Youth empowerment well attended at the university

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The Youth Empowerment and Recreation Symposium, held April 30 to May 3 at the University of Alberta, aimed to build on what has been good about earlier Aboriginal Youth Conferences in Edmonton and to add a little more.

Dennis Arcand is the main organizer for the event that was presented by Alexander First Nation. He explained that added component was recreation and the University of Alberta the perfect location for the conference.

Not only did the university offer the variety of sports facilities the organizers wanted, but the atmosphere and size of the institution was, in Arcand's words, "a setting conducive to [young people's] well being and personal growth."

Besides picking the location with care, the organizers surrounded themselves with talented First Nations role models. Dale Auger, storyteller and educator; Dallas Arcand and Sekwan Auger, championship dancers; Red Power Squad (Conway Kootenay and Co.), recording artists and popular powwow dancers; Terry Bigcharles, who describes himself as "a traditional dancer, an artist and an ambassador for First Nations"; Asani, a group of female a capella singer-songwriters, several of them educators as well; Arnold, Dennis and Donovan Kootenay, and Donovan Delorme, fastball and softball players and coaches; Mike Ryan, "social activist, youth advocate, facultative educator and public speaker," and winner of many volunteer awards, and there were many others.

Several of these session leaders and role models were once troubled youth, they said. As they talked to the youth participants, who came from all the western provinces and the north their message was clear, "we turned our lives around; we followed our dreams; you can too."

Success stories weren't confined to the professionals, however. On Friday, the first night of the conference, two of the many youthful stars were Jason Tuesday, playing classical guitar; and Stacey Hagerty, singing favorites in her particular country style.

Tuesday delivered his selections with passion and dexterity, and threw in humorous quips for good measure. Hagerty was very poised on stage, singing a variety of country rock and torch songs. She described herself as "born and raised in Alberta" and gave both her parents credit for her musical upbringing.

In tune with the good-natured familiarity of the evening, a young couple trotted up to the stage and did a quick two-step (complete with dip) in time with Hagerty's singing.

Though the conference was good fun and offered a lot of fine entertainment, it had serious times as well. Pipe and sweetgrass ceremonies guided by Native Elders, such as Tom Cranebear, of Siksika First Nation, provided spiritual touchstones for the young participants, as well as a link to traditional culture.

Dennis Arcand told how the conference was planned with the four directions and four kinds of growth in mind: emotional wellness (growth), intellectual growth, health (physical well-being) and spiritual growth.

Several of the teacher-chaperones talked about how important it is to be diligent in all of these directions. For the most part they seemed to approve of the conference and its organization. One teacher said she would have liked to see a little more structure in the recreation seminars. "Without structure," she said, "they tend to pick what they know. Kids need to see that there's more than what they know." She also said that learning the discipline of sports is important.

One of the sessions most discussed by both adults and youth was called Self-Worth and Determination. It was presented by Terry Bigcharles.

"We had to shake hands with the people next to us and say 'I love you'. I didn't think I could do it, but it felt good," said one teenager. Adults talked about how communication has often been very difficult between parents and teenagers and, for many reasons, those three little words have been the hardest to say.

Helen Kutt, from Cold Lake, a program coordinator for Metis Child and Family Services, ac la Biche, said this is the legacy of the boarding schools.

"You were taken away from everything you know," she said. "I was the older sister, and I had a lot of responsibility for my younger brothers. At school I had to watch my brothers being tortured, and I couldn't go to them . . . something shuts down inside; it's self preservation," said Knutt.

Out of these kind of experiences, parents and leaders are still learning to say, like Bigcharles did in his workshop: "you're not alone; others have experienced the same things don't give up on yourself; healing takes a long time."

Another community leader, school teacher Shelly Hamelin, said it's important that young people growing up on reserve and in other small communities see the outside world. She's felt since she herself was a teenager that youth conferences play a very important role in this.

"If you open the door and let them see the outside, they'll step through eventually," she said. "I'm compelled to make my students ask what's out there, look out the window."

Hamelin, who is also a defending North American Badminton Singles Champion, and Margaret Belcourt, teacher's aid and Native liaison for Hythe School, described how frightening it can be for young people both to leave home and then to come home again.

They only want to be accepted and both agreed that it's also vital for the young to be able to talk to their parents. The two women agreed that, "It's great to have empowerment for youth, empowerment for adults,the two must be put together. The community needs to realize that [young] people change. Forgiveness is also important."

Debra Murray, a youth programs coordinator from Calgary, was traveling with a group of a dozen young people who are part of a youth leadership program developed by that city's Parks and Recreation Department.

It was obvious that both she and the teenagers were enjoying the recreation component of the conference; the young people were splashing in the pool, popping out evey now and then to ask her what time the pool closed.

Murray explained some of the rationale behind the leadership program she's facilitating. It has two parts, called "Finding Your Way" and "Taking the Lead." The young people she works with will in turn teach the younger ones. At a recent adult forum, her group was in charge of the children's activities.

Meanwhile, a group of young people from Saddle Lake, Alexander and Alexis First Nations were demonstrating their leadership abilities and their spiking techniques in a volleyball match.

"Where do you come from?" one team-member asked another, demonstrating that sports can be great mixers. There was a spirit of generosity and comradeship as well. The young people were as likely to cheer the opposition as themselves, showing that they'd internalized the ideals of good sportsmanship which are intrinsic to Aboriginal culture.