Hi, my name is Sunshine.

I’m from Gameti NWT and this summer I am living in Halifax, Nova Scotia with my host mom Michelle and her 4 cats Kula, Mango, Gracie, Mollie, and I am volunteering at the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre here. At the centre, I help with kids and the programs that the centre has. Since my arrival, I have gone to The Royal Nova Scotia Tattoo. I had an amazing experience there, I took pictures with the performers. On Canada Day, I went to Truro and spent time swimming in the pool, relaxing in the hot tub, watched the fireworks and made smores on the fire. I have also visited Peggy’s Cove and took great pictures there and I met with a local artist who showed me how to paint clouds on a piece she was working on, it was a great experience.

With my volunteer placement I visited one of the local museums, which was such a fun time. We did lots of activities with the kids and I also got to help make meals for the kids during program. I also had the chance to have a spa day at Remedy Facial Bar & Spa. We had self-serve facials, manicures and pedicures, and had such great service, and after we went for a walk at public gardens. I went to my first concert where we went to see Classified, I am such a huge fan of them now. I attended my first Pow Wow in Sipekne’katik First Nation and I wanted to cry seeing the dancers. It was such great experience and I loved it. I also went to my first Pride Parade where I got to walk in the parade with PSAC Atlantic, which was so prideful, and I loved the energy and experience. I attended my first boxing match and took pictures with the fighters, and it was so fun to watch and gain some knowledge. I have also been to the beach, and it was my first-time swimming in the ocean. I do not like the taste of salt water but I had great experiences there and found some seashells to bring back home. At night, I went on motorcycle ride and had so much fun.

It has been a busy summer and I am so thankful to have this opportunity and experience though NYA.

Hello everyone,

My name is Shana Ulayuk from Clyde River, Nunavut.

I am a Participant in the 2022 NYA Next. I love construction class as I’m learning how to use the different kinds of tools and about the measurements. Right now, we’re making dog houses that we’re going to donate. After making dog houses we are going to make picture frames to bring home.

My Personal Learning Project was sewing class. Assela taught us from her home. I chose this for a project as I was interested in a sewing program. I made a small bag with a sewing machine, and it was so complicated. It was more complicated than I thought! I had to have patience even though I really wanted to finish my project.

Thank you for reading,

Shana

Hi, my name is Sienna Aitaok. I am from Cambridge bay Nunavut, I’ve been a participant since 2019 and finally got to travel with NYA in 2022.

I am enjoying it here in Ottawa, here in Algonquin college campus. My favourite thing about the program is carpentry, as I would like to be an electrician some day. During our trades workshop we are making dog houses and donating them to animal shelters.

On our free time here in Ottawa we can explore Algonquin college around campus. So far I am enjoying my time here in Ottawa, someday I hope I can attend this school here at Algonquin College.

Thanks for listening! Quana,

Sienna Aitaok

Hi, my name is Kimberly Ukpatiku.

I live in Baker Lake, Nunavut. I am 18 years old and this summer I travelled down south to Kingston, Ontario! It’s been about three weeks I’ve been down here and I have had so much fun! I enjoy swimming in the lakes my host family takes me to. This summer I found out that I have a deep love to all kinds of animals and I have even carried a frog and fed a donkey! My host mom pet a bumble bee and I haven’t got the courage to pet one just yet. I think the only animal I’m scared of here is the wasp.

This is my first time away from home without any of my family members and this is also the furthest I travelled away from home. I do get homesick and I am just starting to feel the effects of it but I try to keep myself busy so I don’t be in my room all the time. My buddy also decided to go back home early so it’s also been a little lonely. I don’t know too many people here so I’m looking to make new friends soon.

A lot of things are a little nerve racking but that’s because they’re all new to me. I rode a bus for the first time this summer and I went to the mall by myself too. I also got my own debit card this summer! I never thought I’d get one this soon.

My host family is super nice and very eco-friendly. Their names are Carolyn and Michael (like my little brother’s name). They compost what they can and also recycle a lot of their things. I’m not used to that because at home all we have is a garbage can, so I have to keep reminding myself to recycle and compost instead. They bike or walk to wherever they are able and only use the car when they have to. They have two pet turtles named Pinky and Samson and two fish that I got to name. I named the fish Orange and Blue.

I work at a place called Martha’s Table. They prepare and serve hot meals to people who have financial troubles and don’t have enough food to feed themselves. They also have some other necessities such as toilet paper, clothing, and hand-sanitizer to give out if the person asks for it. Everyone there is so nice and I love it there. I found out today that it is named after Mary in the bible who opened up her home to people who came by, so that’s pretty interesting.

I love Kingston and the first week I was here, I already wanted to move here! A lot of people are very friendly and there are tons of places to go swimming. I’m very glad that I got this opportunity to travel here this summer and learn about new things! Honestly though, I can’t wait to go home to family.

Thank you for reading about my experiences here so far!

Kimberly

On March 15th, twenty students from across Nunavut and the Northwest Territories began a 16-week bridging program with Camosun College. The students formed two groups – one with students joining remotely from their home communities, while ten gathered in Fort Providence, NWT to learn together from there.

Students are taking foundation courses in English, Math, Biology and Exercise Science while also having the opportunity to form a community of learners from the North. This program is an initiative of Northern Compass, in partnership with Northern Loco, Camosun College and NYA and basically came to be from the opportunities available to develop remote programming during the Covid 19 pandemic.

Over the past 3 weeks, the students have been working hard, learning lots, and getting to know each other. They have been doing virtual science labs, online lectures, fitness classes, and are taking part in social activities. Students in Fort Providence have also gone out on the land for a weekend, gone skating and skiing, and played sports together.

What some of our students have said so far about the program

This program has helped me getting closer to get to my goals to civil engineering, this program has helped me upgrade my school curriculum. It has been wonderful meeting new people.

Nathan, Pangnirtung, NU

All these opportunities I’m taking in, is making me feel very confident about my future!

William, Fort Liard, NWT

I am really enjoying this program. This is a gateway to going into college and a great way to meet new friends.

Shannel, Fort Providence, NWT

I’m learning a lot. Starting to understand my needs and what I have to do

Brandon, Naujaat, NU

I chose this program to gain more experience and encouragement. I hope to learn more during this course. I’m also having fun learning, this is a really good program and I’d like to thank everyone for being supportive.

Shannon, Kugaaruk, NU

Join us in celebrating their great start in the program and in wishing them success in the rest of their studies!

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.