During
his five years of addiction to crystal meth, he ended up in jail, experienced
hallucinations, heard voices, got beat up and “let drug dealers ruin
my life”. But he survived and is now sharing his negative experiences
to influence others in a positive way through the Crystal Meth Victoria
Society. Grand Chief
Grand Chief
Clarence Pennier of the Sto:lo Nation in southern BC congratulated Kevin
for his courage in sharing his story. Chief Pennier told the delegates about
the effect of crystal meth on his own family. His 17 year old daughter started
using crystal meth with her friends at school. This changed how he and his
wife thought about their lives and their family, he said. “It’s
been tough - children don’t follow a manual growing up”, he
said. He is now working in his territory to develop a coordinated approach
to drug treatment and enforcement. Ms. Victor
Wenona Victor
is a member of the Sto:lo Nation and is Justice Manager for Sto:lo. She
has been involved with the Xwe’a:yem Stolo Youth Healing Centre for
seven years. Ms. Victor explained that many of the struggles of Aboriginal
people are the result of colonization and the loss of culture and language.
“The next question is “what are we going to do about it to take
responsibility for ourselves”. Our cultures are grounded in the notion
of respect and learning from the Elders, she said. Our children need to
be able to dream and to make those dreams a reality, she said. Martial
Arts
Master Michael
Sirota of Sirota’s Alchymy Martial Arts School in Richmond BC and
a large group of both novice and advanced students gave an entertaining
and exciting demonstration of kicking and striking techniques, self-defense
and breaking boards - then invited delegates to join in. Following the demonstration,
four students from the Aatsie Davie School at Kwadacha First Nation (Fort
Ware BC) gave a demonstration of Tae Kwon Do. Workshops
Workshops: Twenty-nine
workshops were offered to delegates over the three days. Workshop topics
included: the effects of crystal on Aboriginal youth, exploring the indigenous
way of knowing and being through art, First Nations culture and youth gangs,
gang violence and bullying prevention, helping youth to develop and maintain
boundaries, personal empowerment, essentials in proposal writing, respecting
and protecting our bodies, U.Decide - about the realities and consequences
of drinking and driving, and youth suicide prevention.
Tours~Reality Check & Rockclimbing
Three sessions
of the Reality Check for Indigenous People program were organized since
it had been so popular at previous conferences. Fifteen participants in
each session were bussed to the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver to see the
realities of life on the street and to acquire new insights into the problems
facing young people in this harsh urban environment. Thirty delegates were
also bussed to The Hang Out, an indoor rock climbing centre in Richmond
where they learned the basics of climbing, developed self-confidence and
had fun during the three hour session. Banquet
& Entertainment
Banquet &
Entertainment: A Banquet and Entertainment Evening was arranged for the
second evening of the Conference. After the Opening by the Conference Elders,
delegates enjoyed a buffet dinner. Following dinner, Gino Odjick, former
Vancouver Canucks hockey player and a respected Aboriginal role model, spoke
about his achievements during his career and in business and encouraged
the youth to follow their dreams. Herb Strongeagle, a board member of Many
Nations Financial Services, a Conference sponsor, also inspired the delegates
to strive to reach their goals. He excelled at track and field, baseball
and hockey. His athletic achievements were honoured in 1952 with the Tom
Longboat Medal. He received a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce from the University
of Ottawa, playing hockey while he attended school. 7th
Generation
After the dinner,
Hip hop artists 7th Generation entertained the delegates with a performance.
Following an hour long concert, the group entertained at a youth dance party
until 10:30 pm. The first dancers of the evening to get up and demonstrate
their moves were Elders Dorris Peters and Andrew McGuiness. They were greeted
by a huge round of applause from all the delegates. Sponsors
Sponsors: The
following organizations provided funding to assist in the overall conference
costs:
* Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
* Many Nations Financial Services Limited.
* BC Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation
* BC Ministry of Public Safety & Solicitor General.
The Conference
Organizers are very grateful to the organization for their support which
helped to make the conference a reality.
Closing Performances
Closing Performances:
Following the Farewell Lunch, MC Tessa Fraser gave an introduction to her
New Zealand Maori culture. Tessa sang songs from New Zealand in the Maori
language and, along with her mother Tina Ngaroimata Fraser and Muavae Vaia,
a delegate to the conference of Samoan heritage, performed a haka. The haka
is the traditional Maori dance used to welcome guests or at a meeting of
warriors. Other delegates stated their farewell by also singing traditional
songs. Conference Evaluations
Evaluations:
The Conference was a huge success. Many delegates noted in their Conference
evaluations that they are already making plans to attend next year.
Comments from
some of the Delegates: It’s such a great experience for all of our
youth - they get strong in their opinions and values and are proud of their
culture I am impressed by the personality, pride and happiness of all the
people here. Thank you so much for this wonderful experience. The conference
was full of humanity, respect, love, laughter and enjoyment, I am a Teacher
Assistant and found this conference excellent compared to other conferences
I have attended - we got real and valid information to work with our youth.
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