Heart of the city hosts gang issue conference

Page 3

The WhiteStone Project, initiated by the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples, is holding a conference on Aboriginal gang issues on March 30 and 31 in Edmonton.

The two-day conference, called Circling Winds: Get out, Stay out, Help out, will address such issues as the affects of gang violence in the community; community feedback on gang activity; positive community role models; and community support.

The WhiteStone Project is funded by Canadian Heritage, the Urban Multipurpose Aboriginal Youth Centre Initiative, and the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples. The project is a 12-week course offered to urban Aboriginal young adults and includes a spiritual component to help participants reconnect with their culture. Students also take computer classes and are in the process of making a video that will chronicle their successes and trials during the course.

When the WhiteStone Project submitted a proposal for funding to the Urban Multipurpose Aboriginal Youth Centre Initiative, one of the areas the group focused on was the gang issue. They did not know of anyone who was addressing the Aboriginal gang issues that were surfacing in the city of Edmonton.

"There was nobody bringing people together to talk about gang issues. Individually people were doing things, as in agencies, but collectively we wanted to try to bring everyone together," said Marcel Pelletier, project facilitator.

Co-ordinators involved in making the conference a reality are the students who attend the Whitestone Project.

"The students are actually the co-ordinators of the conference. They are each assigned an area, such as volunteer co-ordinator, or as the Elders co-ordinator etc.," said Pelletier. "They are the ones actually doing all the leg work," he said.

Leona Johnstone, a student in the Whitestone Project, recalls how she got involved in the course and the conference.

"It was the way my life was heading before I came to Edmonton. I was born in a family of 10, and all I really remember is the alcohol, drugs and racism," said Johnstone.

Johnstone, who is from Prince Albert, Sask., recalls sitting at home with her one-year-old boy in Prince Albert and thinking that there was no hope for her future.

"I felt like nobody cared, even though my family was there. I started to see all the bad surroundings I was in, and how my son was seeing his mother drinking, doing drugs and living, day-to-day, fighting with my own people on the streets. Something came into me and made me realize that in order for my son to succeed in life, I had to change," she said.

The two-day conference is expected to see youth from across the province attend. Addiction workers, student counselors and educators from various schools in and out of the community are also expected. A feast and a round dance to honor those who have been affected by Aboriginal gangs is scheduled to take place during the conference.

The students, while busy with their assigned duties, are looking forward to the conference.

"People need support and I want them to know that people care," said student John Kennedy. "Get out, stay out, and help out. Get out of the gang lifestyle. Stay out of the destructive lifestyle and help others out," he said.

Pelletier is excited about the location of the conference.

"Oh, I think it is wonderful. It is going to be held right in the heart of the city. When people talk about the inner city area, there is a bad connotation surrounding the title. I like to call it the heart of the city because this is where everything begins," said Pelletier. "It is not being held in a hotel somewhere outside of the community. We are having it right in the downtown area. It will make a difference because it is community-based. To me that is an advancement forward," he said.