Youth gather to help prepare for a better future.

WINNIPEG

Approximately 500 First Nation youth from across Canada gathered in Winnipeg recently to discuss the issues that concern them and to help draft a document designed to help First Nation communities prepare for a better future.

The youth were participants in the third National First Nations Youth Summit, held from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 and hosted by the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Youth Council and the Manito Ahbee Festival. The theme of the summit was Rebuilding Our Nations - National Unity, Voices from the Community.

On the final day of the summit, organizers and participants gathered to begin hammering out a five-year action plan to address the issues that concern them. The National Youth Council will now take those ideas and recommendations and synthesize them into a final document, the Rebuilding Our Nations Youth Accord.

A press release issued by the AFN at the conclusion of the summit lists some of the recommendations summit participants want to see contained in the accord. Those include making a First Nations history curriculum mandatory within public school systems and requiring all teachers within the system to take courses in First Nations history; recognizing First Nation languages as official languages in Canada; establishing a First Nations History Month; and developing campaigns aimed at getting First Nation youth to vote.

Other points in the action plan include setting up First Nation youth governance systems that include a requirement to hold youth gatherings on a regular basis; increasing funding to First Nation schools; addressing the current problems with funding of post-secondary education for First Nation students; creating healing circles to help deal with intergenerational impacts; focusing on creating environmentally-friendly enterprises that fall in line with First Nation values; and bringing in improvements within the child welfare system that includes providing supports to families as a preferable alternative to removing a child from his or her home.

Travis Boissoneau is one of the co-chairs of the National Youth Council. He believes events like the National Youth Summit are important because they give youth at the community level a chance to be heard.

"One of the main things is getting grassroots input, trying to communicate directly with the youth," he said. "As a national representative youth council, one of our biggest struggles is to find direction directly from the youth."

Much of the feedback from summit participants was very positive, Boissoneau said, with young people expressing their appreciation for having access to a venue that gave them a chance to talk about the issues affecting their communities and their families.

The summit also gave participants a chance to learn more about the National Youth Council and the work it does on behalf of First Nation youth, and how they can get involved.

It was clear from the mood during the closing plenary session that participating in the summit has empowered many of the young people and motivated them to continue the work begun in Winnipeg, Boissoneau said.

"Everybody was enthused and inspired. And one of the toughest things ... is to keep that spirit going, to keep the momentum going. And you could hear it in their voices ... you could hear that they want to keep it going and they want to find avenues to do that."

While the areas the participant see as priorities to be dealt with are many and varied, Boissoneau said a lot of the discussions pointed to a need to reconnect and promote cultures and traditions as a foundation on which to build.

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"You're instilling pride and confidence within the younger people. And with that, it helps the fight against suicide, it helps the fight for healthier lifestyles, it helps with education," he said.

"People spoke of suicide and how do we combat substance abuse and alcohol abuse and the loss of family values and traditional values. A lot of that, it mainly stems back to our cultures and traditions and acknowledging who we are as a people."

While connecting with First Nation youth from across the country was the main benefit of the youth summit, the event also served to get the message out to First Nation communities and the public in about the important role First Nation youth have to plan in building a positive future, Boissoneau said.

"(It) let's people know that young people are moving on. We're finding our place within our governing systems and we're finding our place within society," he said.

When asked if the summit gave him confidence that today's First Nation youth have what it takes to become tomorrow's leaders, Boissoneau's response was a resounding yes.

"I'm even willing to go as far as to say that the leaders are here, as opposed to the future leaders. Everybody who was there in attendance has shown such strength, such confidence and pride to the people that they represent," he said. "The people who were there, you know, everybody had a purpose, everybody had a place."

Highlights of the accord will be presented to the AFN Special Chiefs Assembly to take place in Ottawa in December.

BY CHERYL PETTEN

Sweetgrass Staff Writer