Last month two of our NYA Ambassadors had the chance to participate in a virtual Dene Education Summit. Here’s a recap of the summit and what they learned.

Written by Patti Wedawin and Topsy Banksland

Day 1: Monday, July 27, 2020 

The Dene Nation Education Summit was not what we expected. It was so much more. All of these amazing leaders, influencers, educators have met for 3 days, 3 hours each through Zoom and we had the privilege to be there and listen. In total there was four main speakers and we’d break into smaller groups during the last hour of each session. Each smaller group had another main speaker that had a specific topic to discuss with us. We shared stories, opinions, and bounced ideas back and forth. 

We started every event with introductions from the main speakers and a ceremony; feeding the fire followed by a prayer by Doris Camsell. Joanne introduced one of the main speakers of the day, the Dene National Chief, Chief Norman Yakelaya.  

Chief Yakelaya wants our nation as a whole to find out who we are as Dene in education. Education is the way to go, he says, either in a classroom, on the land, or listening to stories from our grandparents. It’s important to follow through with these types of education while still following our spiritual way of life. Chief Yakelaya wants to create a vision for Dene education. He goes on to explain how COVID has affected some people in good ways and some in bad ways; some got the chance to explore life on the land as our ancestors did, some thought they had nothing to do and just use their time in front of a screen. The moral we took from that was that some people took a step back, opened their eyes, and saw an opportunity rather than a stop on life. 20-30 years ago, Chief Yakelaya read a research paper that was about some indigenous communities and students were thriving in education, culture, and just in general while others were not. He took a three-day course in Arizona that was related to this research paper and was determined to meet the author ever since he came across it, and he had the pleasure to do so just last year.  

Chief Norman Yakelaya then introduced Dr. Stephen Cornell, who joined us from the traditional lands of Apsaalooke Nation (the Crow Tribe) in south-central Montana in the United States.  

Dr. Cornell is an educator and researcher with a PhD and he goes on to talk about the indigenous education that we are still fighting for in Canada. What Dr. Cornell had to offer is a professional career spent working closely with Indigenous nations and organizations in North America and beyond on self-determination, governance, development, and related issues. Dr. Cornell and his colleagues have been extraordinarily fortunate in being able to learn from a diverse group of Native nations over the years, nations that are in the process, as we are, of reclaiming their right to govern themselves and their lands in ways of their own choosing. He wants to share some of what he’s learned in the course of those collaborations.  

Dr. Cornell focuses on two revolutions in the Indigenous world that have been ongoing over the last few decades. They have been emerging and evolving since at least the 1970s, sometimes making progress, sometimes not. The first is a revolution in the field that this summit is about: an education revolution. It’s the reclaiming, by Indigenous peoples, of a prominent place in education for Indigenous knowledge, experience, ideas, culture, history, and aspirations, and the realization of that claim in altered curricula, more Native teachers, Native controlled schools, greater community engagement in education, vastly expanded language learning, and much more.  

Dr. Cornell calls the second one the political revolution. For a long time, Indigenous politics was focused primarily on fighting for recognition and asserting rights: to land, to self-government, to welfare, to the maintenance of traditional cultural practices, and so on. That type of politics, in many ways, centers central governments. Essentially, it is a politics about them, those decision-makers in Ottawa and Washington or in the provinces, territories, and states. It’s about what they do an effort to get them to change. Even in the most politically bitter years of the 1960s and 1970s, Indigenous action in both our countries was highly concerned with changing rights in establishment and government policy. Protest, marches, land occupations, litigation—much of it was about getting them to recognize us and the rights we believe are ours. Dr. Cornell suggests that we stop listening to Ottawa and Washington and start listening to ourselves as a nation. To stop thinking that we are victims and start thinking that we are victors.  

Doris Camsell then ended the summit of the day with a prayer. 

Day 2: Tuesday, July 28, 2020 

On the second day of the summit, Melanie Bennet of the Yukon First Nations gave a keynote presentation titled ‘Yukon’s Story’, highlighting the journey of Yukon First Nation Education. Beginning with the long history of the Federal and provincial governments control of the education curriculum for First Nations of the Yukon.  

After some background information, Bennet then discussed the recent Yukon First Nation gatherings on education and leadership, discussing the proposed options for First Nation control for First Nation education, and the current Yukon First Nation students’ statistics of foundation skills assessments. With the information and data gathered, this paved the way to propose what the YFN wants in terms of autonomy in education.   

