About 160 students from five central Alberta school districts played Indigenous games, learned about weaving, native plants, and how to speak Cree at Red Deer Polytechnic on Thursday.
The goal of the Inspiring Success Youth Conference is bringing First Nations, Métis and Inuit students in Grade 8 together to discover their heritage — and to build community, said Logan Beauchamp, one of the event’s organizers.
A decade ago, while Beauchamp was attending school in Whitecourt, he had no connection to other Indigenous students. “I felt like an outsider. I didn’t have a group. I knew that I was Métis, but I didn’t know what it meant,” he said.
Now he is a member of the national group We Matter, which supports Indigenous youths. Beauchamp founded the annual conference while he was still an RDP student in 2022.
Having learned about the high drop-out rate for First Nations and Métis youth between middle school and high school, he felt having an Indigenous youth conference in the crucial year of Grade 8 could help. The idea was to introduce kids to their culture, to each other, and to the idea of continuing their education through post-secondary.
Red Deer Public and Catholic Schools, Chinook’s Edge, Wolf Creek, and Star Catholic Schools from the Wetaskiwin area, are now participants — as is RDP’s Indigenous Student Services and the Red Deer Native Friendship Society.
It’s great to see the event growing, said Cree knowledge-keeper Clare Butterfly, who feels learning about their own culture is great for the students’ self-confidence and self-identity.
Skilled crafts people — including hide tanners, beaders, and weavers — gave hands-on lessons at RDP on Thursday. Youths also played Indigenous games and heard stories from elders, as well as inspirational keynote speaker Dallas Soonias. The Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School graduate is the first Indigenous player on a national volleyball team.
“We want them to dream big and to focus on their dreams,” said Carolynne Muncer, Indigenous learning co-ordinator at Chinook’s Edge School Division.
Many teenagers were enthusiastic about the activities. Métis student Serenity Lynch, of Red Deer Catholic Schools, said she enjoyed finger weaving and learning about what different coloured yarns represent.
John Harris, a Chinook’s Edge student, said he liked hearing about indigenous history because he didn’t know much about it before.
There was also a focus at the conference on youth mental health and resilience.
Hayley Christen, indigenous co-ordinator for Red Deer Public Schools, said, “We want them to stay well and, if they have difficulty, learn to overcome it.”
Muncer noted having healthy and educated young people is crucial for Canada’s future, since the Indigenous demographic is the country’s fastest growing.
Elder John Sinclair praised the warm, welcoming atmosphere at the event. He said the students “are accepted here, cared for here, and fed here—and that is the full example of our way of life.”