One of main points was also the community consultations and what they the common themes the people want for the children in school, such as: education success, language and culture as high priority to their self-governing nations, make sure to have a decolonized system and have it “Our Way”, and the desire to see successful First Nation systems. This is important because todays northern youth have to “learn walk in two worlds” with modern living and still obtaining one’s culture. 

 Bennet then discussed the details of the Framework Agreement process, and then the moving forward with Yukon First Nation Education Directorate, and the plan they currently have in place. 

Bennet’s keynote was an incredible story of how Yukon First Nations are taking initiative of education in their territory, and was an important contribution to the conversation of this summit. This definitely encouraged alliance with the Northwest Territories and Yukon in terms pushing for Indigenous led education, and sparked more aspiration to improve the current education for northern youth. 

Day 3: Wednesday July 29, 2020 

Dr. Crystal Gail Fraser is Gwichyà Gwich’in and originally from Inuvik and Dachan Choo Gę̀hnjik in the Northwest Territories. She was recently appointed as Assistant Professor in the Department of History & Classics and the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta. Her PhD research focused on the history of student experiences at Indian Residential Schools in the Inuvik Region between 1959 and 1996. Crystal’s work makes a strong contribution to how scholars engage with Indigenous research methodologies and theoretical concepts, our understanding of Indigenous histories during the second half of the twentieth century, and how northern Canada was unique in relation to the rest of the settler nation.  

Dr. Fraser started her presentation with some statistics about the summit itself, the future of education, top challenges facing education, and the pre-summit surveys that we participants have completed before each summit. The first pre-summit question was “What best describes your role in education in the NWT?” and in total, there were 18 options to choose from. The top 7 responses, from most to least, were “other, educator, youth, parent, government staff, elder, and chief or regional grand chief.” There were other stats that she conducted from us that were rounded up in her presentation.  

Dr. Fraser then moves on to visions for the future and lists the top 3 highest ranked ideas, which are: 

• Students in a healthy, safe environment that honours and reflects their community culture in all ways 
• Every school with high school classes offers courses at all levels using a mixture of technology and face to face delivery 
• All families participating in the learning environment 

Then she lists the top 3 highest ranked challenges: 

• Lack of Indigenous Early Childhood Strategy and Framework in some regions 
• Lack of trades training especially in community schools 
• Indigenous people lack control over their education 

We break into our mini sessions after this and discussed ideas executed with indigenous identities and cultures as central and foundational.  

Dr. Fraser then speaks about white supremacy and sends us a document written by Peggy McIntosh which we have attached at the end of this post along with their full presentations and CBC articles that have also covered the Dene Nation Summit. 

We are very pleased and honoured to have been a part of this historic event and we thank you for taking the time to read our take on it. Masicho! 

Dr. Cornell’s presentation: https://denendeheducation.ca/images/cornell.pdf 

Melanie Bennet’s presentation: https://denendeheducation.ca/images/mb.pdf 

Yukon First Nation Education Directorate website: https://www.yfned.ca/ 

Dr. Fraser’s presentation: https://denendeheducation.ca/images/cf2.pdf 

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack by Peggy McIntosh: https://uucsj.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/White-Privilege-Unpacking-the-Invisible-Knapsack.pdf 

CBC articles: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/dene-nation-education-summit-1.5671130 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/unwanted-inheritance-overcoming-intergenerational-trauma-1.4892636

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nwt-education-department-system-federal-audit-1.5454922

Last week, our Interns had the chance to talk with Tanya and Nicole from International Experience Canada (IEC). They talked about the kinds of opportunities youth have to travel, learn, and work in Canada and around the world. Here is what our interns had to say (also check out some photos from their own travel experiences!).

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“I was very fortunate to be a part of the call we had with IEC. Hearing about the kind of opportunities they offer to youth like me who are eager to learn and travel. My favourite part of the call was having healthy discussions about the importance of development, sustainability, benefits, inclusivity, knowledge, gaining new skills, experiences, building global relationships and connections. I hope to get involved with IEC in the near future”

Lilly Parr, Cape Dorset NU

“During the call with International Experience Canada I was amazed to hear about such a wonderful opportunity. My first thought was, ‘everybody back home should be applying to this.’ I’m thankful to have been a part of the call as it made me remember how much fun I had going to other countries. You not only learn about the other country (day-to-day life, culture, history) you also learn so much about yourself, and who you are in the world. I look forward to hearing more success stories of Northerners travelling outside of their home.”

Jordan Takkiruq, Gjoa Haven NU

“I was honored to be on a call with International Experience Canada, it felt like a next step for me in my travel career. I graduated this year from Algonquin College with a diploma in Tourism and Travel Services. Hearing their stories and the experiences they have given youth was incredible. They learned a lot about different cultures, lifestyles, traditions, and brought it home with them. We got to chat about where we each got to travel to as well, and we pretty much said the same thing about bringing home what we learned. For example, I spent a summer in Costa Rica and brought home sustainability. I try to use it in my everyday life. I hope to experience this myself with IEC or even know future students that will. It’s an experience of a lifetime.”

Patti Wedawin, Gameti NT

“It was nice to hear from International Experience Canada. I know they offer great experiences such as cross-cultural learning, international travel and self-independence. One of my friends took part in this program and I was amazed by the things she had done and accomplished. It has inspired me to take part one day because I’d like to share my culture and also learn about different cultures. I believe that getting out of your comfort zones are ways you grow as a person. It’s important to take a chance.”

Hayley Totalik, Taloyoak NU

“Learning about previous International Experience Canada success stories and how beneficial it can be, especially if you are a young graduate, was encouraging to me. Aspects of independence, learning of other cultures, different ways of living, and international travel were what caught my interest. This presentation highlighted such great points that are relevant to many northern youth. The program is definitely an option for me and made me think about my own next steps. Thank you IEC for sharing this opportunity!”

Topsy Banksland, Ulukhaktok NT

Learn more about IEC, their programs and what they do here!

Written by Hayley Totalik

Hello, my name is Hayley Totalik and I’m from Taloyoak, Nunavut. I’m a new high school graduate and I’m currently working with Northern Youth Abroad. I also participated in NYA’s Canadian, Next, International, and Northern Youth in Service programs. NYA is a non-profit organization that offers youth from the north many great opportunities such as travel, work, and volunteer experiences.

I was inspired by a young lady name Tasha Tologanak to start this School Bag Project. She gave children backpacks with school supplies last year to the students in Cambridge Bay and I thought it was a clever idea.

This is important to me because I know that all these remote communities struggle with outrageous costs of transportation and food prices, I see and know that struggle to get something so basic at a reasonable price. I’d like to give back to my community and Gjoa Haven by offering students school bags full of supplies for this upcoming school year. I know that these packages will allow the youth of Netsilik and Quqshuun Ilihaqvik an easier and more efficient school year in this time.

As we grow it can be a struggle to be a leader because many people face challenges that affect their motivation to make a change. On the positive note, it can also be very rewarding to challenge yourself and to have words said like “I did it” and “It happened because of me”. I do it to see all the bright smiles and so that they know anything is possible if you work hard. I didn’t have many role models growing up and thought a lot of things were out of my league because I come from such a small town. I want children to believe that they don’t have limits, and that it’s possible to achieve your dreams.

You can donate to my project Go Fund Me at https://www.gofundme.com/f/school-bag-project, or help me spread the word by sharing this blog!

Thanks for reading

Hayley

Written by Jordan Takkiruq

Last week I was able to have a chat with Jennifer Sokol, Senior Policy Analyst at Polar Knowledge Canada (POLAR).  We talked about the creation of polar knowledge, job opportunities, and current projects they have been working on. Growing up I have always had an interest in science, participating in numerous science fairs and camps. Currently a Bachelor of Science Student at Mount Allison University, I wanted to learn more about what my options are for when I graduate. Thanks to Northern Youth Abroad’s (NYA) connections they got me in touch with POLAR.

During our call, Jennifer explained that infrastructure was needed in the north to promote science and research as well as involvement with northern communities.  Ensuring partnerships were developed with Inuit was also noted, and this led to the construction of the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS) campus, a building that incorporates traditional knowledge with science. POLAR is the organization that was tasked with operating the research station and to build capacity in science in the north. Having headquarters in the north is key to a successful partnership; for the north by the north. 

POLAR offers many government entry level positions in science, policy, admin, and even as technicians. New staff members receive support to learn skills they want to build on. This is accomplished either internally with POLAR, or externally with courses. There are positions for high school students and for post-secondary students and includes internships and co-op opportunities. Students and other staff have gone to conferences across Canada to present their work as well as see other research being done.  

One recent project that POLAR has been working on with the Royal Canadian Geographic Society (RCGS), are floor maps for teachers. They are able to give a northern perspective to maps, having the arctic as the main part of the huge map. POLAR is also a supporter of ACTUA, an organization that brings science camps to northern communities. POLAR is striving to continue to co-develop their new science and technology 5-year framework for 2020-2025 with Indigenous organizations across the arctic. They have already started with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.

As an Inuit student who would like to work in the world of science someday, I really enjoyed my call with Jennifer. I am glad to be able to use NYA as a platform to share what I learned from POLAR. I hope to learn and share more opportunities for those interested in science and research. Specifically, about the environment and climate in the north. One day I will be researching climate change, that is my goal.

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It is now August 4, and today is a free day. I think most people are just packing up and finishing assignments like I am. We’re also leaving for Montreal tomorrow. I have no idea whether or not I should spend my remaining money at Bayshore Mall or for Montreal. Other than money stuff, I have no roommate and the empty room is used as storage- so I have a lot of things to help put away, I think. I wish we could’ve stayed longer.

I got to have an amazing and hilarious time with my friends, especially Shavanna Ashevak, Victoria Piryuaq, and Jeannie Kalluk. The other Participants were good, but I shared a lot of fun experiences with them. Almost everyone has boldly said “I love you” to one another.

I also did my Personal Learning Project! As I mentioned in my other blog, it was about improving my knowledge in drawing buildings and more on colour theory. During my time at the art studio, I learned that they mostly teach about painting, which I find is too much effort for me. I also don’t have the space or money to do painting at home. I completely forgot about the buildings part because I had such a fun time going out of my comfort zone, (I rarely use this work) artistically.

There was many MANY things that happened throughout the summer, but I think it would be better to narrow it down with a top 10 list:

10. Meeting Monte the therapy dog. 9. Going on a train. so smooth. 8. Visiting the Ottawa Art Gallery. 7. Going on a Ferris Wheel. 6. The shopping spree with Shavanna JUST before curfew at Loblaw’s. 5. Seeing the cool dance competition with so many aesthetically appealing people at the Chinatown Night Market. 4. Walking along the Alexandra bridge at sunset. 3. Doing a presentation and hanging out with OCISCO. 2. The AG7 camp, overall. 1. Being at the Just Add Milk cereal bar, the first one in Ottawa.

And that’s the best experiences of the summer. I have a lot of packing to do today, and the last bit of assignments to finish. Thank you to everyone who has worked with Northern Youth Abroad this summer. I hope y’all have a great life.

For my personal learning project, I chose Acting–during the session 1 attended, we did vocal movement and physical exercises, after that we did a small scene. The scene that we did, we all had to do three discoveries, which were:

1) Expecting our family to be at the dock before leaving (by ship) for a year

2) Being shocked/ heartbroken to find out the ship has already left

3) Discovering that it hasn’t actually left, and that we’re able to say “bye.”

The reason why I chose acting for my personal learning project is that ever since I was young, I always wanted to attend an acting class–and Nunavut being “isolated” from the rest of Canada, I never had the chance to take an acting class.

When I say Nunavut being “isolated” what I actually mean is, Nunavut is the only territory that doesn’t have connecting roads to other communities, and the cost of flying from one community to another is crazy expensive.
After taking the Acting session, I learnt that I get afraid of public speaking in huge crowds.

What I found interesting is that you don’t have to take Acting to try and become an Actor, you can also taking Acting to be better at doing presentation, or to just get creative/ expand your creativity, or if you just want to learn to be a clear speaker in general.

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Hello, My name is Lucy Anne Okheena.

I’ve been in Dartmouth for over 2 weeks now and I can honestly say I am having a good time, even though there has been a few bumps along the way. I’ve experienced a lot of new things like taking public transit. I’ve never done that before. I’ve only ever taken a school bus which I guess is basically the same? I’ve also taken a ferry for the first time which was very cool and a lot quicker than the Bus to Halifax.

My host mother’s name is Leticia. She has 6 cats and they are all very cute although I’m not used to that many all at once. My favorite cat is named Peta. She is very cuddly and jumps a lot, she’ll literally jump from the countertop to the table in the kitchen… Her daughter’s name is Kayla who is travelling at the moment and one son named Brecken.

I work at a Boys and Girls club and I honestly didn’t know if I would actually like it or not because I’ve never worked with a lot of kids before and I didn’t know how my co-workers were going to be. But once I actually started I LOVED IT. The kids are just so adorable and beany. They are just little beans. My coworkers are very nice and they’re very funny. I don’t think I’m ever not smiling or bored at work unless one of the children are misbehaving. But yeah, I’m having the best time.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog

-Lucy

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Hello, my name is Lynn, I’m 16 and a participant in the Canadian program of northern youth abroad, I’m from the small community of WhaTi, and my placement is in a part of Ottawa called Manotick.

I used to stay in Owen Sound, but due to a little interruption of a little miscommunication, I had to move to another family. My new host mother name is Ruth B. (Nickname) and her husband Dave, they have three beautiful daughters that are kind of close to our age, and they are pretty nice, understandable and patience with us, as we try to wake up in the morning, we still arrive to work on time, and tired. 

My work placement schedule is different, we both have to work at two different libraries, the manotick public library is ten minutes away and only Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, because Monday is close and Friday is half off, and I only heard the other is more bigger and yeah, lots of books.

The things me and my buddy Sheena has done so far, is kayaking, went to the movies and watched the new Lion King, Toy Story 4, and soon to be the new Spider-Man; far from home. As we go to manotick, we went to the three story mall called Bayshore and only thing came out of there is a build-a-bear, which I got a pikachu named my own, then went to a centre called Byward, it has the sign Ottawa and took some pictures. And the arcade, Fun haven’, it has a mini rollercoaster that spins around, laser tag, and bumper cars. And for the first time, we went to Ikea, and laid on beds for a nap.

To be honest, not long ago, I was homesick and wanted to go home, I felt sad and all, but they say I only have less then two weeks and can do it, I talked to my sister about it, saying to call or tell her if something like this happens again, but now I’m pretty excited to go back to Re-O and reunite with others, hoping that they have a good time traveling.

Thanks for taking the time for reading my one of a kind blog. Eh?

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Hello, My name is Crystal Enoogoo and I am from Arctic Bay, Nunavut, and I am Participant in a Canadian program 2019. Thank you to everyone who supported the program and especially my mentor Paulette Campbell, without your support my experience with NYA wouldn’t be possible.

My host community is in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. There are many things you could easily access in St. John’s. It’s not isolated like Arctic Bay. In St. John’s, I would have to go to bus stop at 8:30 am and it would take half hour to go to my work placement and back to host parents, but I didn’t mind because it got me over my fears of learning how to use the bus alone.

All summer I volunteered at the St. John’s First Light Native Friendship Center. I worked with 10-15 kids at day camp. We mostly go to the park with swimming pool and without out the pool so we bring crafts such as sewing supplies, painting rocks or papers, coloring, key chains and bracelets. They play games, water fights, and play with instruments. I supervise kids and help the other staffs clean up and help the other staffs organize the activities. At my work placement, I learned lot of things more than I thought, like being more patient, being more flexible and open-minded, and my time management has improved a lot since orientation.

I really loved my host family I stayed with over the summer. My host mother is Erin, my host father is Kent, and the dog named Molly. They’re super fun to be around because they’re pretty open. It feels like I’m home because of they’re pretty welcoming and warm, which made the stay very comfortable.

Some of the fun things I did over the summer were: I joined the local soccer team and its 15 and under, I find it so much fun, lots of running we play every Mondays and Wednesdays. I started playing 2 weeks ago and I couldn’t get a goal.  On this last Monday I finally had a goal and my teacher/mentor was watching me with her friend and her husband. I met up with Leetia Kalluk and Paulette at the mall.  It was good to see Leetia and her boyfriend bought a new SUV the day we meet up. Dawn, Erin, and I also went to unexpected Ferry trip to Bell Island, we went to go watch whales and puffins they were lots of puffins but we didn’t see Whales but it was still fun.

Being a Participant for NYA has been a lot of fun and challenging so far. The program helped me so much my English is improving so much since I left Arctic Bay, being more open about my feelings, learning how to work as a team, learning about the city life.

What I’ll be doing with my experience with NYA when I get home. I’ll try to let the teenagers amazed about my experience with this program so that they’ll be interested in going NYA and I’m going to have presentation when I get home and its very important for our future.

Thank you for reading my Blog!

Sincerely

Crystal Enoogoo